I’m soon to be 57, had a spell of ill health and i’m single & currently unemployed due to the period of ill health and i’m privately renting, but need and want to move as the place has antisocial neighbours above and below and I’m a couple of hundred miles from where i want to be, the downstairs flat smokes all the time, cigarettes and drugs, it comes into my flat and makes me feel ill. Landlord isn’t renewing their tenancy and i have to sit in my flat with a covid mask on sometimes because of the stink, so i’m not happy, i want my health to improve, not get worse.
I’ve nearly broke my back clearing my flat out and decluttering and getting packed.
Problem is - almost every little flat i see up for rent is priced well above what the LHA calculator says on the Government website, is some cases, i would have to put 50 or even 100 pounds a week in to topping up the rent that the LHA says it will pay.
I don’t understand How anyone who relies on benefits for help pay the rent can afford to put say, 50 pounds a week out of their benefits towards rent. Even in the town where i curently live the rents are above what the LHA calculator says, how can people move flats ?
Of course i will top up weekly or whatever, but it seems plenty of other people are moving into flats, but the LHA is way above the usual 1 bedroom flat rents.
Renting a flat on benefits - How is it done ?
I am mature, quiet, clean and tidy and don’t smoke or have pets or anything, i have a bond if needed, i have a guarantor and i have a decent credit rating, i am a verified tenant after doing all these checks, but can i find a little flat anywhere - nope, the few that LHA covers don’t seem to reply, i guess the poor landlords or letting agents must get swamped by calls like mine.
Can anyone tell me how a man (over 55) can rent a flat whilst on benefits,
because to my reckoning i need about 50 pounds a week spare to add to the LHA, which isn’t really possible… i’m feeling trapped & confused.
-Mark-
You need to speak to your local council and also your MP. Tell them that due to government policy like ‘right to buy’ (brought in in the 1970/80s and never removed by any government since) local authority housing stocks (the houses that belong to the people) have been sold off and hardly any built. Private Landlords are selling up in their thousands because of increased regulation from local councils like increased licensing and also government policy like the forth coming ‘Renters reform bill’ making it harder to operate in the PRS . High interest rates has made the cost of remortgaging expensive to the point some LLs have no choice but to sell their property as they would be operating at a loss. Unfavorable section 24 tax rules also means that LLs are paying income tax on money they do not receive again making it unworkable. High repair costs for Labour and materials are another factor to be considered.
The result of a lack of new social housing and fewer properties available to rent due to private LLs exiting the market has pushed rents up because supply cannot service the demand. Add to that over more than one million people(net) coming to Britain each year who may have secured jobs and then need somewhere to live are obviously going to add pressure to a rental market already under strain.
Can’t you make additional income by working, as far as I understand the UC rules you can make 45p in every pound you earn (with the other 55p reducing the UC amount). Otherwise, can you not go onto the council waiting list?
Hi. The waiting lists i am on are in excess of 10 years, sadly. I hope to resume my little self employed business at some time when my health improves. I was advised by the job centre to seek help for my mental health issues so i am unable to work at present due to a couple of physical limitations too, so i need to move to regain a chance of getting better as my current housing conditions are also contributing to my overall lack of health. I live alone and have MH problems which arent being addressed, so my idea is to help mysrlf and move into a less dreadful area, i dont want a palace, a dog kennel will do.
