housing benefit for license fee?

[squarelips]

Hi everyone- i wonder if you can help me. i was told that it would be possible to claim my licence fee on housing benefit as it is the cost of my housing. has anyone ever heard of this being succesful? and does anyone know of any solid cases where this has worked?

if anyone has any info that'd be great! x

thank you

[Grace and Favour]

Search function on CWDF

[arpeeuk]

Yes I personally know someone that has successfully claimed housing benefit.

 

He's had two claims in different parts of the country. In the first he managed to claim licence fee, 3rd party insurance and boat safety, at the time he did NOT have a permanent mooring.

 

In the second he gets licence, mooring, 3rd party insurance and boat safety. As he has a kid aboard he also got social services to spend £5k fixing various bit on the boat, new cooker, new shower, replacement water tank were the key things.

 

Key thing is , never give up, if your claim is rejected appeal, if your appeal is rejected submit a new claim, make sure they give up before you do!

 

Rik

[nicknorman]

Yes I personally know someone that has successfully claimed housing benefit.

He's had two claims in different parts of the country. In the first he managed to claim licence fee, 3rd party insurance and boat safety, at the time he did NOT have a permanent mooring.

In the second he gets licence, mooring, 3rd party insurance and boat safety. As he has a kid aboard he also got social services to spend £5k fixing various bit on the boat, new cooker, new shower, replacement water tank were the key things.

Key thing is , never give up, if your claim is rejected appeal, if your appeal is rejected submit a new claim, make sure they give up before you do!

Rik

Or maybe get a job so I don't have to pay for it?

[The Pipe]

Or maybe get a job so I don't have to pay for it?

Spot on, Nick.

[Boat&Bikes]

Get two kids and then you will probably get your boat repainted as well as sorted inside.

 

Ian.

[nicknorman]

Spot on, Nick.

If I had been quicker, I would have said "Was he moored on the Soho loop in Birmingham?"

 

But before I get a bollocking, of course there MAY be a good reason why he can't get a job.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Like, he finds it difficult to get out of bed in the morning....Doh, now I've gone and spoilt it again!!!

[nigel carton]

Squarelips please excuse the resident dickheads on here, they of course know your personnel circumstances ;-)

[Boat&Bikes]

Squarelips please excuse the resident dickheads on here, they of course know your personnel circumstances ;-)

You can help Nigel he needs a free BSS.

[ackdaw]

well if your self employed and pay two lots of stamp , which i did , you carnt get state aid , although they will give your wife and kids a allowence for food , you dont get included , fortunatly i was able to get 2 days work every week , so my " claim was invalid " when i turned up to report no work over several weeks , as they say were theirs a will theirs a way , different strokes for differnt blokes , but i did get a bloke asking me if i wanted to buy a new matress as he had just got one for free off them .

as you say though their are genuine casers who need the support .

[nigel carton]

You can help Nigel he needs a free BSS.

If I can help and squarelips is in my area, I will.

[Graham Davis]

well if your self employed and pay two lots of stamp , which i did , you carnt get state aid , although they will give your wife and kids a allowence for food , you dont get included , fortunatly i was able to get 2 days work every week , so my " claim was invalid " when i turned up to report no work over several weeks , as they say were theirs a will theirs a way , different strokes for differnt blokes , but i did get a bloke asking me if i wanted to buy a new matress as he had just got one for free off them .

as you say though their are genuine casers who need the support .

 

The Self Employed haven't bought a stamp for more than 10 years!!

They pay by Direct Debit only!!

They pay Class 2 and Class 4 contibutions, the second of which is based on profits over a certain figure.

Class 2 contributions have NEVER counted towards Unemployment benefits.

Edited January 9, 2014 by Graham Davis

[Boat&Bikes]

If I can help and squarelips is in my area, I will.

Thats a very kind offer i hope he takes you up on it. Well done

[nicknorman]

Squarelips please excuse the resident dickheads on here, they of course know your personnel circumstances ;-)

I know, you're right, but the way it read was all about take take take with no mention of why (post #3, not the OP). It was that Channel 4 programme wot dun it.

 

My sister can only walk a few steps on crutches, any further it's a wheelchair, her hands and lower arms have no muscles so she can barely hold a pen, but she manages to hold down a full time self-employed job. Some folk (not saying it's anyone on this thread) give up too easily.

Edited January 9, 2014 by nicknorman

[Phil Ambrose]

I think it all boils down to "can I claim HB for my home" simple as that and if the home in question floats,so what?

There are many reasons why someone may seek State help, it is not up to us to pass judgment, I'm not sure about this but I think the vast majority of claiments are legit and not just Dole Bludgers.

It is all too easy to say "oh they claim benefits so must be workshy" when in fact they may be sick, out of work by no fault of their own, on Zero Hours contract etc etc.

Phil

[nicknorman]

It is all too easy to say "oh they claim benefits so must be workshy" when in fact they may be sick, out of work by no fault of their own, on Zero Hours contract etc etc.

Phil

Yes, they may well be. As I said, it was the tone of post #3 that riled.

[ackdaw]

 

The Self Employed haven't bought a stamp for more than 10 years!!

They pay by Direct Debit only!!

They pay Class 2 and Class 4 contibutions, the second of which is based on profits over a certain figure.

Class 2 contributions have NEVER counted towards Unemployment benefits.

yes well i havent as such made a claim for many years and went on the books , but you pay your tax and hhs etc even self employed or 715 etc , but you paid taxers same as every one , was for some reason left out of the claim support ? is the point i was making , as for the ins and outs of the present system ive not requested thats not the point of the post i made , im sure i could get a benifitt advisor if i wished to put in a claim , i dont, but the imformation was correct at the time it applied to me , but thanks for the heads up on whats relivant today

humm i take its thats using multi quote ? neat thats quite usefull , must try that ? can u multi multi quote ?

Edited January 9, 2014 by ackdaw

[bigste]

I am amazed at some of the replies. The OP asked a simple question but got some two fingered answers from people who don't know anything about his situation. You should be ashamed to put answers like that on here. You live in a democratic country with a welfare system for those that need it so if you don't like it you are free to move within the EU. Admitted there are abusers but you don't know if that is the case here.

Rant over.

[Woodstock]

My Sister in Law works in the housing benefit section for Derbyshire and she has a number of claimants who live on narrowboats- they are marina based- I don't know if the marina bit is a requirement or co-incidence though- I think they consider licence and mooring costs

[Lady Muck]

I am amazed at some of the replies. The OP asked a simple question but got some two fingered answers from people who don't know anything about his situation. You should be ashamed to put answers like that on here. You live in a democratic country with a welfare system for those that need it so if you don't like it you are free to move within the EU. Admitted there are abusers but you don't know if that is the case here.

Rant over.

Agreed. Can we all stay on topic rather than attempting to judge the situation of someone we know nothing about?

[Pykebird]

The main thing as mentioned is not to give up. I think people in the job centre are getting used to guys living on boats. When I first signed on years ago, it caused a huge problem, but when I went with a friend to help her last year, they seemed to be much more helpful. She did have to speak to and fill tons of forms out in the council housing department and get a letter from where she moored to prove she was paying x amount for mooring, She could have also been paid for her licence, and council tax if she wished.

Not an ideal situation, but sometimes we could all do with a helping hand.

[NB Alnwick]

Now that the waterways are operated by a charity, there are plenty of opportunities for those without full time employment to volunteer and help to keep our environment clean and well maintained. Although some of the responses to the OP may seem a bit harsh ('get a job' etc.) I have some sympathy with that stance. Living on a boat and keeping up with all the necessary maintenance is, in itself, very hard work and also potentially very expensive - especially if you are holding down a full time job at the same time.

 

I know little about the State Benefit system and have never needed to use it but I do believe it is a good thing if it is applied fairly to relieve real hardship. Unfortunately, all to often these days we hear stories of people receiving state handouts to subsidise their personal lifestyle choices and that cannot be fair.

[hilary barr]

Depending on the local council. But yes to both in Wiltshire.

[alan_fincher]

I despair of many of you lot sometimes, although I do realise that when Nick thows in one of those prattish comments it is little more than "light blue touch paper" to see how many others he can set off.

 

The question was an entirely reasonable one about access to benefits to which someone might be entitled. There is no requirement for anyone asking the question to publicly lay out their circumstances, and it is up to those whos job it its to process benefit claims to decide if it is payable or not.

 

It is not up to us. If you don't like the system, get involved in politics and try and change it, but please don't vilify someone you know nothing about for enquiring about something that .they may be legally entitled to.

 

I would suggest to OP that they talk to waterways chaplains if they can find one, as lots have experiencein this area. Or the Association of Continuous Cruisers.

Edited January 9, 2014 by alan_fincher

[Willber G]

Now that the waterways are operated by a charity, there are plenty of opportunities for those without full time employment to volunteer and help to keep our environment clean and well maintained. Although some of the responses to the OP may seem a bit harsh ('get a job' etc.) I have some sympathy with that stance. Living on a boat and keeping up with all the necessary maintenance is, in itself, very hard work and also potentially very expensive - especially if you are holding down a full time job at the same time.

 

I know little about the State Benefit system and have never needed to use it but I do believe it is a good thing if it is applied fairly to relieve real hardship. Unfortunately, all to often these days we hear stories of people receiving state handouts to subsidise their personal lifestyle choices and that cannot be fair.

 

We hear lots of stories in the tabloid media but that doesn't make them a true reflection of what is going on in general, the gutter press have always liked to stir things up. Anyway, I don't think it is appropriate to make personal implications in response to a genuine query on a boating forum.