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Housing Costs questions - 

MKM35
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ASG PBS UC Shelter

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Hello,

I’m sure this has been addressed earlier, but I can’t find it anymore…

Client has rent arrears and a SPO to pay £5pw. SPO predates UC claim.
Applies for UC, requests APA. Since rent arrears are more than 2 months rent, DWP also tacked on a 10% TPD to pay them off.

Question (and yes, I really should know this by now, but oh well…):
(1) If MPTL + TPD + SPO payment > monthly rent + SPO, can client request review of TPD
(2) Can LL refuse to stop APA/TPD? My limited knowledge of housing law says client must comply with the £5pw SPO (not varying the order), but is the additional ~£32 really necessary?

 

Elliot Kent
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You seem to be suggesting that your client is having £32 per month taken from their UC due to the rent arrears deduction and then additionally paying £5 per week in order to meet the SPO. This isn’t necessary - the SPO requires your client to pay rent plus £5 per week one way or another. It doesn’t matter whether this is done by UC paying the additional funds or through a standing order or whatever.

Unfortunately, the regulations unaccountably fail to provide for the DWP to make a deduction which lines up with the usual SPO rates - so either the deduction is taken at a rate of between 10-20% or it isn’t taken at all. Any deduction which might be taken exceeds the amount of the SPO (and therefore - it might be thought - the amount which a District Judge has assessed as appropriate) so it’s a choice between either having too much money deducted at source or having nothing deducted at source and needing to make an alternative arrangement.

We have usually found that the DWP will remove the deduction when asked if there is a credible arrangement in place to pay the debt in another way (which sounds like the case here).

MKM35
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Perfect - thanks Elliot!

We’re facing a bit of an issue here, they refuse to lower the deductions (admittedly the rent arrears are high - about £5000) but hoping persistence helps?

Elliot Kent
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They can’t lower the deductions - the rate is between 10-20%. If they’re taking 10%, that’s the minimum.

All they could do would be to remove the deduction altogether. If you can demonstrate that there are alternative arrangements in place - i.e. the SPO - and that your client can keep to this arrangement if left to their own devices, then they should consider doing that. Equally the landlord can be invited to ask them to stop the deductions.

Rehousing Advice.
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If your client breaches, a SPO even once, then they will be getting a bailiffs warrant. So if you do set up a different method of payment you need to be pretty damn sure that the client will not accidentally breach.  In this situation. Homelessness officers will prioritise the home. Money advice workers will prioritise the money. Its not the same thing.

MKM35
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Elliot Kent - 21 November 2018 10:26 AM

They can’t lower the deductions - the rate is between 10-20%. If they’re taking 10%, that’s the minimum.

Apologies - I spoke in a rush.

Yes, I meant stopping the TPD completely.

MKM35
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MartinB - 21 November 2018 10:51 AM

If your client breaches, a SPO even once, then they will be getting a bailiffs warrant. So if you do set up a different method of payment you need to be pretty damn sure that the client will not accidentally breach.  In this situation. Homelessness officers will prioritise the home. Money advice workers will prioritise the money. Its not the same thing.

Interesting - I didn’t think of that.
A direct debit perhaps? I’ll have to look into that a bit more…

Timothy Seaside
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If the landlord won’t play ball then there is another option. Your client could apply to the court that made the SPO and ask to vary the order to specify the method of payment of the arrears. This way the landlord could be barred from applying for 3P payments from UC.