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Forum Home  →  Discussion  →  Universal credit migration  →  Thread

Someone in temp accommodation, wrongly advised they need to claim UC when they move to HA tenancy

seand
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Welfare rights officer - Wheatley Homes

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My client has been living in B&B, with HB in payment. He is self employed and moved to a Housing Association tenancy in the same LA area last Friday. Both the HB department and his homeless housing officer at the Council have advised him that he has to claim UC as his HB will end. He has never claimed UC

HB are arguing that he only moved to the B&B after the area became full service, and think that this makes a difference. I disgree and I’m confident that he can keep claiming HB - there’s no change that would cause his entitlement to end under the UC (TP) Regs 2014

The LA are adamant that they are correct, and the person dealing with this has said she has checked with colleagues, the DWP and with their own welfare rights team (!!)

So, I wanted to know if anyone can point me to any DWP guidance that would spell this out clearly. I’ve had a quick look but can’t see anything

Thanks!

HB Anorak
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Benefits consultant/trainer - hbanorak.co.uk, East London

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You are right to focus on the Transitional Provisions Regs: this is the only place where you will find anything to say that HB must terminate for UC related reasons, and none of the relevant provisions applies here:

- Not Reg 7, because the claimant has not formed a couple with a UC claimant
- Not Reg 8, because he has not claimed UC
- And crucially not Reg 5 because he is not entitled to UC (not having claimed it, he cannot be entitled to it).

In the absence of anything to say HB does terminate, well, it doesn’t.

He would not be able to make a new claim for HB because of Article 7 of the No 23 Order ... but he doesn’t want to, so that’s not an issue.

It seems this is another local authority with the mistaken belief that certain life events “trigger” a compulsory claim to UC.  They have probably got that impression from listening to DWP, who really are the last people anyone should take any notice of regarding HB to UC migration.

Rehousing Advice.
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Homeless Unit - Southampton City Council

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Don’t know….

Seems to me the client was solely awarded HB on the basis they occupied Homeless Temp?

Not sure this is the same as a legacy case, and subject to same rules of natural migration.  I get it, if they were on HB prior to Full Service and havnt broken their HB claim, but this claim was made after full service.

Can you have a legacy benefit awarded after full service and does it just continue?   

Don’t know….............

Anoraks explanation sounds fine, maybe.

[ Edited: 8 Apr 2019 at 03:47 pm by Rehousing Advice. ]
HB Anorak
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Benefits consultant/trainer - hbanorak.co.uk, East London

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The only significance of full service is that it is more difficult to make a new HB claim.  But this claimant did: as a result he is on HB and exactly the same rules apply as if he had claimed it before full service arrived.

seand
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Welfare rights officer - Wheatley Homes

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Thanks for the replies - I think that the LA are thinking along the same lines as Martin, but there’s no special type of HB paid in these situations. The usual regs apply and a change of address in the same LA is not a change that would end HB

Shame there’s nothing that sets this out clearly that I can show the LA, who are at least listening to me rather than just dismissing me out of hand