Good morning

This note highlights an important but often overlooked consequence of the Renters’ Rights Act for council tax liability.  The RRA legislation primarily applies to England.

Background

Currently, Council tax liability is determined by statute under the Local Government Finance Act 1992, not by the terms of a tenancy…

Good morning Background

Website members regularly advise me that DWP refuses their requests for retrospective corrections to UC housing costs where they’ve reported changes in their claimant’s circumstances, on the basis:

Only the claimant can report changes; and Revisions are limited to a maximum of 12 months.

Both propositions are…

Good morning,

Following the Chancellor’s announcement about the abolition of the 2-child element benefit cap, I have been asked when this is likely to be introduced and what impact it’s expected to have on families with more than two dependent children, currently affected by the cap.

The change is scheduled to…

Good morning

The April 2025 Benefits Uprating order will impact your tenants’ personal benefit entitlement and housing costs. While limited in scope, the rises will be welcomed, as many families have struggled to cope with rising prices.

Those of pensionable age will experience a rise of 4.1% to their state…

Hi

My clients at Key Housing provide quality “Supported Housing” to vulnerable tenants throughout Scotland. Most tenants require assistance completing and submitting their Housing Benefits claims to council departments. Overall, the process, honed over many years, works well, because Key’s staff have developed effective working partnerships with the various benefit…

Good morning

The Autumn Budget, delivered by Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, was disappointing for many benefit claimants, particularly those under pensionable age (66), with the news of April 2025 increases being pegged at just 1.7% for benefits like Universal Credit, PIP, ESA, and Child Benefit.

Pensioners fared better with both State…

Good morning

Last week’s bulletin created a bit of a stir and prompted landlord clients to ask:

Why can’t a tenant report a change, like the annual rent charge, either in advance of the change or, at least, within the Benefits Assessment Period (BAP), in which the change occurs;…

Good morning

We are fast approaching April when several changes occur, which will impact on your tenants’ personal benefit entitlement and housing costs. The rises will be warmly welcomed, as many of the families have been struggling to make ends meet, especially considering higher living costs, and energy bills, which…

Good morning

I’m delighted to advise you of our latest course, which we hope to deliver both in Glasgow and Edinburgh (click link for details) on 21st February and 6th March respectively.

The course, like most we run, focuses on Universal Credit from both tenant & landlord perspective.…

Good morning

In an earlier bulletin, I highlighted the worrying practices of DWP’s recently created “Risk Review Team” (RRT). The team, reported to have 1400 staff, is currently sifting through awards made during COVID, when normal validation measures were suspended, and DWP’s flawed policy of “trust & protect” was…