Universal Credit cuts hit landlords
4 years ago | 3 comments
What can a tenant’s deposit be used for?
11:51 AM, 12th August 2022, 4 years ago
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Hello everyone, I have had a housing benefit tenant, with the rent paid by Universal Credit, since April 2021 and the tenancy ends on 31 October 2022.
The rent for April and May was paid on time by Southwark council but I was only notified by the tenant at the end of June 2022 that the UC rent payment is in arrears, which means 1 – 30 June. The UC will only roll out payment on 7th July 2022, & so forth.
There will be a problem in the last month 1-31 October, which will only be rolled out on 7th November – by then the tenant will already have moved out.
My question is: Can the tenant’s deposit in TDS be used to pay in the event that UC fail to pay the rent?
Also, the tenant has energy bills owing to Communal Energy Partners (CEP), as of March 2022 of £570.00.
I have been informed by CEP that the landlord is responsible for any unpaid bills?
Thanking you all for your input & advice.
Salina
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Member Since December 2021 - Comments: 44
6:17 PM, 12th August 2022, About 4 years ago
You are not responsible for the tenant’s energy bills. We have just been through this as our tenant set our property on fire and then left owing the electricity company money. The electricity company said we owed them money for used electricity but the firemen took the fuse out of the house after the fire so we could prove that we hadn’t used any electricity. The bill does revert back to the landlord (when the tenancy ends) and we were then liable for the standing charge. A few pieces of advice to protect yourself:
Always tell the local council when a new tenant moves in. You will need to provide the names of the new tenants and the contact details of the previous tenants so they can get in touch if needs be.
Inform the energy suppliers of the property of any change in tenancy (this includes gas, electricity and water)
Encourage new tenants to change the name on the utility bills as soon as possible.
Make a note of the meter readings at the start and end of each tenancy so you have a record for the utility companies. We took photos on our mobile phones.
Ensure your tenancy agreement clearly states that utility payments are the responsibility of the tenant.
Keep a signed copy of the tenancy agreement in a safe, easily accessible place.
Member Since October 2020 - Comments: 1171
6:04 PM, 13th August 2022, About 4 years ago
Yes, you can apply to the deposit scheme for any shortfall in the rent
If the utility contracts are in the tenants name the supplier can’t hold you accountable for any debt.