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Housing Element on two homes - complications

CHC
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Welfare rights team - St Mungo's Broadway

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Total Posts: 169

Joined: 22 June 2010

I have been asked for advice on claiming Housing Element on two homes. The client is currently receiving UC including the housing element for her local authority accommodation in a full service area. She however has recently become a victim of violence and this week moved into a refuge in another borough.  The refuge is considered supported accommodation and the rent is very high, residents normally receive housing benefit as it is specified accommodation.  As she is intending to return to normal home she is not giving up the LA tenancy therefore she needs to claim on both properties, however I am struggling to work out how this works with her two different types of accommodation one for which she can only get UC and one for which she should normally get HB?  Any ideas?

HB Anorak
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Benefits consultant/trainer - hbanorak.co.uk, East London

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She claims HB for the refuge and is entitled to full HB: UC acts as a passport to max HB.  Also, as she has become liable for payments on the refuge wile already receiving UC she has a month to claim HB and it will automatically be paid from the date she moved in.

That’s the theory ...

Barbara Knight
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Leorn Welfare Rights Training Services, Derby

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Joined: 8 April 2011

Won’t payment for both properties almost always trigger the Benefit Cap?

HB Anorak
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Benefits consultant/trainer - hbanorak.co.uk, East London

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No, because HB for supported accommodation doesn’t count towards the cap (even if it did, a bit more is better than nothing).  So if she isn’t already capped, claiming HB won’t change that; and if she is already capped claiming HB won’t make it any worse than it is now.

Barbara Knight
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Leorn Welfare Rights Training Services, Derby

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Total Posts: 78

Joined: 8 April 2011

Thank you for that clarification, I’d completely forgot about that, deep sigh - getting harder to remember everything!