Fuming :(

[dollface79]

Before i had my daughter we had to pay a too up of £110 a month towards our rent, now we informed them we had another baby and they have sent a letter saying due to the change in circumstances we have to pay £300 a month top up!!! How is that fare? We can in no way afford that kind of money a month.

We are going to end up evicted, i just know it.

 

[kinkers]

What is a top up? I'm not sure I understand.... how can a change in circumstances mean you have to pay more rent?

 

[mylullaby]

I really don't understand this either. Is there a clause in your contract about family planning or something? I don't even know what a top-up is? Surely you agree to a fixed price per month as part of your rental agreement and any increase is given in writing with sufficient notice? Something sounds very fishy about this...

 

[kinkers]

Yeah I am a Landlord and any increases in rent def has to be given in writing (think it's a month's notice)... check your tenancy agreement. Is it an assured tenancy or a short assured tenancy? And are you private or council?

 

[dollface79]

Sorry i was fuming when i wrote it and didn't explain properly lol

The council pay most of our rent and we pay the rest which is the top up. We had to pay £110 a month before i had my daughter but now the council say we have to pay £300 a month due to the change in our circumstances because i had her! My partner no longer can work and i work 2 days a week, so there is no way we can afford that much without leaving ourselves with literally nothing.

 

[kinkers]

That's awful... surely if the council pay it then they should bring your top up amount down considering you have another mouth to feed! Do they pay it through housing benefit?

 

[dollface79]

Yes its housing benefit, aparently because we get a bit more child benefit for the new baby they put our rent amount up!

 

[kinkers]

Oh my Goodness that is absolutely ridiculous! How can they justify that?!

 

[redbear]

I don't understand that I got more because we went from having the one bedroom amount to the two bedroom amount so got more and our rent stayed the same. Check on the benefits calculator and see what it says you should get then call and query it xx

 

[SarahLouB]

I used to work for a council housing office so I know a little bit about this. Sometimes they will suspend your benefits if there is a change in your circumstances whilst they are waiting for documents from you. Have you shown a copy of the new baby's birth certificate?

I would suggest you make an appointment to see your housing officer or someone in housing benefit.

It certainly doesn't sound right to me.

And don't worry about getting evicted, believe me, it is very difficult to evict a tenant for rent arrears and if you genuinely can't afford to pay your rent they wouldn't even be able to start a case against you without trying to help you first.