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Poor advice from UC
Would appreciate any thoughts on this client’s situation.
Cl moved into a 2 bed private rented property with her 23 year old daughter in June as joint tenants (rent £580pcm). They both already had UC claims. Cl was paid half of the rent as her HCE for the first couple of APs (£290) but her daughter was not paid the HCE at all as part of her claim. Daughter appears to have taken no action. Cl asked for advice, she thinks via her journal, and was told that it would be better if she became the sole tenant and claimed for the housing costs herself. Cl duly got a new tenancy as the sole tenant and submitted it. She was then distressed to be paid the 2 bed LHA less a housing costs contribution- leaving her with more than £200 a month to find. She says they backdated the sole tenancy to the start of the request for housing costs but have not paid her any arrears.
She has submitted an MR asking for the balance to be paid to her between the half rent and the LHA in the first two APs. She has not made a complaint with a screenshot of the poor advice on her journal. Thinking she needs to get a new joint tenancy again but concerned the landlord may refuse or UC could treat it as a contrived tenancy and decide she’s not liable, leaving her with no housing costs help.
All ideas gratefully received. As a side note, we are finding that we are not getting responses to any written correspondence with the DWP, going back over a period of months. Are others finding the same? Escalation routes are not proving fruitful either.
Recent experience of a client’s MP raising the issue of poor advice from Jobcentre staff was very positive - a quick result that more or less put the client back where she would have been had the poor advice not been given.
Yes, that’s my feeling too. Hoping she’s in the right postcode…
Wow!
Firstly, you can’t change the nature of a tenancy after it’s happened. It was what it was and any attempt to change that is a fiction. So the tenancy was a joint tenancy, and I would suggest the tenant seeks expert housing advice to see whether the JT was actually lawfully changed to a sole tenancy - there would have to be either an agreed surrender (which would have to involve all parties if it was fixed term - which I would expect it to be) or an assignment (by deed). If it has been properly changed to sole then ask the LL to grant a new JT, and explain that this was all due to very poor advice from UC. And once this is all sorted out, let UC know (i.e. change of circs, with correct tenancy start date on both claims, and full explanations on journals).
I can’t say I’m at all surprised at this appalling advice from UC - there still seem to be very few UC claim managers who have any understanding of housing. But I think the answer is to make sure everything is updated on the accounts now, and also continue with any MR/appeal for any period when UC weren’t paying what they should have been. I would also submit a complaint (especially if the clients end up out of pocket as a result of the bad advice - because they will presumably be seeking compensation).
BTW I’m not clear whether the daughter actually asked for HCE when the tenancy started? If she didn’t then that part is not necessarily UC error.
On response times from UC; we have the same problem. I think it must be down to understaffing. I have huge sympathy for the UC drones - they are overworked and seemingly undertrained. It’s a shambles. I would think an MP complaint ought to help the DWP to focus on getting things resolved.
UC Case Managers and Work Coaches shouldn’t give advice on residential tenancy issues. This appears to be an example of maladministration. and the client could apply for compensation under the DWP Special Payments Scheme.
Quoting from the DWP guidance ....‘The emphasis should be on trying to restore the individual to the position they would have been in had maladministration not occurred.’
I would send an email to Sue Soroczan, your District Manager if the contact centre isn’t interested.
I completely agree with the above. Given that DWP repeatedly tell us they aren’t able to give people benefits advice, on what planet does someone working for them think it’s appropriate to be giving housing advice as well? Any advice they did give should simply have been to look at why the daughter wasn’t receiving her HCE and I think you should complain and seek compensation here.