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UC migration - housing payments
- Susan
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6 days 8 hours ago #307517 by Susan
UC migration - housing payments was created by Susan
Hi, I've been helping my autistic friend with his migration from ESA to UC using the helpful guide on here, but now a bit stuck on housing payments.
We requested an Alternative Payment Arrangement as he can't budget and this was accepted. Whilst on housing benefit, his HB goes into his council rent account on a Monday, and the rent comes out the same day, leaving a balance of £0 each week. His two run-on payments are/were 14th July and 21st July, then housing benefit stops.
UC will pay the full rent on the 14th August in arrears, along with his first UC payment. The rent will be paid direct to his landlord (council).
So, there are 3 weekly rent payments required after housing benefit stops and before UC starts. These are on the 28th, 4th and 11th. As rent has to be paid in advance, we can't ask the council to wait for the UC payment, as he will then be in arrears for 3 weeks. My understanding is that he needs to get an advance and pay this directly?
If he was having his UC rent component paid directly to himself, he would effectively be reimbursed for these manual payments on the 14th, then would have to pay his rent in advance over the next month, then receive reimbursement, etc etc. However, as the rent is going to be paid directly to the council, he will just be in credit on his rent account. I guess when the tenancy finally ends in however many years from now, that credit amount will be reimbursed to him, but in the meantime, he will have to pay off the advanced rental amount out of his UC payments.
Is there any way around this? I don't think I can persuade the council to change to accept payment in arrears, so I guess we need the advance?
We requested an Alternative Payment Arrangement as he can't budget and this was accepted. Whilst on housing benefit, his HB goes into his council rent account on a Monday, and the rent comes out the same day, leaving a balance of £0 each week. His two run-on payments are/were 14th July and 21st July, then housing benefit stops.
UC will pay the full rent on the 14th August in arrears, along with his first UC payment. The rent will be paid direct to his landlord (council).
So, there are 3 weekly rent payments required after housing benefit stops and before UC starts. These are on the 28th, 4th and 11th. As rent has to be paid in advance, we can't ask the council to wait for the UC payment, as he will then be in arrears for 3 weeks. My understanding is that he needs to get an advance and pay this directly?
If he was having his UC rent component paid directly to himself, he would effectively be reimbursed for these manual payments on the 14th, then would have to pay his rent in advance over the next month, then receive reimbursement, etc etc. However, as the rent is going to be paid directly to the council, he will just be in credit on his rent account. I guess when the tenancy finally ends in however many years from now, that credit amount will be reimbursed to him, but in the meantime, he will have to pay off the advanced rental amount out of his UC payments.
Is there any way around this? I don't think I can persuade the council to change to accept payment in arrears, so I guess we need the advance?
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- latetrain
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6 days 1 hour ago #307557 by latetrain
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
Replied by latetrain on topic UC migration - housing payments
Hi Susan
Welcome to the forum.
You might want to have a look at the following FAQ which explains where everything is; www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/guides-for-claimants/faq/forum.
Your question is outside the remit of the forum but I will try and answer it.
Claimants claiming UC can get a Housing Element paid in with their UC Applicable amount, the onus is on the claimant to pay their rent.
Some claimants come under tier one which means that their Housing Element is paid direct to their landlord, this is known as an "alternate payment arrangement" (APA) if a claimant has rent arrears their landlord can apply for direct deduction.
Social land lords have for many years been asking their tenants to go one month in advance because of this scenario .
As long as your autistic friend makes small regular payments, over time they will go one month in advance.
If your friend has arrears on their rent account, they need to make an arrangement to clear the arrears overtime
Gary
Welcome to the forum.
You might want to have a look at the following FAQ which explains where everything is; www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/guides-for-claimants/faq/forum.
Your question is outside the remit of the forum but I will try and answer it.
Claimants claiming UC can get a Housing Element paid in with their UC Applicable amount, the onus is on the claimant to pay their rent.
Some claimants come under tier one which means that their Housing Element is paid direct to their landlord, this is known as an "alternate payment arrangement" (APA) if a claimant has rent arrears their landlord can apply for direct deduction.
Social land lords have for many years been asking their tenants to go one month in advance because of this scenario .
As long as your autistic friend makes small regular payments, over time they will go one month in advance.
If your friend has arrears on their rent account, they need to make an arrangement to clear the arrears overtime
Gary
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
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