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Forum Home  →  Discussion  →  Universal credit administration  →  Thread

UC 129 claimant request for APA

bristol_1
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WRAMAS Bristol City Council

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Does anyone have a copy of form UC 129?

I understand this is form for a claimant to request an APA.
I can find a UC 47 which is the landlord’s request for a managed payment, but not the UC 129.

UC helpline told me this morning that the jobcentre should be able to access it as they have access to the same guidance as the helpline. I can’t find it anywhere.

SarahJBatty
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Money Adviser, Thirteen, Middlesbrough

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I have not heard of this form.
My understanding was that the route for the claimant to request APA was by telephoning the UC Helpline and they would take reason over phone and ask for evidence if required.
HOusing support workers in the North West told me they were ringing on behalf of claimants and getting APAs agreed by sending a ‘support letter’ outlining difficulties of claimant.
Is it for rent arrears or another type of ‘vulnerability’?

bristol_1
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WRAMAS Bristol City Council

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Hi, the UC helpline informs me that UC129 is for the claimant to request an APA either on basis of rent arrears or vulnerability.

Problem being, two UC 129s have been sent and the client has got neither of them. So an alternative is to get the LA to request a managed payment direct to them - the disadvantage of this being that deductions for rent arrears will be are 10-20% of the standard allowance, which puts client in hardship, so was hoping to try the claimant request route first before going down this route.

Interesting to hear about regional variations.

Thanks

SarahJBatty
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Money Adviser, Thirteen, Middlesbrough

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Hi Bristol, I’m not clear what are you aiming to achieve for your client?  Are you aiming for UC paid on a more frequent basis, or split between a couple or are you housing costs element paid direct to landlord.

The APA for housing costs paid direct to landlord is a separate thing to Third Party Deductions from the claimant’s personal allowance for rent arrears repayments.  Although both can be requested on the UC47 form.

Where the claimant is in arrears landlords are very likely to request this.  If agreed by DWP, they cannot be at a rate lower than 10% of the personal allowance.
The alternative, where this is causing hardship is that a landlord may agree to accept a repayment arrangement direct from the claimant at, say £16 per month, which is the equivalent of the £3.70 per week that they would get under the legacy benefit system.  Although where arrears are very high or the person has not kept to previous arrangements you can understand why they would go for the 10-20%, as losing your home also causes ‘hardship’.

Can you update us if you are any further forward with this as intrigued by what happens in cases where the social landlord is not taking the initiative?

bristol_1
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WRAMAS Bristol City Council

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Hi
Sorry for the late reply. Yes, the aim is to get this client’s HCE paid direct to the landlord, but without the very high deductions from the standard allowance of UC that a landlord request on the UC47 would have. Instead the client can make a regular payment of 3.70 a week towards arrears - as agreed in his SPO.

Anyway, here’s a blank copy of the UC 129 form which he was sent.

I have no idea why the LA haven’t requested this sooner on a UC47- the client is in more than 2 months’ arrears.

The form has gone in a but UC systems are down today so I can’t check if it’s been processed yet.

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