Housing benefit confusion

Hopeless85

I am trying to work out my pcm rate for hb but I'm so confused. I've used a benefit calculator and these are the answers I got...

Weekly... £201.37 (this I know to be correct)

Every 4 weeks... £805.48 (this I know to be correct)

Monthly /pcm...... £875

But I worked it out to be £872.60 and I don't understand how it's £875. I messaged them and they said because housing benefit is worked out on the day rate not weekly. But if that's the case then how do are first two sets of numbers (weekly/4 weekly) match? I'm so confused. Would greatly appreciate any help.

MW123

@Hopeless85 welcome to Scope!

A year doesn't have exactly 52 weeks – it has 365 days (or 366 in a leap year).

When the benefit calculator works out your monthly payment, it uses all 365 days, not just 52 weeks. This is why your monthly amount might be different from just multiplying your weekly amount by 4 or dividing the yearly amount by 12.

So, when you multiply your weekly amount (£201.37) by 4, you get £805.48 for 4 weeks, which is correct. But when calculating the monthly amount, the calculator uses all 365 days, which is why your monthly payment comes out as £875 instead of £872.60. The difference is because the calculator includes the extra days in the year and rounds up the total.

My friend, who lives in a council property, mentioned that every few years her council asks her to pay for 53 weeks rent instead of 52. This is to cover the extra 1 or 2 days in the year that don’t fit into a full 52-week period, helping to balance out the "extra days" that aren't covered by just 52 weeks. I hope this information is helpful to you.

Kimmy87

That's for years there are 53 Mondays (rent day) rather than 52 😊

Catherine21

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/984483#Comment_984483

Omg this is horrendous how meant to understand all this awful awful thier putting people through this im so heated up

Kimmy87

I do think UC should pay those years there is an extra week, housing benefit does.

Social housing landlords send out letters and other communications, so tenants know what's happening and what they need to do.

Hopeless85

I appreciate everyone's help thank you. I'm still a little lost to be honest. I have a private landlord and he's just awful. I have made my own rent statement and work everything out myself as he is clueless and will try to put extra fees on and not give me back overpayments etc. I'm just concerned whether my top up for rent will go up when on uc?

My rent currently is £1000 pcm. Hb pay £805.48 every 4 weeks, and I pay £127.40 but every month. And that works out to the £1000 pcm my landlord is asking (I think). I'm just confused whether this will change when on uc?

Also thinking about it now have I been paying too much top up? As I worked it out like this..... The rent is £1000 PCM. Which means he wants £12,000 per year. Hb pay £805.48 (every 4 weeks) . So £805.48 x 13 =£10,471.24 a year. Then my top up of £127.40 (pcm) x 12 = £1528.80 a year.

Add the 2 figures, 10,471.24 + 1,528.80 = £12,000.04.

Have I been doing this incorrectly? Is my top up incorrect 😔?

Hopeless85

Also please see the pictures attached, this is a calculator I have used to work out my monthly income off esa and hb on my current legacy benefits (£1917.38), and of one from what my predicted uc will be with the transitional protection(£1914.99). How comes im still several pounds(£2.39) worse off on uc? Is this something to do with the rent and how it's worked out?