Hi Everyone

I hope you’re all well and coping with all the chaos around us.

DWP has just announced that it intends to suspend all planned reviews and reassessments of claims for the next three months, mainly to allow its staff to cope with the deluge of claims and…

Questions & Answers

I have a query regarding the current situation with Coronavirus and self-isolation.

We have a tenant who has been advised to self-isolate for 4 weeks but may extend to 12 due to underlying health issues.  He has been, until yesterday, in full time…

Good afternoon

In recent days an increasing number of my SRS client base have asked if I could point them in the direction of any help there may be on Government websites or elsewhere, that could help tenants, that are already or most likely to be affected by the Coronavirus,…

Hi John

Firstly, your approach of trying to help tenants by reassuring them their homes are under no threat and trying to source helpful information is admirable and exactly what I’d expect most responsible landlords to do in this chaotic and worrying time.

Good tenants don’t become bad tenants overnight,…

Good morning

One of my landlord clients started the New Year, with something of a damp squib when they received a £15,000 demand from DWP, for an alleged overpayment of “housing costs” relating to an ex-tenant. The demand provided details of the property, the overpayment period, and, the fact the…

Hi

RLA members may recall an earlier article involving an aunt and niece, where Housing Benefit had been wrongly refused, simply on the basis of their close family relationship. With my help, both eventually secured payment, including a backdated award, but not without a prelonged  period of worry &…

Good morning

For the 7th year in succession, DWP has failed to produce a satisfactory automated solution, to the annual rent uprating exercise, despite its senior managment, promising me, last year, a solution by Easter 2019!

In its guidance, issued to SRS landlords, on 29th January, 2020, DWP insists, that…

Good afternoon

DWP, on 23rd January 2020, issued its latest set of statistics on the extent of Universal Credit’s rollout. In confirms overall number of claims, as at August 2019, amounted to just over 2 million, and helpfully breaks down figures to constituency levels. It also highlights, there still remains 68% of claimants (4.5 million,…

Dear Member,

In a Ministerial statement re LHA – 13.01.2020 , Under Secretary of State for Welfare Delivery (Will Quince, MP) announced that, from April 2020 Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates will be increased in line with the Consumer Price Index, currently 1.5%, bringing an end to the 4…

Good morning

DWP has just released a Stats Update on the progression of Universal Credit’s rollout, UK wide, broken down into political constituencies.

To illustrate its potential usefulness, I’ve selected, as an example, what’s happened, so far, in the Glasgow Central constituency area.

The stats confirm, only 25% of households have transferred, approximately 7…