Good morning

Since UC was introduced, one of the biggest sources of frustration of social landlords’ staff is, DWP’s unwillingness to converse freely about tenants’ claims by phone, e-mail, or letter. In contrast, SRS staff, plus landlords in the private sector, enjoy a mutually beneficial relationship with Council HB teams,…

Good morning

Mick Roberts is a Nottingham based landlord, heavily invested in providing accommodation to benefit dependant tenants. Prior to the introduction of Universal Credit, he had become accustomed to dealing with 5 local councils. Within the council Housing Benefit sections he could email or phone named contacts and expect…

Good morning

Between the 16th March and end of April 2020, DWP processed:

a) Around 1.8 million claims for Universal Credit;

b) 700,000 claims for advance payments;

the vast majority of which were dealt with and paid within the usual 5 week period or, in the case of advances, within…

Good Afternoon

Neil Couling, DWP’s most senior director, announced yesterday, the launch of the online Alternative Payment Arrangement (APA) scheme, the link to which can be found here

As I’ve mentioned before, the online system was being tested by a number of my PRS clients, in various parts of…

Good afternoon

Perhaps unsurprisingly, two of the most common questions I’m asked by PRS landlords and agents are:

How can I secure the “housing costs element” (HCE) of Universal Credit direct to me; and Does the tenant have to provide their consent before DWP will act on my request?

To…

Good evening

As you may already know, DWP has effectively suspended Third Party Deductions, including amounts for rent arrears, service charges, fuel debts etc. for 1 month, running from 10th April to 10th May, at which point, they should automatically resume, without any effort on the part of tenants or landlords.

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Good afternoon 

I recently represented a Housing Cooperative in a dispute over a £45,000 Housing Benefit Overpayment. The Co-op and its elderly tenants had appealed the Council decision to hold them responsible for the sum, to a First-tier Tribunal. A hearing was held but had to be adjourned because the Judge…

Good morning

DWP’s Director General, Neil Couling, was reported last week, as stating – “Many confused families will receive less than they had hoped for from Universal Credit, certainly in their first payment” – due to the fact, when calculating Universal Credit most forms of earned income (e.g. wages, statutory…

Good afternoon

The Department of Work & Pensions Minister The Rt Hon Thérèse Coffey MP issued a statement yesterday, after the department, local MPs, MSPs and the media had been inundated with a deluge of complaints from claimants, who had lodged online claims, but then had waited literally…

Hi

I was asked to intervene yesterday, in yet another DWP Overpayment of Universal Credit demand, where DWP had decided to pursue my landlord client, on the basis:

“As the tenant’s landlord, you received the monthly housing costs, on his behalf, and so could reasonably have known of the tenant’s…