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Forum Home  →  Discussion  →  Income support, JSA and tax credits  →  Thread

JSA sanctions and mortgage interest

PeterS
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Advice worker, Tinsley Advice Service

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My client has been subject to multiple sanctions for failure to take adequate steps to seek work but is still signing on regularly. His partner is in part-time work with low income, so his JSA payments would not be large anyway. Her meagre income stops him from receiving hardship payments. So he has an underlying right to IB JSA, but it is not in payment because of sanctions. His mortgage interest has not been paid for many months, and helpline staff are having such difficulty in understanding his convoluted records, that I can’t get any clear answers.

Should sanctions affect mortgage interest? Any suggestions about how to proceed to get them back in payment?

PeterS
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Would REALLY appreciated advice.

Does the fact that someone sanctioned is not in fact RECEIVING any payments of JSA, despite signing on, prevent them from receiving mortgage interest?

Daphne
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Hi Peter - I thought I’d try and find the answer to this and am horrified!

As far as I can see regulation 70 of the JSA regs say that the sanction is ‘100% of the allowance payable to the claimant’ and therefore I think it does include housing costs as they are part of the jobseeker’s allowance - something I hadn’t appreciated and seems very unfair since tenants can get housing benefit.

But I would love for anyone to correct me if I am wrong?

However, if they were a joint-claim couple JSA is paid as though the non-sanctioned partner is a single person. Is the partner working under 16 hours as then it would be a joint claim and could argue that she should be paid single allowance including housing costs less any deductions for income?

Edmund Shepherd
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I had a quick glance at CPAG when I saw your post, but I came to the same conclusion as Daphne above, which I felt wasn’t much help. It did strike me as unfair, but that’s not to say it’s not correct.

WBrame
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I also had a client in this situation - he lost his SMI and as he was unable to pay his mortgage (he was already paying £300pm) and was then in breach of his court order and was then evicted (he was a single father of 2 young daughters.

The sanctions were not even for proper failures - the client’s first language was not English and he was not given any help to look for work.

PeterS
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WBrame - 17 October 2014 10:44 AM

I also had a client in this situation

The sanctions were not even for proper failures - the client’s first language was not English and he was not given any help to look for work.

My client is in a similar situation: language problems, speech impediment and ? learning difficulties. I think the main way forward will be to try and get him some help to learn how to look for work in a way that will satisfy JCP.

PeterS
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Maybe we also need to get a change in the law to get this unfairness resolved. His MP is already involved.

It would be useful if any others out there could let me know of people who have lost out on mortgage interest because of sanctions… I’ll then pass it on to the MP.

PeterS
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Daphne - 16 October 2014 06:16 PM

Is the partner working under 16 hours as then it would be a joint claim and could argue that she should be paid single allowance including housing costs less any deductions for income?

Thanks for this suggestion. I’ll check out the wife’s situation. Are you saying that she should get the WHOLE of the housing costs less the amount that her income exceeds the personal allowance? or just HALF?

[ Edited: 19 Oct 2014 at 12:07 am by PeterS ]
benefitsadviser
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From what i understand in a joint claim the only sanction imposed is equal to the personal allowance of a single person.

I have had a few like this where a couple get £41.30 PW to live on, as the other £72.40 is sanctioned.

In cases like these I see no reason why all housing costs can be met, as opposed to half.

Unfortunately I get very few joint claim JSA for homeowners who have been sanctioned.

Paul_Treloar_CPAG
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Don’t forgot to make an application for a hardship payment as well, sec.1 ch.55 of WBH 2014/15 refers. The weekly amount of a hardship payment is calculated using the personal allowance, premiums and housing costs as for JSA-IB and then the personal allowance will be reduced by 40% of the single person allowance for some aged 25 or over.

Daphne
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Peter - sorry for the delay replying - i’ve been in budapest :)

I think she should get the whole of the housing costs - the JSA allowance is worked out as normal but just the single standard allowance instead of the couple bit.