direct payment request

[lavy]

Hi I have a tenant on housing benefit who paid half of there rent that was due in October and , then no payment in November . When is the earliest I can apply for direct payments?. Do I have to wait and see if they pay when December payment is due which will then be two and half months rent in arrears or can this be done any earlier

[theartfullodger]

Think it depends on local council (Assuming HB not HC of UC) but usually 8 weeks. See what they say.

But you can serve s8 for arrears any time (eg today, just costs a stamp): An s8g10 may be validly served if only 1p is underpaid only 1 day. And explain "intentionally homeless" to tenant, verbally only....
https://england.shelter.org.uk/housi...nally_homeless

[nukecad]

As Artful says,

You need to be clear if this is Housing Benefit from the Council or UC Housing Element from the DWP.

The direct payment rules and application process are different for each; and there is not much point in wasting your time applying to the wrong one.

[lavy]

Hi Thanks for your replys . The tenant in question I beleive has only recently gone onto benefits . as was working full time a few months ago so as its a recent claim I presume they would be on universal credit please correct me if i could be wrong . ( please confirm if housing benefit claims have all ended for new applications and any new claims are now under universal credit system from what date ) Thanks for any confirmations on this or where to find out

[theartfullodger]

You politely and calmly ask the tenant: We don;t know his circumstances..
https://www.gov.uk/housing-benefit

[jpkeates]

If the tenant has only recently started receiving benefits, I'd assume they're on Universal Credit and apply there.

You should note that if the DWP decide that the tenant has become ineligible for the housing element of their benefits retrospectively, you will be required to return the money they demand.
In many ways, if the tenant isn't passing on the benefit they receive, the relationship has already broken down and you should probably serve notice regardless of receiving some rent from UC.

[nukecad]

It's almost certainly UC Housing Element then and not Housing Benefit.

please confirm if housing benefit claims have all ended for new applications and any new claims are now under universal credit system from what date

Most new claims for an income related benefit have to be for UC now, but there are still exceptions.

There are special circumstances where a new claim for Housing Benefit must still be claimed from the council instead of claiming UC.
Those are: In receipt of the Severe Disability Premium with an existing IR benefit, in emergency accomodation provided by the council, or in 'specified' accommodation (that's usually accommodation with care provided).
In particular those with SDP are prevented by law from claiming UC at all, so can still make new claims for legacy benefits instead.

But as your tenant was working full time until recently then none of those should apply here and it will be UC-HE.

Any Exisiting Housing Benefit awards can continue until changed to UC by Managed Migration, whenever they finally get around to starting that.

TBH I expect people will still be calling it all 'Housing Benefit' for years to come, but at the moment you need to make the distinction between HB and UC-HE so that you know who you should be contacting and which rules apply.

[jpucng62]

And they wonder why we don't want to accept benefits tenants.......

[nukecad]

And they wonder why we don't want to accept benefits tenants.......

I do sympathise, it government policy over UC that has made the current mess of the whole benefits system.

Rather than UC simplifying things they have taken so long to implement it that it's made everything at least five times more complicated than it used to be, and much more prone to errors.

It was all supposed to be done by 2019 but there is still no sight of anybody on IR benefits being migrated to UC, at least another six years is now their latest guess but they haven't even started yet.
Sorry that's not quite true: 13 have been 'Managed Migrated' over 1 year of the pilot scheme in Harrogate.

Whilst it's no doubt annoying for landlords it's bloody terrifying for those such as the disabled who have to rely on the vagries of the current benefits mess; especially those who have mental health issues.
(I give benefis advice on a disability forum and see worried and even desperate people there all the time nowadays; you wouldn't belive some of the stupid things that happen at the DWP. There again you probably would if you've had any dealings with them).

[jpucng62]

you wouldn't belive some of the stupid things that happen at the DWP. There again you probably would if you've had any dealings with them.

I have had dealings with them and I agree entirely with you. Their staff seem under pressure to deny benefits when they are genuine and are unable to apply their own rules. When a case goes to tribunal they rarely send a representative and usually lose the case. Unfortunately many claimants are unable to put together their defence articulately or are intimidated by the process and lose out. And yet on the other hand thousands seem able to hoodwink them into paying benefits out when they are not entitled.

The whole system is a mess and is grossly unfair in many cases. Unfortunately it is impossible for LLs to tell the genuine claimants from the fraudsters, or those who manipulate the system, and the inability of the law to deal with these cases promptly results in a blanket ban by many LLs.

It is really important that as LLs we do not allow those manipulating the system to get away with it and using the court system is often the only way to get these individuals flagged. It is pretty hard to rent from a decent LL with a CCJ for unpaid rent, so we should always pursue non paying tenants even if the hope of getting anything back is small.

[lavy]

Hi, With reference to request for direct payments for rent unpaid for 8 weeks or more , has anyone any experience of this , once the online request for this is sent what is the process?, how long before I should receive a confirmation or reply . (as not had anything back as yet) and how long does the whole process take to get the direct payments paid Many thanks

[lavy]

Hi , How long should i expect to wait for a reply in regard to a request for direct payments on the on DWP on line request form sent over a month ago
thanks

[ash72]

Did you receive an acknowledgement that they received the document? Do you have a reference, I would call them, as like many organisations staff shortages, and the holiday period have caused delays.

[lavy]

Hi I sent in the online application for direct payments and have received nothing at all not even an acknowledgement . This is why I put the post on here to hopefully hear any one else's experience of the system how it works and how long it takes etc

[theartfullodger]

And they wonder why we don't want to accept benefits tenants.......

So me, in receipt of 6 benefits (old) you'd say reject?

Best wishes to all.