Anybody claim housing benefit?

Ive recently become unemployed. I dont want to claim JSA as i dont want to be put under pressure to get 'any' job and would like to have a few months to find the right job for me to continue in my field of expertise.

Do you know if you HAVE to claim JSA to be able to claim for housing benefit? And what does it involve? Any ideas?

Ive recently become unemployed. I dont want to claim JSA as i dont want to be put under pressure to get 'any' job and would like to have a few months to find the right job for me to continue in my field of expertise.

Do you know if you HAVE to claim JSA to be able to claim for housing benefit? And what does it involve? Any ideas?

You can claim JSA and, as long as you have a "usual occupation" and have finished that work recently, you can request what's called a Permitted Period. This allows you to restrict the type of jobs you apply for to your usual occupation for up to 3 months (as long as that work is realistically achievable within that period) from the start of your claim.

To answer your question though, yes, you can claim Housing Benefit without claiming JSA. It is means-tested (like JSA Income Based) and would require you to make regular (monthly I think) declarations of household income and savings. Check out your Local Authority website for more information.

My advice though would be to go down the JSA route if you are genuinely looking for work. Also note that when Universal Credit begins rolling out in South Wales later this year it will replace most benefits (including JSA and HB) and will always require that you are looking or preparing for work. Hope this helps...

lol notice how you get no replies, yet probably half the forum claims hb

so.. no you dont have to claim jsa to get hb

i dont claim jsa

go to your local housing section... only ones i know of are in town and ely... obviously others but there not in my areas

fill in a form... or if your clever enough to act dumb... you say you cant read or write and someone may sit down with you and skip through all the parts that you dont apply to you yet if your doing it on your own you will swear blind you need to fill it in...

be prepared for battle, as many different circumstances will come into effect when making a claim, what your claiming hb for ie a house or flat... perhaps one that you own, a rental, or a council property

if all goes well and accepted for hb and in a council property you will get your claim resolved quickly! thats just how it is, they love to pay them self nice and quick

private rental, bit more drawn out... still can be resolved quickly if all are on board ie, landlord and such

own your own home with a mortage on it... = good luck, can be a long drawn out nightmare, yes it can be done but they will want to know the ins and outs of a cats arse before they give you a penny piece, they will want to have the propert valued, ask if you cant rent out a room, in some case even sell the property, yes this is the long drawn out one, can be a killer

You can claim housing benefit on the basis of having nil income but will have to explain how you are supporting yourself,savings for example. You can also have up to £16,000 in savings/capital which will be disregarded in calculating your benfit. Worth remembering that if you are under 35 you will be restricted to the single room rate which varies from area to area but probably beteen £50/60 per week. Good luck with the job hunting.

Thanks for the advice lads.

My girlfriend works. She brings home £1250 a month. Will that affect my claim for housing?

I hope you're going to work for that JSA by cleaning some petrol stations and the streets. Absolutely feckless these days.

Thanks for the advice lads.

My girlfriend works. She brings home £1250 a month. Will that affect my claim for housing?

If she lives with you then they'll take her income into account and you'll get nothing - quite rightly.

I'm fairly sure the previous poster stating that they disregard savings below £16k is inaccurate. They will take savings below this into account and reduce entitlement on a sliding scale.

I hope you're going to work for that JSA by cleaning some petrol stations and the streets. Absolutely feckless these days.

Who are?

Thanks for the advice lads.

My girlfriend works. She brings home £1250 a month. Will that affect my claim for housing?

If you say she's living with you and her income is part of your income i.e joint income then it's doubtful you'll get any housing benefit because she earns a decent income. If on the other hand you say you haven't got anyone living with u then you'll get some or all your rent paid regardless if u claim JSA or not.
If your single and not working the the most benefits you can get including housing benefit is £350 a week ,if you work 16 hours or more then theres no cap on housing benefit, but your benefit reduces the more u earn.

Thanks for the advice lads.

My girlfriend works. She brings home £1250 a month. Will that affect my claim for housing?

If she lives with you then they'll take her income into account and you'll get nothing - quite rightly.

I'm fairly sure the previous poster stating that they disregard savings below £16k is inaccurate. They will take savings below this into account and reduce entitlement on a sliding scale.

Not sure about quite rightly. Ive paid my taxes and national insurance for years. I pay 50% of the rental costs which i now cant cover. £1250 a month is not enough to cover the monthly outgoings for two people and neither should she be expected to cover them, she is not my wife. But i guess thats another conversation all together.

Ok thanks for all the info lads. Ill go for it then, may just have to keep schtum about the missus, her name isn't on the rental agreement anyway.

Ok thanks for all the info lads. Ill go for it then, may just have to keep schtum about the missus, her name isn't on the rental agreement anyway.

That's OK if don't have joint bank accounts! They want proof of income, in bank statements

If she's registered at your address for Council Tax or is linked to it via bank account, credit cards etc. they will pick this up so I would urge you to declare your circumstances accurately. Not only could you get yourself into trouble but is it morally correct to claim fraudulently?

If she's registered at your address for Council Tax or is linked to it via bank account, credit cards etc. they will pick this up so I would urge you to declare your circumstances accurately. Not only could you get yourself into trouble but is it morally correct to claim fraudulently?

In today's climate I'd say yes it is.

Ok thanks for all the info lads. Ill go for it then, may just have to keep schtum about the missus, her name isn't on the rental agreement anyway.

I hope your account name and avatar are not genuine. You could get into trouble. I mean how many with your name are there in the phone book?

Seriously though, good luck with that.

If she's registered at your address for Council Tax or is linked to it via bank account, credit cards etc. they will pick this up so I would urge you to declare your circumstances accurately. Not only could you get yourself into trouble but is it morally correct to claim fraudulently?

Certainly morally acceptable for me anyway. I feel it is immoral to deny me housing benefit after paying my taxes and national insurance for years now i am out of work, simply because i have a girlfriend who doesn't earn enough to cover two peoples outgoings. There conditions are government guidelines set up to save them money and deny a portion of the public financial help rather than a moral code set up for the communities - so by breaking it i certainly wont be losing any sleep.

She isn't registered for council tax but is for her bank account. But there is nothing to prove she is my girlfriend, i can just say she is my friend. Im sure they cannot prove otherwise, or id like to think not anyway

Ok thanks for all the info lads. Ill go for it then, may just have to keep schtum about the missus, her name isn't on the rental agreement anyway.

I hope your account name and avatar are not genuine. You could get into trouble. I mean how many with your name are there in the phone book?

Seriously though, good luck with that.

Gibbo is my favourite City player of all time

Ok thanks for all the info lads. Ill go for it then, may just have to keep schtum about the missus, her name isn't on the rental agreement anyway.

I hope your account name and avatar are not genuine. You could get into trouble. I mean how many with your name are there in the phone book?

Seriously though, good luck with that.

Gibbo is my favourite City player of all time

Woodville doesn't know who Ian Gibson is, he's a jack

You wouldn't be eligible for JSA with her working ft. My daughter and her boyfriend live with me and when only one of them is in work they can only get working tax credit. Maybe your gf earns too much but its an easy phone call to find out. As the others say, you will likely get none or little housing benefit.

If she's registered at your address for Council Tax or is linked to it via bank account, credit cards etc. they will pick this up so I would urge you to declare your circumstances accurately. Not only could you get yourself into trouble but is it morally correct to claim fraudulently?

Certainly morally acceptable for me anyway. I feel it is immoral to deny me housing benefit after paying my taxes and national insurance for years now i am out of work, simply because i have a girlfriend who doesn't earn enough to cover two peoples outgoings. There conditions are government guidelines set up to save them money and deny a portion of the public financial help rather than a moral code set up for the communities - so by breaking it i certainly wont be losing any sleep.

She isn't registered for council tax but is for her bank account. But there is nothing to prove she is my girlfriend, i can just say she is my friend. Im sure they cannot prove otherwise, or id like to think not anyway

I accept that there are many worse things happening in society at the moment eg. The mega-rich and their tax-dodging which costs this country a fortune etc. and I do take your point regarding paying taxes for years however, I have been paying tax and NI for over 30 years but I don't consider this would give me the right to claim other tax-payers money illegally should I ever find myself in your unfortunate position. I would cut costs, survive on what we have and wait until I found another job.
Back to my earlier post, claim JSA (Contrubution Base) which is what your NI contributions have legally entitled you to.

Ok thanks for all the info lads. Ill go for it then, may just have to keep schtum about the missus, her name isn't on the rental agreement anyway.

I hope your account name and avatar are not genuine. You could get into trouble. I mean how many with your name are there in the phone book?

Seriously though, good luck with that.

Gibbo is my favourite City player of all time

That's going back a bit! Gives away your age. Lol. I wasn't into football in those days. Rugby was my thing then although you couldn't escape Gibson's name in the papers. Must admit I missed out there. That was when tackling was allowed.

Thanks for the advice lads.

My girlfriend works. She brings home £1250 a month. Will that affect my claim for housing?

If she lives with you then they'll take her income into account and you'll get nothing - quite rightly.

I'm fairly sure the previous poster stating that they disregard savings below £16k is inaccurate. They will take savings below this into account and reduce entitlement on a sliding scale.

I believe that the first £5000 of savings is disregarded, then the other £11,000 is taken as income of which they state that for every £500 of your savings is worth £1 a week income therefore you have earned £22 per week from your £11,000 savings, [if only we could]

If she's registered at your address for Council Tax or is linked to it via bank account, credit cards etc. they will pick this up so I would urge you to declare your circumstances accurately. Not only could you get yourself into trouble but is it morally correct to claim fraudulently?

Certainly morally acceptable for me anyway. I feel it is immoral to deny me housing benefit after paying my taxes and national insurance for years now i am out of work, simply because i have a girlfriend who doesn't earn enough to cover two peoples outgoings. There conditions are government guidelines set up to save them money and deny a portion of the public financial help rather than a moral code set up for the communities - so by breaking it i certainly wont be losing any sleep.

She isn't registered for council tax but is for her bank account. But there is nothing to prove she is my girlfriend, i can just say she is my friend. Im sure they cannot prove otherwise, or id like to think not anyway

I accept that there are many worse things happening in society at the moment eg. The mega-rich and their tax-dodging which costs this country a fortune etc. and I do take your point regarding paying taxes for years however, I have been paying tax and NI for over 30 years but I don't consider this would give me the right to claim other tax-payers money illegally should I ever find myself in your unfortunate position. I would cut costs, survive on what we have and wait until I found another job.
Back to my earlier post, claim JSA (Contrubution Base) which is what your NI contributions have legally entitled you to.

I don't think I'm claiming other peoples money, I'm claiming money I have paid in to help people financially who find themselves out of work. I now find myself out of work and feel it correct i should be allowed this help.

If the Government guidelines say I don't qualify because I have a girlfriend then I'm afraid that doesn't wash with me, she is not my wife and we have not made a legal vow that whats mine is hers and hers is mine etc. i don't feel the guidelines are morally correct so dodging those guidelines is something I wont think twice about. They are simply put there to save themselves money by castigating a portion of society.

With JSA you are made to feel quite small and treated like a child. Having to make x amount of interviews etc normally in a field you don't want to work in. I know one man who got his JSA stopped because he missed a JSA meeting due to having a job interview?! Incredible. I don't want to go through the rigmarole of JSA.

If she's registered at your address for Council Tax or is linked to it via bank account, credit cards etc. they will pick this up so I would urge you to declare your circumstances accurately. Not only could you get yourself into trouble but is it morally correct to claim fraudulently?

Certainly morally acceptable for me anyway. I feel it is immoral to deny me housing benefit after paying my taxes and national insurance for years now i am out of work, simply because i have a girlfriend who doesn't earn enough to cover two peoples outgoings. There conditions are government guidelines set up to save them money and deny a portion of the public financial help rather than a moral code set up for the communities - so by breaking it i certainly wont be losing any sleep.

She isn't registered for council tax but is for her bank account. But there is nothing to prove she is my girlfriend, i can just say she is my friend. Im sure they cannot prove otherwise, or id like to think not anyway

I accept that there are many worse things happening in society at the moment eg. The mega-rich and their tax-dodging which costs this country a fortune etc. and I do take your point regarding paying taxes for years however, I have been paying tax and NI for over 30 years but I don't consider this would give me the right to claim other tax-payers money illegally should I ever find myself in your unfortunate position. I would cut costs, survive on what we have and wait until I found another job.
Back to my earlier post, claim JSA (Contrubution Base) which is what your NI contributions have legally entitled you to.

I don't think I'm claiming other peoples money, I'm claiming money I have paid in to help people financially who find themselves out of work. I now find myself out of work and feel it correct i should be allowed this help.

If the Government guidelines say I don't qualify because I have a girlfriend then I'm afraid that doesn't wash with me, she is not my wife and we have not made a legal vow that whats mine is hers and hers is mine etc. i don't feel the guidelines are morally correct so dodging those guidelines is something I wont think twice about. They are simply put there to save themselves money by castigating a portion of society.

With JSA you are made to feel quite small and treated like a child. Having to make x amount of interviews etc normally in a field you don't want to work in. I know one man who got his JSA stopped because he missed a JSA meeting due to having a job interview?! Incredible. I don't want to go through the rigmarole of JSA.

I see what you're saying. However, if you and your girlfriend are cohabiting you'd be classed the same as a married couple would. They'd take her earnings in to consideration and that's where the law stinks. People who've never worked know how to milk the system and people who've worked all their lives and suddenly find themselves out of work have got to fight for what they've put in. It's wrong mate, it really is.

Ok thanks for all the info lads. Ill go for it then, may just have to keep schtum about the missus, her name isn't on the rental agreement anyway.

I hope your account name and avatar are not genuine. You could get into trouble. I mean how many with your name are there in the phone book?

Seriously though, good luck with that.

Gibbo is my favourite City player of all time

That's going back a bit! Gives away your age. Lol. I wasn't into football in those days. Rugby was my thing then although you couldn't escape Gibson's name in the papers. Must admit I missed out there. That was when tackling was allowed.

Well that was way before the Ospreys so you must have been supporting Swansea RFC.

If she's registered at your address for Council Tax or is linked to it via bank account, credit cards etc. they will pick this up so I would urge you to declare your circumstances accurately. Not only could you get yourself into trouble but is it morally correct to claim fraudulently?

Certainly morally acceptable for me anyway. I feel it is immoral to deny me housing benefit after paying my taxes and national insurance for years now i am out of work, simply because i have a girlfriend who doesn't earn enough to cover two peoples outgoings. There conditions are government guidelines set up to save them money and deny a portion of the public financial help rather than a moral code set up for the communities - so by breaking it i certainly wont be losing any sleep.

She isn't registered for council tax but is for her bank account. But there is nothing to prove she is my girlfriend, i can just say she is my friend. Im sure they cannot prove otherwise, or id like to think not anyway

I accept that there are many worse things happening in society at the moment eg. The mega-rich and their tax-dodging which costs this country a fortune etc. and I do take your point regarding paying taxes for years however, I have been paying tax and NI for over 30 years but I don't consider this would give me the right to claim other tax-payers money illegally should I ever find myself in your unfortunate position. I would cut costs, survive on what we have and wait until I found another job.
Back to my earlier post, claim JSA (Contrubution Base) which is what your NI contributions have legally entitled you to.

I don't think I'm claiming other peoples money, I'm claiming money I have paid in to help people financially who find themselves out of work. I now find myself out of work and feel it correct i should be allowed this help.

If the Government guidelines say I don't qualify because I have a girlfriend then I'm afraid that doesn't wash with me, she is not my wife and we have not made a legal vow that whats mine is hers and hers is mine etc. i don't feel the guidelines are morally correct so dodging those guidelines is something I wont think twice about. They are simply put there to save themselves money by castigating a portion of society.

With JSA you are made to feel quite small and treated like a child. Having to make x amount of interviews etc normally in a field you don't want to work in. I know one man who got his JSA stopped because he missed a JSA meeting due to having a job interview?! Incredible. I don't want to go through the rigmarole of JSA.

Hiya, Gibbo
What you say is correct - the trouble with the people who work at the jobcentre (and it is not their fault, they just follow Government directives) just use a tickbox mentality (computer says no mentality) and are not allowed to use common sense at all.

I have another example of how crazy it is. Going back a few years, Our son finished his A levels in school (18 years of age) in the May, applied to join HM NAVY and received an acceptance letter confirming training to start at Dartmouth the following February (so 10 months wait). He wanted to get a Job for the 10 months wait but nothing around these rural parts, so with no income I told him to go down and "sign on"(old term, but do not know today's equivalent) to at least have a minimum income. Jobcentre told him that he was not allowed to sign on but would still have to register as looking for work which he did - so he would go to the jobcentre for work interviews. No job vacancies, so being the industrious chap that he is, he managed to get a job interview for short time agency factory work but outside our area. He told the jobcentre that he was going for the interview away from area and they told him that it was against the rules !!!!???

He is now an officer in HM Navy and loves the life very much.

I agree that the rules are stacked against the people who have paid taxes and NI yet people who have never worked seem to get lots of help? After all the system is supposed to be a "safety net" not a "way of life", EH ???

Please don't lie to them though as it will come back and bite you in the arse, mate.

Blooobirds Forever !!!

Ok thanks for all the info lads. Ill go for it then, may just have to keep schtum about the missus, her name isn't on the rental agreement anyway.

I hope your account name and avatar are not genuine. You could get into trouble. I mean how many with your name are there in the phone book?

Seriously though, good luck with that.

Gibbo is my favourite City player of all time

That's going back a bit! Gives away your age. Lol. I wasn't into football in those days. Rugby was my thing then although you couldn't escape Gibson's name in the papers. Must admit I missed out there. That was when tackling was allowed.

Well that was way before the Ospreys so you must have been supporting Swansea RFC.

You forgot to mention I could have moved my caravan up to Cardiff just for match days. Lol.
Blue is the colour whichever sport you support!!!

If she's registered at your address for Council Tax or is linked to it via bank account, credit cards etc. they will pick this up so I would urge you to declare your circumstances accurately. Not only could you get yourself into trouble but is it morally correct to claim fraudulently?

Certainly morally acceptable for me anyway. I feel it is immoral to deny me housing benefit after paying my taxes and national insurance for years now i am out of work, simply because i have a girlfriend who doesn't earn enough to cover two peoples outgoings. There conditions are government guidelines set up to save them money and deny a portion of the public financial help rather than a moral code set up for the communities - so by breaking it i certainly wont be losing any sleep.

She isn't registered for council tax but is for her bank account. But there is nothing to prove she is my girlfriend, i can just say she is my friend. Im sure they cannot prove otherwise, or id like to think not anyway

I accept that there are many worse things happening in society at the moment eg. The mega-rich and their tax-dodging which costs this country a fortune etc. and I do take your point regarding paying taxes for years however, I have been paying tax and NI for over 30 years but I don't consider this would give me the right to claim other tax-payers money illegally should I ever find myself in your unfortunate position. I would cut costs, survive on what we have and wait until I found another job.
Back to my earlier post, claim JSA (Contrubution Base) which is what your NI contributions have legally entitled you to.

I don't think I'm claiming other peoples money, I'm claiming money I have paid in to help people financially who find themselves out of work. I now find myself out of work and feel it correct i should be allowed this help.

If the Government guidelines say I don't qualify because I have a girlfriend then I'm afraid that doesn't wash with me, she is not my wife and we have not made a legal vow that whats mine is hers and hers is mine etc. i don't feel the guidelines are morally correct so dodging those guidelines is something I wont think twice about. They are simply put there to save themselves money by castigating a portion of society.

With JSA you are made to feel quite small and treated like a child. Having to make x amount of interviews etc normally in a field you don't want to work in. I know one man who got his JSA stopped because he missed a JSA meeting due to having a job interview?! Incredible. I don't want to go through the rigmarole of JSA.

I see what you're saying. However, if you and your girlfriend are cohabiting you'd be classed the same as a married couple would. They'd take her earnings in to consideration and that's where the law stinks. People who've never worked know how to milk the system and people who've worked all their lives and suddenly find themselves out of work have got to fight for what they've put in. It's wrong mate, it really is.

disagree with you there, the member in this thread shows its not just the long term unemployed that do a good job of milking the system. if he decides to try and claim money without declaring all avenues of income he is doing so fraudulently and is a criminal.

My girlfriend isn't an avenue of income, thats the point. That is not milking the system, that is getting around a stupid roadblock to get the money i have put in the pot to help pay rent when out of work. I am out of work and now need access to the pot i have contributed to for that very justifiable and genuine reason. To compare the two is a nonsense. It is criminal for a woman to show her shoulders in certain countries, doing so isnt morally wrong but a misguided law put in place for the benefit of a system.

My girlfriend isn't an avenue of income, thats the point. That is not milking the system, that is getting around a stupid roadblock to get the money i have put in the pot to help pay rent when out of work. I am out of work and now need access to the pot i have contributed to for that very justifiable and genuine reason. To compare the two is a nonsense. It is criminal for a woman to show her shoulders in certain countries, doing so isnt morally wrong but a misguided law put in place for the benefit of a system.

these are tough times and there are people who have a far greater need for that money than you do. it says alot about your character that you are prepared to lie and claim this benefit fraudulently.

i would be embarrassed to do so. my grandmother who recently passed away, struggled to make ends meet for her whole life but was determined to stand on her own two feet, and wouldn't dream of claiming a benefit fraudulently. have some self respect and tell the truth, i challenge you.

if not, you should be thoroughly ashamed of yourself.