I Must Have The Kindest Landlady In The Country

[chrissa1]

Further to my question about Housing Benefit last week. Having explained my predicament to the owner of my property, she has agreed to reduce my rent by £100 per month.
Isn't she kind? I've done my sums and now know that I can afford to stay here.
I'm so relieved.

[chrissa1]

I'm going down to the Benefits Office tomorrow as I have never received written notification of the percentage of the LHA I am allowed. I'll mention it.

When I applied for HB, the only factor that was asked about, was the money that was coming into my account each month. I provided all my bank statements, all the information about my Private Pension and the fact that my daughter lived with me. I've been totally up front from the word go and have not and Will not defraud the government.

[bednobs]

did you ever find out why you weren't recieving the full amount?

[sue11]

I agree that a good tenant is worth a rent reduction over the hassle of a possible empty property until it is let again and the chance that the new tenants may not pay on time or keep the property in good order. But also while I agree that you have a lovely landlady, you must be also a lovely tenant that your landlady considers is worth keeping!
Regarding you needing to advise on a change in rental payments, yes you do really need to as you are possibly committing fraud by non disclosure. There is a small chance that you will get found out. If your landlady completes a tax return she will declare the reduced annual income as it will reduce her tax bill. In all probability, the authorities will not put two and two together, but this is one way that potentially you could get found out. If it is discovered that you owe money, they can go back as far as 6 years (I believe) and make you pay back the difference plus interest.
If the money that you could lose is only for a few quid or so each month, it is probably worth the peace of mind to come clean.
Anyway off my soapbox and end of lecture, glad you have got your rent reduced!

[ladybirder]

I wasn't suggesting you hadn't been up front at all. I was just surprised that you weren't concerned that you might be falling foul of certain HB rules and get yourself into trouble that's all.
And chrissa, are you saying they don't even ask what rent people are paying or have I misunderstood?

[cazzz1975]

nice to hear chrissa, I dont expect your change in circumstances will affect your benefit, make sure you update them though.

[bednobs]

if HB is giving you a percentage of the rent, you surely wont be much better off because the amount they give you will also decrease

[cazzz1975]

the new system is a standard rate based on the amount of people living in the property, it has nothing to do with a percentage, if you choose to rent a more expensive property you have to stump up the difference yourself

[cazzz1975]

http://www.direct.gov...l1/Newsroom/DG_192415

[sherrardk]

The way I understand it is that the local authority will pay up to a certain amount of rent for a 1 bed property, 2 bed, etc. If Chrissa is only eligible for the maximum for a 1 bed (or 2 bed) in her area and the actual rent is more, then she will still receive the amount that she was entitled to before her landlady kindly reduced her actual rate. (Until recently, if you managed to rent a propty below the maximum amount allowed you were actually given up to £15 a week 'cash'.)

[chrissa1]

Cazz and sherrardk, that is my reading of the system too.
Ladybird - at no time have I ever been asked what rent I'm paying. I've only ever been asked to prove that I need a two bedroom house for my daughter and I.
Bednobs - I'm going to ask that question tomorrow and request a written breakdown. I think I'm entitled to it but hae never received one.

[ladybirder]

The whole thing looks a nightmare. They must make it as complicated as they can so peeps can't understand it. If you get the written statement chrissa I hope you can make a head or tail of it.

[sherrardk]

Hi Ladybirder - the whole system is a complete nightmare. If you fnd yourself in this situation you are already about as low as you can get and then you are faced with one hurdle after another. There are no housing association houses to get. To get a private rent you need a good credit history. How any one manages to swindle the system is a complete mystery to me - if you don't know what to claim for you can't get it but no one will tell you what you are entitled to.

[anneasquith]

chrissa, i hope you get it all worked out, you both deserve good news.

[chrissa1]

Thanks ladybirder, I'll see what tomorrow brings. I don't know if you know about my situation. Losing my husband who was the only breadwinner and becoming a pensioner at the same time hasn't been easy.

We Had life insurances during our 35 years of marriage but had to let these lapse when the business hit troubles. When money becomes tight, they are the first things to go. If we could only see into the future.

[pussnboots]

chrissa1, please just talk to you local HB office and tell them the situation. You posted a very innocent Q and you now have the glass half empty lot telling you how you may be in trouble. Thing is that I'll bet that most of your AB advisors are very clued up on benefits coz they claim them themselves.

[joko]

pussnboots...what a childish and ignorant answer.

people are just warning chrissa that she may get into trouble if she doesnt inform them...

the fact that you seem to have viewed the responses as though its just people having a go and trying to be mean, shows that, in fact, it is you who views things as 'glass half empty' and you clearly have a chip on your shoulder...

[JonnyBoy12]

Yes, that is very kind of her. You will have to not trash the place on leaving as seems to be a common trend among the young these days.

Good on her and pass on our praise to her.

[chrissa1]

Young jonny????? I wish. I'm 60. Lol.

[JonnyBoy12]

Well, isn't 60 young then? You are as old as you feel. If you lived in Middle Earth in The Lord of the Rings then you would be just an adolescent at that age. Well, I wish you all the best for the future.

[chrissa1]

Thanks for that jonny.