Yet another Friday afternoon posting. What is the most bizarre housing benefit situation you have come across?

My most recent one was a HB officer at a tribunal who said that they didn't know about the relevent legislation, but there was a DWP circular. Then couldn't produce the circular.

Oh, and an HB officer who declined to pay HB on a shared ownership place because he "didn't believe in shared ownership

A HB officer once said to me over the phone and I quote diectly "we don't make mistakes and even if we did we wouldn't admit it".

A married couple who were separated and lived in the same property.
Claimed HB as a couple and were paid on that basis.
When it was found they were separated, HB re-assessed and overpayment created.
Went to appeal saying they were a couple and tribunal agreed.
They then found they would get more benefits overall as two individuals and appealed against their own success at tribunal.

Oh, almost forgot, they were refused permission to appeal by tribunal service so they went to the Ombudsman complaining that the LA had implemented the Tribunal's decision.

Appellant technically an elderly man represented by his landlord who was his son, in whose house he had been living for several years rent free until son discovered from a colleague at work that if he granted his dad a tenancy the council would pay the rent, so he could pay thismortgage with the housing benefit and move out and buy another house with his new girlfriend.
There is a very distinguished District Tribunal Judge who calls this jurisdiction "Planet Housing Benefit", an unknown world where people end up paying rent to live in their own houses, or selling their houses at a huge discount to the children to pay off their own debts while the children take out a mortgage and then have to charge Mum rent to live there so they can pay the mortgage.

Sounds like normal business in the tax world.

Wouldn't it be interesting if there were the same rules for tax as there are for social security?

Had recently case where was told that for HB purposes I had to find a MED 5 cert or no backdate All of this was rubbish and backdate o 6months was agreed )

Similar to your situation I had wit DWP, had requested for someone who knows about benefits o cal me bak as I was tired of explaining the situation. Received a call back and first I heard was " My name is..... I am from ...... BDC sorry I dont know much about benefits but will try to help you" hahahaha

Regards,
Antonina