Universal Credit & Rent Issues

GaryL05

Hello, I am currently being charged by my mum for rent even tho I am on universal credit and I don't know why as I am not a tenant and I am only 23, which I believe 25 is when you are charged rent but you also get more money. I could really do with some advice as I cannot afford to pay it every month.

Any help would be much appreciated!  

calcotti

Can you explain what you mean by your mum is charging your rent. Do you mean that your mum is on benefits claiming help with rent and her benefit is reduced because you are expected to contribute to the rent? If so, what benefits is she claiming? Do either of you receive a disability benefit?

if she is claiming UC then, unless either of you gets a disability benefit, her UC award would be reduced by £77.87/month because you are aged 21 or over and are expected to contribute towards the rent. 

If she is claiming HB then, because you are under 25 and on UC there should be no deduction.

GaryL05

calcotti said:

Can you explain what you mean by your mum is charging your rent. Do you mean that your mum is on benefits claiming help with rent and her benefit is reduced because you are expected to contribute to the rent? If so, what benefits is she claiming? Do either of you receive a disability benefit?

if she is claiming UC then, unless either of you gets a disability benefit, her UC award would be reduced by £77.87/month because you are aged 21 or over and are expected to contribute towards the rent. 

If she is claiming HB then, because you are under 25 and on UC there should be no deduction.

She claims sick since she has fibromyalgia so I think she has disability benefits but even if that is the case how do I get support to pay the rent as I don't get enough to pay it and I pay roughly £50 towards bills already? 

poppy123456

You can't claim for help with any rent because you're living at home with her. What benefits exactly does she claim? Does she claim for help with her rent? Is £50 what you pay her for everything and is that monthly/weekly?

If you can't afford to pay her what she's asking for then you need to speak to her.

GaryL05

poppy123456 said:

You can't claim for help with any rent because you're living at home with her. What benefits exactly does she claim? Does she claim for help with her rent? Is £50 what you pay her for everything and is that monthly/weekly?

If you can't afford to pay her what she's asking for then you need to speak to her.

Yes she claims help towards rent and she claims child benefit for my sister, she has disability benefit I think, and yes I pay £50 monthly towards housing/bills as I only get £265 a month and if I pay rent I won't be able to pay for food and travel expenses.
My Mum is asking for that £50 along with rent which I simply cannot do both.

poppy123456

If it's £50 month towards everything, including the rent (you haven't confirmed if it's for everything) then that's not too bad. If you lived away from home you would be paying a lot more than that each month.

GaryL05

poppy123456 said:

If it's £50 month towards everything, including the rent (you haven't confirmed if it's for everything) then that's not too bad. If you lived away from home you would be paying a lot more than that each month.

It is £50 a month towards everything besides food etc and it is very bad since when you include the rent on top that's £128 off of £265 which means your telling me for food, travel and any other expenses £137 is enough? If so you are really wrong and it's literally impossible. Also, I agree that living away from home would cost more but that isn't the point, the point is I cannot afford to pay the rent and want help to see if it was a mistake or how I could get support/money to cover it in any way.

bg844

you’re telling me for food, travel and any other expenses £137 is enough? If so you are really wrong and it's literally impossible.

No need to be rude. 

janer1967

Hi there 

It isn't right or wrong if you live with family that can ask you to pay towards living expenses there is no fixed amount 

As you won't have a tenancy agreement you can't claim any help with this 

I know you don't get much but I'm sure it will be costing your mum a lot more than what you are paying to keep you each month 

£128 in total is a small amount probably doesn't even cover the energy bill never mind anything else 

Can you talk to your mum and explain you can't afford this 

What travel expenses do you have are you going somewhere on regular basis 

Can you find any work to increase your income 

calcotti

GaryL05 said:

poppy123456 said:

You can't claim for help with any rent because you're living at home with her. What benefits exactly does she claim? Does she claim for help with her rent? Is £50 what you pay her for everything and is that monthly/weekly?

If you can't afford to pay her what she's asking for then you need to speak to her.

Yes she claims help towards rent and she claims child benefit for my sister, she has disability benefit I think, ..

You haven’t said what benefits are being claimed. Without that information it is not possible to advise on whether there are any benefits issues.

Regardless of the benefits the arrangements between your mother and yourself are something to be arranged between yourselves,

GaryL05

janer1967 said:

Hi there 

It isn't right or wrong if you live with family that can ask you to pay towards living expenses there is no fixed amount 

As you won't have a tenancy agreement you can't claim any help with this 

I know you don't get much but I'm sure it will be costing your mum a lot more than what you are paying to keep you each month 

£128 in total is a small amount probably doesn't even cover the energy bill never mind anything else 

Can you talk to your mum and explain you can't afford this 

What travel expenses do you have are you going somewhere on regular basis 

Can you find any work to increase your income 

I totally agree I should pay and help towards bills etc and yes she does pay more but she also gets 90% of the rent covered for her so really she pays nothing, and after discussing with my mam she wants both the £50 and the £78 rent too. and I have travel expenses for both shopping and going to universal credit, I am also currently looking for part-time work. 

Adrian_Scope

Did you mum explain how she came up with the figure of £78 @GaryL05?

GaryL05

Adrian_Scope said:

Did you mum explain how she came up with the figure of £78 @GaryL05?

Its what she is currently being charged by the rental company for me and I also can not afford to pay any of the rent as that would only leave me with £135 which isn't enough for both food and travel expenses and that doesn't even cover clothes etc if I needed them.

calcotti

Adrian_Scope said:

Did you mum explain how she came up with the figure of £78 @GaryL05?

As per my previous reply, £78 could correspond to the Housing Contribution Contribution deducted from mum’s UC award (if she is claiming).

GaryL05

calcotti said:

Adrian_Scope said:

Did you mum explain how she came up with the figure of £78 @GaryL05?

As per my previous reply, £78 could correspond to the Housing Contribution Contribution deducted from mum’s UC award (if she is claiming).

Yea I understand that but I am unable to pay it so I don't know what to do.

poppy123456

GaryL05 said:

calcotti said:

Adrian_Scope said:

Did you mum explain how she came up with the figure of £78 @GaryL05?

As per my previous reply, £78 could correspond to the Housing Contribution Contribution deducted from mum’s UC award (if she is claiming).

Yea I understand that but I am unable to pay it so I don't know what to do.

Then you need to speak to her. You haven't said what benefits exactly she's claiming, other than help with the rent and child benefit. Does she claim Housing benefit or UC?

GaryL05 said:

  your telling me for food, travel and any other expenses £137 is enough? If so you are really wrong and it's literally impossible.

That's not what i said at all!

GaryL05

poppy123456 said:

GaryL05 said:

calcotti said:

Adrian_Scope said:

Did you mum explain how she came up with the figure of £78 @GaryL05?

As per my previous reply, £78 could correspond to the Housing Contribution Contribution deducted from mum’s UC award (if she is claiming).

Yea I understand that but I am unable to pay it so I don't know what to do.

Then you need to speak to her. You haven't said what benefits exactly she's claiming, other than help with the rent and child benefit. Does she claim Housing benefit or UC?

GaryL05 said:

  your telling me for food, travel and any other expenses £137 is enough? If so you are really wrong and it's literally impossible.

That's not what i said at all!

She doesn't claim housing benefit but she does claim UC and is on sick aka she gets roughly £1300 a month

poppy123456

That means there's a non dependant of £77.87/month. Unless she claims either PIP daily living or DLA mid/high rate care and then there would be no deductions.

[Deleted User]

Your mum has every right to expect you to contribute towards rent. If you can't afford it you need to discuss with her. When I lived with my mum I had to pay £60 a week on JSA. At least I had a roof over my head. My bills were paid for me. I now live in my own flat and the bills are way more than that. I even lived in the YMCA and they took most of my money off me. if you had your own place you would be lucky if you had any money left. It's called a cost of living crisis for a reason. 

L_Volunteer

Thanks for sharing your views @KerryBemmy. I can hear how your own experiences have shaped your current views.

How are you feeling about things at the moment? I hope you are ok but if you need any support we are all here for you