Some Housing Benefits Rates In The South

[Tired of Waiting]

Besides not being able to afford to buy, our taxes are also used to put a floor on the rental market.

Please note that he (weekly) rates below are paid for ugly tiny houses in bad areas. Obviously anything better will cost much more.

Edit: I am almost sure these rates are weekly. But I am not 100% sure of it.

Council page: http://www.chichester.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=8163

( Edit 2: We are a couple, renting privately, a 1.5 bedrooms flat, and would like to rent a 2 or 3 bedrooms house, and perhaps start a family. We are both working, tax-payers, on average income. But anything decent around here will cost £850 to £900 / month. If we go for it, we won't save much for a future deposit. )

Local Housing Allowance Rates (weekly)

The following rates are from 1st May 2010. For details of which areas are covered by each Broad Rental Market Area, please see the maps in the related documents.

Broad Rental Market Area: Guildford

Property / Local housing Allowance Rate

1 Bed shared: £85.15

1 Bed self cont: £172.60

2 Bedrooms: £218.63

3 Bedrooms: £276.16

4 Bedrooms: £379.73

5 Bedrooms: £554.75

Broad Rental Market Area: Portsmouth

Property / Local housing Allowance Rate

1 Bed shared: £71.00

1 Bed self cont.: £115.07

2 Bedrooms: £143.84

3 Bedrooms: £172.60

4 Bedrooms: £230.14

5 Bedrooms: £313.56

Broad Rental Market Area: Chichester and Sussex Downs

Property / Local housing Allowance Rate

1 Bed shared: £70.19

1 Bed self cont.: £132.33

2 Bedrooms: £166.85

3 Bedrooms: £201.37

4 Bedrooms: £276.16

5 Bedrooms: £402.74

Edited May 24, 2010 by Tired of Waiting

[Kilham]

Looked through those figures and thought they didn't seem too excessive, maybe a bit high for the 4/5 allowance but still not too bad. Then read your post and it dropped - they're WEEKLY

So LHA is probably 4x what it should be.

[Kingding]

Looked through those figures and thought they didn't seem too excessive, maybe a bit high for the 4/5 allowance but still not too bad. Then read your post and it dropped - they're WEEKLY

So LHA is probably 4x what it should be.

That's weekly?

Tell me you're joking

[Tired of Waiting]

Looked through those figures and thought they didn't seem too excessive, maybe a bit high for the 4/5 allowance but still not too bad. Then read your post and it dropped - they're WEEKLY

So LHA is probably 4x what it should be.

I am pretty sure they are weekly. The Council has a form online, a "benefits calculator", and all the results there are weekly, including housing benefits. On the table above they don't say if it is weekly or monthly. I almost sure it is weekly, but I am not 100% sure. That's why I included it between parenthesis . "(weekly)". Table at: http://www.chichester.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=8163

But we can confirm it tomorrow.

Chichester District Council

Tel: 01243 785166

Email: contact@chichester.gov.uk

Unfortunately it tallies with the local "market". We went there this morning, to take a look at some houses to let (just from outside, as it is Sunday). And we could not believe how cr@p the houses were, for the prices. £800 and £900 for absurdly small houses, no parking, bad areas, dangerous looking heavy-chav-land.

Arrived back home, and went online to see if these b@stards from the local authority are pumping the market up. And... bingo. The b@@@stards!!! :angry:

PS: I'll try to edit the OP, adding that I am not 100% that is weekly.

[okaycuckoo]

Amazed that people are still amazed at this.

I can tell you that Portsmouth LA sets its rates from figures on the local rental market supplied by ... letting agents!

[Georgia O'Keeffe]

Amazed that people are still amazed at this.

I can tell you that Portsmouth LA sets its rates from figures on the local rental market supplied by ... letting agents!

im Amazed that youre amazed that people are still amazed to be honest

[Stars]

Perhaps i'm misunderstanding the point of the thread. It looks about right to me.

Obviously if you are going to enslave people to this degree, you will need a big 'benefit system' to stop the whole thing sliding into chaos.

[CrashConnoisseur]

Besides not being able to afford to buy, our taxes are also used to put a floor on the rental market.

How so? The Local Housing Allowance rate is reviewed on a monthly basis to reflect changes in rents. It is set at the median rent for that size of property in the Broad Market Rental Area. If a claimant can find a property for less than the LHA they can keep upto £15 of any saving, so they have the same incentive to look for cheaper accommodation as anyone else. In any case, less than a quarter of HB claimants are in the private rented sector - most letting agents and landlords refuse to accept HB tenants (adverts typically say "No DSS"). Some 40% of all HB claimants are pensioners. In the decade prior to the credit crunch the numbers of private sector HB claimants was in decline...

'Thirty per cent fall in private tenants getting Housing Benefit':

http://www.jrf.org.uk/publications/thirty-cent-fall-private-tenants-getting-housing-benefit

Benefit decline

The numbers of households receiving Housing Benefit in the private rented sector continue to decline sharply. They have now fallen in every consecutive quarter since February 1996, following the introduction of the local reference rent limits on eligible rents. In February 1996 there were 1,155,000 Housing Benefit claimants in the private rented sector. Between May 1996 and May 2000, the numbers of claimants fell 30 per cent, from 1,141,000 to 814,000 (see Figure 1). By August 2000, the number of claimants fell again to just 783,000.

[...snip...]

Over the same period (May 1996 to May 2000) there was also a much smaller 10 per cent fall in the numbers of Housing Benefit claimants in the council and Registered Social Landlords (RSL) sectors, from 3,621,000 to 3,257,000. This is a strong indication that the changes in the Housing Benefit system particular to the private rented sector (i.e. rent limits and payment in arrears) have been the major factor in the decline in the numbers of Housing Benefit claimants able to secure accommodation in that sector.

Please note that he (weekly) rates below are paid for ugly tiny houses in bad areas. Obviously anything better will cost much more.

If an HB claimant is renting a beautiful large house in a good area they get no more money: the LHA is a fixed amount. They either have to make the money up out of other income or move to somewhere less expensive.

The real issue here is the high cost of property both to buy and to rent; the LHA rates are a symptom of that.

[Tired of Waiting]

Amazed that people are still amazed at this.

I can tell you that Portsmouth LA sets its rates from figures on the local rental market supplied by ... letting agents!

Why do we put up with all this?!

I am getting really pi&&ed off with all this.

It is my own tax-money, given to degenerated drunken yobs, that is helping to price me out of the market.

Emigration may be really the only solution in the end.

[ken_ichikawa]

In Hong Kong SOCO states it is $1050 a month - > £95 a month, which is only enough to get people cage houses, question is do you really want to go down this route?

[ken_ichikawa]

Why do we put up with all this?!

I am getting really pi&&ed off with all this.

It is my own tax-money, given to degenerated drunken yobs, that is helping to price me out of the market.

Emigration may be really the only solution in the end.

Government holds all the AK47s and all the NIMBYS don't want shanty towns and therefore support tight planning control laws. Unless you want shanty towns bend over and take it deep and hard.

[Stars]

It is my own tax-money, given to degenerated drunken yobs, that is helping to price me out of the market.

I'm not keen on landlords either. Most of them seem to be missing about 20 IQ points

Edited May 23, 2010 by Stars

[Tired of Waiting]

How so? The Local Housing Allowance rate is reviewed on a monthly basis to reflect changes in rents. It is set at the median rent for that size of property in the Broad Market Rental Area. If a claimant can find a property for less than the LHA they can keep upto £15 of any saving, so they have the same incentive to look for cheaper accommodation as anyone else. In any case, less than a quarter of HB claimants are in the private rented sector - most letting agents and landlords refuse to accept HB tenants (adverts typically say "No DSS"). Some 40% of all HB claimants are pensioners. In the decade prior to the credit crunch the numbers of private sector HB claimants was in decline...

'Thirty per cent fall in private tenants getting Housing Benefit':

http://www.jrf.org.uk/publications/thirty-cent-fall-private-tenants-getting-housing-benefit

If an HB claimant is renting a beautiful large house in a good area they get no more money: the LHA is a fixed amount. They either have to make the money up out of other income or move to somewhere less expensive.

The real issue here is the high cost of property both to buy and to rent; the LHA rates are a symptom of that.

Your linked news is dated: 12 September 2000. It is 10 years old.

We were in Chichester this morning. £800/month there gets you a small house, in a bad area. And between Chichester and Arundel prices are in general at this same level.

And why housing benefit should be set at the "median rent for that size of property in the Broad Market Rental Area"? It should be below median. It should provide basic shelter, only.

[erranta]

Besides not being able to afford to buy, our taxes are also used to put a floor on the rental market.

Please note that he (weekly) rates below are paid for ugly tiny houses in bad areas. Obviously anything better will cost much more.

Edit: I am almost sure these rates are weekly. But I am not 100% sure of it.

Council page: http://www.chicheste...?articleid=8163

You are an obfuscating, bullshitter regarding your "our taxes are also used to put a floor on the rental market!"

I spent two minutes on the 'Shelter' website and it clearly says:

private rents/'Local Standard Rents' are assessed up/down yearly by senior local housing bods according to the "average private rental" in each area!

According to them private rentals, are totally seperate entity to council run house/rent!

http://england.shelter.org.uk/

Whether they are fixing this amount in every council in the UK remains for you to prove!

Edited May 23, 2010 by erranta

[Tired of Waiting]

Government holds all the AK47s and all the NIMBYS don't want shanty towns and therefore support tight planning control laws. Unless you want shanty towns bend over and take it deep and hard.

"Shanty towns"?! Like the 1920s suburbs? With all those semi-detached that fetch now half a million pounds?

We have plenty of empty land here in West Sussex. I could have a 3-4 bed detached house built for £80k - £100k, if the b@stards NIMBYs and local authorities would just allow us.

[Tired of Waiting]

In Hong Kong SOCO states it is $1050 a month - > £95 a month, which is only enough to get people cage houses, question is do you really want to go down this route?

TBH, I am really tempted to say yes.

But we don't even have to go that low. Between £800/month and £90/month there is a lot of sensible middle ground.

[ken_ichikawa]

"Shanty towns"?! Like the 1920s suburbs? With all those semi-detached that fetch now half a million pounds?

We have plenty of empty land here in West Sussex. I could have a 3-4 bed detached house built for £80k - £100k, if the b@stards NIMBYs and local authorities would just allow us.

yeah but the second you got that house you'd become a NIMBY too I bet.

[Tired of Waiting]

You are an obfuscating, bullshitter regarding your "our taxes are also used to put a floor on the rental market!"

I spent two minutes on the 'Shelter' website and it clearly says:

private rents/'Local Standard Rents' are assessed up/down yearly by senior local housing bods according to the "average private rental" in each area!

According to them private rentals, are totally seperate entity to council run house/rent!

http://england.shelter.org.uk/

Whether they are fixing this amount in every council in the UK remains for you to prove!

Housing Benefits are also paid to private landlords, thus competing with private tenants. In other words, Housing Benefits increases the demand side of the rental market, crowding it, and pushing rents up.

Regarding the rest of the country, I am sure you can see your own local authority rates on-line.

[Dorkins]

In Hong Kong SOCO states it is $1050 a month - > £95 a month, which is only enough to get people cage houses, question is do you really want to go down this route?

There is some middle ground between £85pw for a room in a shared house and £95pcm for a cage house. £85pw is a lot even for somebody in work. If a worker on £20k and an unemployed housing benefit claimant can afford exactly the same size/quality of housing, what exactly is the point in working?

[Tired of Waiting]

yeah but the second you got that house you'd become a NIMBY too I bet.

I doubt it. I really do.

[Tired of Waiting]

There is some middle ground between £85pw for a room in a shared house and £95pcm for a cage house. £85pw is a lot even for somebody in work. If a worker on £20k and an unemployed housing benefit claimant can afford exactly the same size/quality of housing, what exactly is the point in working?

Exactly! Thank you! Finally some sense!

[matt2222]

The self-employed depending on income and people on low incomes working full-time can also claim housing benefit.

People who buy alcohol also pay tax!!

[ken_ichikawa]

I doubt it. I really do.

You would say that wouldn't you

[Tired of Waiting]

You would say that wouldn't you

I know. But in the past, in other situations, I've been on the "lucky side of life", and it didn't turn me into a b@stard. But you don't have to believe me.

.

Edited May 23, 2010 by Tired of Waiting

[pete.hpc]

You are an obfuscating, bullshitter regarding your "our taxes are also used to put a floor on the rental market!"

What the hell are you talking about?

LHA pays rent for people living in private rented accomodation, and is paid at a rate that is keeping house prices inflated and the rental market too expensive

Think you need to calm down a little bit