Stopped Recieving Housing Benefit

[Mark1960]

Hi-I hope I've found the right forum for my question which is onbehalf of my daughter.I am trying to help her in this matter but it is an area that I know nothing about.

 

My daughter is in receipt of benefits and is a mother of 2 young children.She has recently been a victim of domestic violence & her partener/ex partener is now in custody.

 

During the height of the violence,my daughter was moved into temporary acomodation (a B&B) for 10 days.This has completely messed her housing benefit up and the housing association are now demanding £300 in rent arrears for the 10 days she was absent.

 

Both the council who issue the rent allowance & the housing association are passing the buck,saying it is up to the other to sort it out.

 

Are there any bodies that I can ask to intervene?I am considering asking the Local Government Ombudsman for help regarding the council,I just wondered if there were any support groups out there or governing bodies for the housing associations?

 

Any help will be very much appreciated.

 

Mark

[brassnecked]

I think contacting the CEO of the HA, and elected council member would be a good option, as the problem was not of her making, might be worth a call to CAB and Shelter, as you can argue that she was effectively homelessduring the period the abuser was still at large. I will ask some housing professionals of my aquaintance what their take is, and also what would in their opinion be the best way to address this.

[Mark1960]

Thanks BN for your response here and to my Pm.

 

I shall be making telephone calls along the lines that you suggest on Monday morning and intend to follow this up in writing.

[caro]

Is your daughter getting any kind of support due to the abuse she's been subjected to, or a social worker? If so, they may be able to advise.

[brassnecked]

Is your daughter getting any kind of support due to the abuse she's been subjected to, or a social worker? If so, they may be able to advise.

 

Exactly so Caro, any social worker involved should be on board, and kicking the HA. Tenants welfare and wellbeing is a key responsibikity of a social housing provider, and to be frank, the attitude of this HA stinks, there are or should be arrangements to handle these situations to avoid an arrears scenario and other unwanted effects like a HA going for possession when the situation was domestic violence and the arrears were not of the tenants making; name and shame please Mark1960

[san_d]

Am I right in thinking that while on HB you have the right to up to none weeks absence from your accommodation? This is what the Council told me last year when I went abroad for a week.

[Mark1960]

Exactly so Caro, any social worker involved should be on board, and kicking the HA. Tenants welfare and wellbeing is a key responsibikity of a social housing provider, and to be frank, the attitude of this HA stinks, there are or should be arrangements to handle these situations to avoid an arrears scenario and other unwanted effects like a HA going for possession when the situation was domestic violence and the arrears were not of the tenants making; name and shame please Mark1960

 

I will be honest BN,the situation has continued for around 2-3 years.The abuser is the father of the 2 children and I have continually wanted the family to remain together-That said,it transpires that my daughter has hidden the scale of what has been going on from me.Social Services have been involved for some time and if i'm honest,I've been disappointed with the support or rather lack of it from them.

 

I do not understand fully how it all works but a brief outline of what took place is as follows:

 

The abuser had an injunction barring him from the property,he kicked the door open and attacked my daughter,punching & headbutting her.He brandished a kitchen knife to her and all of this was witnessed by their 2 year old child.My daughter went to the local council address (it is in Birmingham & there are several sub offices scattered around the city).There is an adjoining building that has welfare support and it was from there that they dealt with and arranged the temporary accommodation.My daughter stressed a concern that if she left,her housing benefit would be affected but the social worker (who was very kind and supportive) assured my daughter that this would not be the case.

 

I am concerned that the council are "trying it on" by not paying the benefit (I assume this is where the benefit originates) & that maybe the guilt lies with them rather than the HA?

 

I have emailed you the details of the HA but would prefer to keep it off the main board for the time being.If once the situation has been resolved,and there has been wome wrongdoing,I will be happy to share with the board all information and will indeed name & shame.

[caro]

Are you sure the arrears are entirely for the 10 days in question? That would be £210 a week which is a lot for a HA property.

 

HB is paid by the council so if there are problems your daughter could always contact her local councillor.

 

If the HA are aware of the situation they should be reasonable if they know everything is being done to sort the arrears. If they aren't, write to the housing manager.

[Mark1960]

My daughter is in arrears but this an entirely separate and ongoing issue that is in hand.

 

The figure I quoted (it may be £280,not £300) relates entirely to the 10 days that my daughter spent away from the property & she only found out about it on Friday when she received a letter from the HA advising her of the figure.

[Feebee_71]

Could this have come about because the HA/council usually only pay housing benefit for one property at a time therefore she's being charged for being resident in two places at the same time - that they don't want to pay out for both the permanent accommodation and the crisis housing for the same period of time. Alternatively, the reason for the high rate could be that they're trying to claim back the cost of the emergency accommodation which might be charged at a 'per night' rate?

 

Just musings on my part sorry I can't be of any more assistance.

 

Feebee_71

[brassnecked]

Could this have come about because the HA/council usually only pay housing benefit for one property at a time therefore she's being charged for being resident in two places at the same time - that they don't want to pay out for both the permanent accommodation and the crisis housing for the same period of time. Alternatively, the reason for the high rate could be that they're trying to claim back the cost of the emergency accommodation which might be charged at a 'per night' rate?

 

Just musings on my part sorry I can't be of any more assistance.

 

Feebee_71

 

 

That is an entirely possible scenario, however there would be other factors, as in was the tenancy joint, and was the benefit award to both as one unit? If so it would be reasonable to pursue the abusive partner for arrears, and allow the now single other party to remain in the property and process the benefit in their name, ad write off the arrears from "their" particular claim

[brassnecked]

My daughter is in arrears but this an entirely separate and ongoing issue that is in hand.

 

The figure I quoted (it may be £280,not £300) relates entirely to the 10 days that my daughter spent away from the property & she only found out about it on Friday when she received a letter from the HA advising her of the figure.

It is possiblefor a HA to charge "Matket Rent" in some circumstances and that can be £130 o week or more in some areas.

[caro]

It is possiblefor a HA to charge "Matket Rent" in some circumstances and that can be £130 o week or more in some areas.

 

True although quite unusual.

[Mark1960]

I have responded (or rather my daughter has) in detail and have asked for confirmation and a breakdown of how this overpayment has occurred.My feeling is that it is an issue for the HA & council to resolve between themselves instead of the easy option of charging my daughter.If she had been made aware (& she specificly checked) of any potential charges,she had several options of accommodation with friends and family to choose from

 

I will make sure to keep the board updated on any developments.

 

Thanks all for taking the time to give input.

[deannatrois]

Two years ago I had to go to a refuge for a few weeks. I left a council house. I was told that under those circumstances it was possible to have two lots of Housing Allowance paid. I had to fill in another housing allowance form for the borough I was in, explained that I had fled an abusive relationship and was scared to go back and everything was fine. Both lots of housing allowance was paid, no questions asked.

 

I suspect that your daughter hasn't been seeking the right advice. She needs to contact Domestic Violence Helpline or Women's Aid. They can assign her a support worker. Some councils have one stop shops where you can see a support worker from women's aid for advice and also housing and benefits people at the same time.

 

Social workers are, unfortunately, rarely experts in the practical issues facing a family in an abusive situation. They are also normally very overworked and are unable to put in the hours needed to research specialist issues and what to do about them. Its not right but I'm afraid it is reality. You need specialist advice.

[sallysas]

Under regulations domestic violence cases have to be treated sympathetically. Your daughter can ask for benefit to be paid on the DV address as long as she has an intention to return. Benefit can then be paid for up to 52 weeks. I get the impression that your daughter has returned - am I right? In which case she should inform her council that she moved out due to DV and advise of the date she left and returned and ask for benefit to be paid on that basis. If she has not returned and some time in the next year decides to accept a tenancy elsewhere she must inform the council who will pay HB for a miximum of 4 weeks once she advises she has no intention to return. It may also be prudent to ask that she can be removed as the liable person for council tax - just to be on the safe side. If you arn't living there you can't be responsible for council tax - simple.