Rent in advance and DWP first payment – overlap!

Rent in advance and DWP first payment – overlap!

10:44 AM, 6th November 2020, About 3 years ago 2

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The Local Council agreed to pay an incoming tenant Rent in Advance (RIA) to get her into the property asap. The DWP direct rent payments have now been established, but there is an overlap.

The Council paid rent 21 Aug – 20 Sept. Having spoken to the DWP today (as never receive any notification as to what a payment is for), they have confirmed their first payment was for the period 30 Aug – 29 Sept. The payment today is for 30 Sept – 29 Oct.

Now what?

‘Off the record’ I have had it said to me that the Councils just regard the RIA as essentially written off once paid as they just want the tenant off the expensive emergency accommodation books and into a private TA as fast as possible.

Reluctant Landlord


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Comments

Nathan

19:11 PM, 6th November 2020, About 3 years ago

@OP - 10:44 AM, 6th November 2020
If I've understood your post correctly, the local council paid you your tenant's first month RIA - which I assume was from the date when the ten moved in on the 21st Aug - yes?
Now you receive UC payments directly from DWP for 30th Aug - 29th Sept. To me it looks like you've been paid twice for same period!
Are you sure the council's payment wasn't to cover the deposit instead as you do not mention this?
I'm always baffled as to why UC start payment that never corresponds to tenancy start date and are always paid 5 weeks in arrears too.
If you feel there's a shortfall (doesn't look it from info you provided) then ask your ten to make up the difference, after all they've been gifted a month's rent from the council. From first look it does seem you've been paid nearly twice for same period - 21.08-20.09 from Council and 30.08-29.09 UC payment.
Impossible to get payment remittances from UC, they started but then stopped suddenly with no notification or reason. I must have asked them over 6 times but to no avail, whereas the old HB payments always came with a statement of payment dates.....simples! They also used to liase with landlords and were helpful then aswell. Now it's out of councils hands and into the centrally controlled archaic & disfunctional DWP!!!
It's hard to give you a proper answer without the exact nuanced info provided.
Regards, N

Mick Roberts

11:49 AM, 8th November 2020, About 3 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Nathan at 06/11/2020 - 19:11
Nathan,

U say it all. Yes UC at the moment aren't changing this ridiculous rule of not paying for the correct dates the tenant lived in the house.
They pay to suit their BAP Benefit assessment periods cause & so they don't have to do anything manual on their computer system.
If a tenant leave us one day before their BAP ends, we don't get the rent at all for 30 days. Next Landlord gets 31 days rent for 1 days occupation. They will change this eventually, but only after another so many thousand tenants become homeless & so many hundreds more Landlords pack up.
Worst thing is Nathan, we can see this fundamental flaw, yet UC can't. They really are the thickest people on the planet.

Bill Irvine of https://universalcreditadvice.com/ knows all about this, he can explain it better than me, has told UC many times it's wrong, as usual UC don't listen.

Yes Nathan, we han't got a clue who we being paid for have we. Old HB for 23 years gets it perfectly right & simple. 2020 UC DWP can't, it's banging your head against a wall.

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