Income support rules for tenants who take in lodgers
I am a single 'mature' (45yrs) mother with a 4 1/2 yr old son. I have recently qualified as a social worker and am now looking for part time work. I am therefore temporarily in receipt of income support and housing benefit. Unfortunately I received notice to leave our current home and have just signed up for a new property. We are entitled to the local Housing Allowance to assist with housing costs up to our entitlement, which is 2 bedrooms. The new property has 3, and the rent is correspondingly higher. I took on the property anyway, thinking I could make up the difference between the rent and the LHA by taking in a lodger.
I was told by my personal adviser from the job centre that the whole rent my lodger would by paying me minus £20 disregard would be deducted from my income support, rather than just the 'profit' I would be making with the help of the lodger. The number of rooms and the amount of rent I would be paying out is irrelevant. She also suggested I check this with the main Jobcentre Plus office dealing with my area, which I did. They suggested I write to the Decisionmaker at their office, explaining this situation, and this would be then dealt with as a 'complex case'. In this letter I showed that if the calculation I was suggested by my personal adviser would be used, would leave me with £10.50 to live and pay all bills. The Jobcentre Plus office have just phoned me and confirmed the information I had previously been given. If I was charging my lodger £70, £50 would be taken off my income support, regardless of the fact that the third bedroom is beyond our requirements and all I am doing is using the lodger's rent towards mine.
The staff at the job centre have been brilliant, but the benefit rules seem unfair to me. Does anyone know ways of challenging the benefit rules beyond the time this situation applies to me (I will sign off shortly, I hope!). I feel this particular rule penalises people in my situation who are trying to be creative, for example by sharing, and discourages this kind of solution which would relieve the stress on the housing market. Sharing for us anyway makes sense, as that way my son would be exposed to more adult influences than just me, which is actually not good for him, or me. I know many other single parents think about their isolation with their child, especially a single child, about sharing in a similar way.
Who in a position of power to influence benefit rules I could contact to argue my point, including maybe campaigning organisations? Is there anyone out there who has been in a similar situation, and not been able to get help towards their rent from a lodger as income support deduct this from their entitlement?
I was told by my personal adviser from the job centre that the whole rent my lodger would by paying me minus £20 disregard would be deducted from my income support, rather than just the 'profit' I would be making with the help of the lodger. The number of rooms and the amount of rent I would be paying out is irrelevant. She also suggested I check this with the main Jobcentre Plus office dealing with my area, which I did. They suggested I write to the Decisionmaker at their office, explaining this situation, and this would be then dealt with as a 'complex case'. In this letter I showed that if the calculation I was suggested by my personal adviser would be used, would leave me with £10.50 to live and pay all bills. The Jobcentre Plus office have just phoned me and confirmed the information I had previously been given. If I was charging my lodger £70, £50 would be taken off my income support, regardless of the fact that the third bedroom is beyond our requirements and all I am doing is using the lodger's rent towards mine.
The staff at the job centre have been brilliant, but the benefit rules seem unfair to me. Does anyone know ways of challenging the benefit rules beyond the time this situation applies to me (I will sign off shortly, I hope!). I feel this particular rule penalises people in my situation who are trying to be creative, for example by sharing, and discourages this kind of solution which would relieve the stress on the housing market. Sharing for us anyway makes sense, as that way my son would be exposed to more adult influences than just me, which is actually not good for him, or me. I know many other single parents think about their isolation with their child, especially a single child, about sharing in a similar way.
Who in a position of power to influence benefit rules I could contact to argue my point, including maybe campaigning organisations? Is there anyone out there who has been in a similar situation, and not been able to get help towards their rent from a lodger as income support deduct this from their entitlement?
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