Housing Benefits

If you need to make a claim for Housing Benefit, now known as Local Housing Allowance our first suggestion is, DON’T WORRY, here at Dave Wells we have an in house, Housing Benefit Officer that can help you with all aspects of a new claim or a change in circumstances.  We will do everything from helping fill in the forms to taking this down to the town hall and then chasing the progression of the claim. We hold all the forms here at the office so pop in to collect, any personal documents that need to be supplied to the council will be returned within 48 hours.

Some of you may be aware but there is yet another change to the LHA procedures, from the 1st Jan 2012 single under 35's are no longer entitled to anything larger than a bedsit. Basically the ruling that now applies to the under 25's now apply to the under 35's. Any new claim from this date or a change in circumstances or change of address will come under the new ruling. (It is important to note there are some exceptions to the under 35 ruling if you feel your circumstances are unique please contact our offices and ask for Lee Farmer 01202 301244 ext 528 we are happy to answer any questions and give advice.)

Those people who made a claim prior to April 2011 will be protected for a further 9 months after their 1 year anniversary but those who made the claim after, the new ruling will apply after the 1 year anniversary date is reached.

This will obviously affect existing tenants, the existing tenants that will be affected by the new ruling will be written to and given the offer of moving to alternative accommodation. We will not receive any information from the council regarding the anniversary so we will be relying on the tenant to advise us of when their entitlement will change and current information we may have on our system.

Unfortunately for those who are not willing to transfer to an affordable accommodation we will have to review what action we take.

There are many variations that could apply to a claim so whether it is a new claim, working claim with a low income, change in personal circumstances, claiming other benefits such as Incapacity or Working Tax Credits or you are a person from abroad we can help with it all.

If you have any questions or concerns then please contact lee.farmer@dwphousing.co.uk or telephone 01202 301244 ext 528

It is also important to note, that Council Tax is now being charged on bedsits, once again please contact lee.farmer@dwphousing.co.uk for advice on the next step.

You might want to visit www.direct.gov.uk where you can find a comprehensive overview of Local Housing Allowance and will answer any questions or concerns you might have at the time.

Please understand we try to keep this information as up-todate as possible, however these figures are subject to change.

Last updated 19th October 2012