Tag Archive for 'housing benefit'

Relying on advice on the LHA

By NL on 06/12/2010. 2 Comments

Ombudsman’s Decision: Complaint against Newham LB [2010] Complaint no 09 003 325 9 November 2010

Hat-tip to the Garden Court bulletin for this one. Miss Thornton (pseudonym) was in temporary accommodation provided by Newham LBC pursuant to the full housing duty. She had been in it for some time. The temporary accommodation was in LB Redbridge, but paid – via housing benefit – for by Newham as TA. Miss T wanted to change the temporary accommodation as the heating in the flat had failed.

Newham told her she could be assisted through its ‘bond scheme’ – a deposit provision scheme that supported a private sector tenancy for a period of … Read the full post

Posted in Assured Shorthold tenancy, Benefits, FLW case note, Homeless and Housing law - All. Tags: , , .

HB and IS: Breaking the link

By Dave on 09/08/2010. 2 Comments

Readers will be aware that, once an assessment of income and capital has been made for income support (IS) purposes so that a claimant is entitled to IS, a housing benefit (HB) authority is generally bound by that decision so that HB should follow automatically.  In GB v Hillingdon LBC [2010] UKUT 11 (AAC) (reported in this month’s Legal Action at 9-10), Judge Wikeley had to consider a factually and legally complex claim made by Hillingdon that it had made an overpayment to GB, the decision of the First Tier Tribunal being manifestly wrong.  Judge Wikeley sent the matter back to the first tier tribunal for a re-hearing with his … Read the full post

Posted in Benefits, FLW case note and Housing law - All. Tags: , , .

Housing Benefit limits

By NL on 28/06/2010. 22 Comments

You’ve probably already seen this, but new upper limits on housing benefit rates are to be introduced from next April (2011).

For a three bed house, the upper limit will be £340 per week
For a four bed house, the upper limit will be £400 per week

LHA will be limited to between £250 and £400 a week depending on property size. LHA rates will be set using the bottom 30 per cent of rates instead of the median and they will be linked to the consumer prices index rather than the retail prices index, leading to smaller increases.

In London, this is likely to have a very significant impact … Read the full post

Posted in Allocation, Benefits, FLW article, Housing law - All and secure-tenancy. Tags: , , .

How to claim Housing Benefit without mentioning it

By NL on 03/12/2009. 3 Comments

Novitskaya v London Borough of Brent & Anor [2009] EWCA Civ 1260

Just a brief note on this appeal from the Social Security Commissioners. At issue was what could constitute a claim for housing benefit, albeit a ‘defective’ claim.

Ms N was granted refugee status on 6 May 2004, having claimed asylum in 1999. She was notified on 12 May 2004. Housing benefit could be backdated to the date of her application for asylum if she made the claim within 28 days of notification – by 9 June 2004. In addition, on 18 May 2004, Ms N became entitled to income support. Where a person is entitled to income support, … Read the full post

Posted in Benefits, FLW case note and Housing law - All. Tags: .

Not on its behalf…

By NL on 06/09/2009. 0 Comments

S, R (on the application of) v A Social Security Commissioner & Ors [2009] EWHC 2221 (Admin)

This was an application for Judicial Review of a decision of the Social Security Commissioner refusing leave to appeal a decision of the Social Security Appeal Tribunal. What was at issue was the calculation of awards of housing benefit, specifically, the decision that the Claimant’s accommodation was not ‘exempt accommodation’ under paragraph 4 of Schedule 3 to the Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit (Consequential Provisions) Regulations 2006 SI No 217. This provides that:

the “eligible rent” used to decide an award of housing benefit will not be decided by the maximum rent

… Read the full post

Posted in assured-tenancy, Benefits, Community care, FLW case note and Housing law - All. Tags: , .

Right to buy and Housing Benefit rebates in the Lords

By NL on 10/06/2009. 0 Comments

The House of Lords opinions in Hanoman (FC) (Respondent) v London Borough of Southwark (Appellants) [2009] UKHL 29 were handed down today. This was Southwark’s appeal of a Court of Appeal judgment we noted here.

Briefly, Mr Hanoman was a Southwark secure tenant. Southwark had failed to serve a counter notice to Mr Hanoman’s s.122 Notice of right to buy, served in 1999. In fact the counter notice wasn’t served until after a High Court hearing in 2004. S.153B Housing Act 1985 (as amended) kicks in where the tenant has served notice of delay, which Mr Hanoman had. The effect is that rent payable after the notice period in … Read the full post

Posted in Benefits, FLW case note, Housing law - All and right-to-buy. Tags: , , , .

Straws in the wind

By chief on 22/05/2009. 2 Comments

Yesiloz v London Borough of Southwark [2009] EWCA Civ 415 was concerned with whether a Turkish asylum seeker was entitled to housing benefit.

Ms Yesiloz arrived in the UK in the late 1990s and claimed asylum.  She moved into premises in Camden and claimed HB on 11 April 2006.  Her claim was rejected on the ground that she did not have a right to reside in the UK.  In January 2007 an Appeal Tribunal held that she was entitled to HB, but the Social Security Commissioner allowed the local authority’s appeal in June 2008.  Ms Yesiloz then appealed to the Court of Appeal.

In February 2008 she was granted exceptional … Read the full post

Posted in Benefits, FLW case note and Housing law - All. Tags: , , , .
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