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A Universal Credit housing costs case raises serious questions about how DWP handles entitlement disputes. When advisers challenge a flawed decision, should they escalate the case to a Decision Maker or divert it into a complaints process that cannot determine entitlement?

A recent Universal Credit housing costs case…

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Our earlier bulletin reported successful Supported Housing Benefit appeals brought on behalf of Choice Housing tenants, after Sheffield City Council suspended and cancelled existing awards and refused new claims. That bulletin attracted more than 1,000 LinkedIn impressions. We have now received Judge Mettam’s full Statement of Reasons,…

Dear Member,

As we enter another busy period, I want to thank all our members for your continued support.

Some organisations have now been members for well over 16 years. During that time, we have worked hard to keep membership affordable and accessible, and many of you have benefited from…

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Another recent case handled by UC Advice & Advocacy shows how a relatively straightforward Universal Credit housing-cost error and delayed payments can turn into months of unnecessary correspondence, substantial rent arrears, and avoidable risk for a vulnerable claimant and his landlord.

The original problem was simple. When Mr…

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Tribunal finds that the support provided was more than minimal and made a real difference

Choice Housing (CH) has secured an important Tribunal outcome for tenants whose Housing Benefit Sheffield City Council suspended or refused. The decision followed a lengthy dispute over CH’s supported exempt accommodation and the…

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A vulnerable Universal Credit claimant has succeeded in a second appeal after the DWP repeated substantially the same error that had already led to an earlier Tribunal ruling in his favour. I agreed to represent him pro bono because he couldn’t secure help in his locality (London) and…

One of the most common Housing Costs disputes we encounter involves DWP questioning rental liability despite a valid tenancy agreement and clear evidence of occupation. Too often, decision makers focus on issues such as deposits, utility bills or previous rent payments rather than the central question:

Is there…

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One of the most common complaints we hear from landlords and claimants is that Universal Credit housing costs go unpaid. Normally, advisers focus on challenging the decision. However, a recent case highlights a more troubling problem: what happens when DWP simply fails to decide at all?

In Mr…

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One of my landlord clients recently asked DWP to correct an error in a tenant’s housing costs. DWP wrongly applied a non-dependant deduction of around £96.55 per calendar month, even though the tenant received the daily living component of PIP and was therefore entitled to have the usual…

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How and when can a tenant report a change of circumstances to DWP?

That’s a question often asked by landlords’ staff, particularly when there’s a rental charge change or a tenancy is being ended. The safest advice is straightforward: a tenant should report a change through their Universal…