Refusal to release dhp

HI

We have recently submitted a dhp for a young man who is on Universal Credit and risks eviction as a result of high rent arrears.  The application went to panel about four weeks ago and it was agreed that a dhp would be paid to clear arrears in full.

However… payment has not been released as LA state that applicant does not have a live CTR claim.  This in itself presents a further problem for him as he too has escalating C Tax arrears and has failed to submit his claim despite advice to do so. 

My understanding however is that the prerequisite for DHP is that the applicant must be in receipt of either HB or housing costs through UC.  Is the LA’s response lawful?

Many thanks

Andrea

I think in the early days some HB systems struggled to administer DHPs in UC only cases (because they only held info for HB/CTR claimants) but that should be sorted out by now - in any case the LA should make a manual payment - there’s no excuse.