Housing benefit

littlemouse13

I am moving into a new property with my partner. We are both unemployed so the landlord has asked for 6 months tent upfront which we are able to scrape together but must pay back. 

The tenancy agreement shows this one of payment and not the usual monthly payment expected. 

Will we still get housing benefit to pay for the six months? Or will we need our tenancy agreement to State the monthly payments expected in order to be eligible.

thanks

poppy123456

There's no harm in paying 6 months rent up front and then claiming for the housing element. I don't know if there will be issues here because the tenancy agreement doesn't state how much your rent is PCM when it should.

I'll tag someone who may know for sure. @Adrian_Scope could you help here please? Thanks in advance.

janer1967

Hi and welcome to the community glad you have joined us and I dont have the answer but hope somebody can help

I hope the move goes well 

littlemouse13

Thankyou @janer1967 I appreciate it. 

I am keeping my fingers crossed i can get Housing benefit In UC Otherwise i will be stuck where i am and its doing my mental health no good here. 

@poppy123456 thankyou also! 

And i look forward to hearing from @Adrian_Scope

OverlyAnxious

Is it a 12 month tenancy?  If so, it should show your monthly payment amount that will start at the end of the initial 6 months? 

janer1967

I am no expert but I cant see why you wouldn't get it if you meet the criteria 

Could you ask for a tenancy agreement that shows monthly rent charges 

littlemouse13

@OverlyAnxious its a 6 month contract that then rolls over on a monthly basis which is when id go back to paying monthly. 

@janer1967 i have emailed the estate agents to ask them to add the breakdown of monthly rent and explained it will help with my Universal Credit. This is all if i get through the referencing process first which feels impossible at the moment as the form is so complicated to fill in. 

OverlyAnxious

littlemouse13 said:

@OverlyAnxious its a 6 month contract that then rolls over on a monthly basis which is when id go back to paying monthly. 

@janer1967 i have emailed the estate agents to ask them to add the breakdown of monthly rent and explained it will help with my Universal Credit. This is all if i get through the referencing process first which feels impossible at the moment as the form is so complicated to fill in. 

Yeah, that's the same as mine was (albeit 5 years ago now), doesn't it also show the monthly rate that you'll be paying after that 6 months?  If so, that's all I used to prove the monthly amount - even though I hadn't rolled over to the monthly payments at the time.  

I didn't apply for HB until towards the end, and was on ESA instead of UC, so can't fully answer your question, but as long as that monthly figure is shown on the tenancy agreement, I'm sure that's all you'd need.

littlemouse13

@OverlyAnxious cheers for your advice. It doesn't state anything about monthly payments bur ive requested that in the final draft, so just need to see what they say. Im on ESA Support Group but shall also have go onto UC as I am moving in with my partner who is on UC now which will trigger the change anyway, thanks for the info, would be nice to find the official UC guidelines, im looking for them but so far no luck. I can also try citizens advice but so far it seems like it wont be a problem thanks to everyones advice. 

poppy123456

It shouldn't make too much of a difference i don't don't think it matters too much if the monthly amount isn't on the contract. You're liable for the rent anyway and local housing allowance doesn't often pay the full amount when privately renting, there can be a shortfall, depending on the area you're living. There will be a maximum amount you can claim anyway, which for you and your partner will be the 1 bedroom rate of LHA, if there's just the 2 of you. You can check that here https://lha-direct.voa.gov.uk/

As advised on your other thread your ESA award will be honoured in UC but it can take a while for the award to transfer across.

littlemouse13

Thanks @poppy123456. 

Great, well im all set then once the reference process goes through. Its a one bed flat and i think we have to pay a little on top but it will be ok

poppy123456

Check think i posted above and put the postcode of the area you'll be living and it will tell you what you're entitled to. It will give the weekly amount so you'll need to convert it to the monthly amount because UC is paid monthly.

Adrian_Scope

Hi @littlemouse13.

Do you have anything at all that shows what your monthly rent is? You'll need some sort of evidence to verify it with UC. Paying 6 months upfront isn't an issue and you should still receive housing element of UC for those 6 months. 
Good luck with the move.

littlemouse13

@Adrian_Scope
we have only seen the draft tenancy which only shows the 6 month payment, i am hoping they will amend the tenancy as i have requested that they show the monthly rent Breakdown. After the 6 months, the contract States that we just continue paying on a monthly basis, but doesnt yet show how much. 

poppy123456

A tenancy agreement should always state how much your rent it PCM, i'm very surprised that they haven't added that.

littlemouse13

@poppy123456 i agree, in thinking it is just because its a draft they are using whilst they get references as they already advised that the move in date on there needs to be ammended as it is incorrect. I feel reassured, thankyou

littlemouse13

Hello all!

just an update to let you know that i got the estate agent to amend the contract so it states the monthly amount. Thanks for all your advice

Adrian_Scope

That should make things easier @littlemouse13!