Table of Housing Benefit cuts from Nov 2016

Yes Robert, this is a serious problem which we should all be aware of. Thank you for highlighting it. Remember that the benefit cap does not apply to HB tenants who are in receipt of Working Tax Credit - i.e., where they are working 16 hours a week or more and are on a low income. I do not believe these rules are changing, but I am not a benefits expert. Thankfully I know some truly amazing benefit experts! If your tenant is going to be hit by the benefit cap it sounds like now is the time strongly to encourage them to get a part time job if they can.

Thank you for your article Robert. How can I email you (new to this and don't know how to see your contact details..)

Yes, it's disgraceful, there's some links here:

https://speye.wordpress.com/2016/08/17/the-overall-benefit-cap-a-means-test-for-social-housing-and-child-abuse/

Here is a letter I had to send to about 15 of mine who would have & will be affected. If I am wrong in the letter, feel free to correct me anyone, but please use the letter for your own tenants, it has worked with the majority of mine:

To all tenants with more than 3 kids. And to those with 2 kids, that are thinking of having a 3rd kid.

Please read, very important for you to keep your home.

I am giving notice to all those that have 3 or more children. Please read this letter. You will soon suffer quite large benefit cuts.
The Government are expecting you to pay the shortfall for Housing Benefit out your own pocket.
If you have no problems paying your rent, you have nothing to worry about.

The Government is bringing in more welfare cuts, this Autumn 2016, that could mean September, October, November etc.
They are giving you a benefit cap of maximum £384pw. They did this 2 years ago to families with 4 kids or more, cap was £500. I & many landlords had to evict these bigger families, as they didn’t take it in & couldn’t understand it & didn’t want to pay-Some of these families are still homeless now, as Landlords don’t want to take on families on the benefit cap.
The big shock now is, the lower £384 cap, which will affect families with 3 or more children.
Put simply, if you have 3 kids, your maximum housing benefit they will pay is about £92pw, leaving you to pay roughly £35pw out your own pocket.

They are effectively taking money out your pocket if you are not working, They want you to work. If you are single & work 16 hours or more, they won’t punish you with the cap.
If you are a couple, one of you needs to work 30 hours or more.
If you don’t want to work for someone, you could maybe start gardening self employed, or doing nails etc. As long as you doing the minimum hours & can prove some books to say you are earning.

Here is the figures if you have 3 children:

Income support £146 fortnight £73pw. Couples, I believe you get more than this.
Child Tax credit 3 kids £171pw
Child Benefit £48pw.
Total £292 income you have without Housing Benefit.
£384 allowed say the Government.
Leaves £92 they will give you for your rent.

People with 2 children, you have to seriously think about having any more, unless you are confident you can afford the extra £35pw or so rent now.

Nothing to do with me whatsoever, so please don’t shoot the messenger, although it is your Housing Benefit which helps to pay your rent, which is affected first.

If you want to stay in your current home, all you got to do is pay your rent due, it’s as simple as that.

If you have 4 kids, assume you will get no Housing Benefit at all.
You will have the same in your next house & your next house.
It is not your houses problem, it is not your Landlords problem.
It is the Govt that has bought it in to tempt or force people to get jobs & stop having kids & relying on the state to pay them more money, the more kids they have.

If you or any of your kids get DLA, they won’t invoke the cap on you.
The supported part of ESA, I think they leave u alone as far as the cap is concerned.

On the attached page, is some notes I have in my phone if you want them texting, as they have some weblinks about the cap, you may wish to access direct from your phone.
This is going to be quite big news affecting a lot of families.
Not many heard about the last cap, as it only affected 4 kids or more families.

Please ring me & tell me what your plans are to keep paying the rent should you wish to stay.
But please remember, you will have the same problem wherever you go, if you do move, or we do have to evict,

Yours sincerely,

Mick Roberts

For Advance Properties

Reply to the comment left by "Ana Martinez-Fernandez" at "12/09/2016 - 12:30":

Hi Ana

My e-mail is robert.mellors@hotmail.co.uk

Reply to the comment left by "Mick Roberts" at "12/09/2016 - 12:55":

Hi Mick

Thank you for adding a link, but the link that shows the table is:
https://speye.wordpress.com/2016/08/30/urgent-tenants-beware-landlord-dirty-tricks-with-benefit-cap/
but this is in the middle of a long article mainly slagging off housing associations and private landlords, so I've taken out the table and now have it saved as a word document I can send to people upon request. I would attach it here if I knew how to do that.

Thank you for your sample letter, it does demonstrate to tenants that this is something that is likely to affect them, and it also usefully gives them advice about some actions they can take to avoid the benefit cap, so hopefully it will give other landlords some ideas about what they need to be advising their tenants.

Reply to the comment left by "Charles King - Barrister-At-Law" at "12/09/2016 - 12:29":

Hi Charles

You are right about those entitled to Working Tax Credit being exempt from the benefit cap, however, in order to get WTC you need to be working sufficient hours, and the number of hours needed depends on your circumstances, e.g. single, couple, single parent, disabled, etc, etc, so it is not quite as straightforward as having to work 16 hours. However, the work can be a combination of employment and self-employment, so there is often scope for topping up employed hours if he tenant is willing and able to work.

From - https://www.gov.uk/benefit-cap/benefit-cap-amounts

Caps from autumn 2016
From autumn 2016 the cap will depend on where you live in the UK.

Outside Greater London

If you live outside a Greater London borough, the cap will be:

£384.62 per week (£20,000 a year) if you’re in a couple, whether your children live with you or not
£384.62 per week (£20,000 a year) if you’re single and your children live with you
£257.69 per week (£13,400 a year) if you’re single and you don’t have children, or your children don’t live with you
Inside Greater London

If you live in a Greater London borough, the cap will be:

£442.31 per week (£23,000 a year) if you’re in a couple, whether your children live with you or not
£442.31 per week (£23,000 a year) if you’re single and your children live with you
£296.35 per week (£15,410 a year) if you’re single and you don’t have children, or your children don’t live with you

For a single person living outside London this amounts to approximately minimum wage for a single person age 21-24. The cap may well be tough on some (and thus on some landlords) and may well people to fall into rent arrears and eventually be evicted, but I for one support it as I do not see why someone out of work should earn more than someone who is working.

Reply to the comment left by "Simon Bentley" at "12/09/2016 - 13:54":

Hi Simon

Thank you for the Benefit Cap amounts, but these do not tell tenants or landlords what the effect on Housing Benefit will be, so you need to see the table of maximum HB entitlements to know what effect this will have on tenants' ability to pay their rent.

It also needs to be borne in mind that working people may get welfare benefits, IN ADDITION TO, their salary, so it is misleading propaganda to say that unemployed people get more money than working people.

It will also cost the taxpayers far more to deal with the homelessness caused by the Benefit Cap, so it is false economy.

hi, do you know where I can find a table for the North East please, I could'nt click the drop down facility on your table ? Thanks

Reply to the comment left by "Julie Dawson" at "12/09/2016 - 18:38":

https://speye.wordpress.com/2016/08/30/urgent-tenants-beware-landlord-dirty-tricks-with-benefit-cap/

The table six inches down from the start of text.