Mixed age couple, late notification of moving in, benefit cap - UC or PC/HB?

I’ll confess I’m lost on this one, and grateful for any pointers.
Female lone parent aged 30-something on IS, CTC, CB and HB/CTR. Benefit capped and in a private tenancy.
Her partner moves with in her in July 2018, he is 73 and on SRP and SPC, he has his own private tenancy where he claims HB and it appears that he failed to give notice, tell the LL or end his HB until April of 2019 (he disputes this and says he gave notice etc at the time).
They also fail to update DWP benefits until this year, so in June 2019 her IS ends and he adds her as a partner to his PC claim, the DWP notes appear to indicate this has been allowed to happen. Her HB claim continues, albeit with benefit cap still applied.

Two questions;
1. how have they managed to not end up on UC? reading the A9/2019 guidance, it indicates this should have been a new UC claim - (esp under the heading ‘Existing single HB claimants’)
2. if they can remain on PC and HB, great; but should she now end her CTC and request child additions in PC? Or does this not really matter as CTC is ignored as income for PC?

Also:
the LL has now issued notice - assume due to rent arrears caused by benefit cap. The tenant has been there for 11 years and the housing officer advises little chance of saving the tenancy.  I presume that up to 13 August, he could switch and be the HB claimant to remove the cap, this might reduce some of the debt on leaving the tenancy ...

Don’t completely get your dates here?

You state “he has his own private tenancy where he claims HB and it appears that he failed to give notice, tell the LL or end his HB until April of 2019” which indicates he moved from his property in April 2019.

Yet you also state “moves with in her in July 2018”

If they formed MAC pre 15 May 2019, then I think she could properly be added to his PC award and the savings provisions would apply, which would mean they could also then claim HB, even if this is at different address.

If they formed MAC post-15 May 2019, then I can’t see how the above would be possible.

I was thinking this part of the guidance would apply-

“8. An existing HB claimant who is single and over pension age but who subsequently forms a new relationship with someone under pension age, will lose their entitlement to HB. The couple should be advised to claim UC. This also applies to an existing claimant who is under pension age and forms a new relationship with someone who is over pension age….”

The bit I can’t get is that they only notified DWP (IS and PC) about forming a couple in June 2019, although they actually formed a MAC nearly a year earlier. In which case I’m guessing that PC and HB are treating the change as occurring prior to 15 May 19, and are therefore able to apply the savings provisions, even though they only updated the change in June 2019?

As for the date he moved, well, he moved in with her July 18, but didn’t update his own HB claim until April of 2019 and while he says he gave 1 months’ notice to the LL to end the tenancy back in 2018, the LL disputes this ever sent.

Sorry, I misread the July 2018 as July 2019.

That makes a bit more sense now. Sounds like you’re right insofar as although the change has been notified late, they been accepted as being a MAC for PC for a period before 15 May 2019, so savings provisions apply.

By the sounds of what you’re saying, there may be some overpayments here for past periods, but otherwise, I wouldn’t rock the PC/HB boat as they will be better off on this for the foreseeable future. And yes I think it would make sense for him to become the HB claimant as well.

CTC should be notified of the COC, in which case they might have no choice but to ask for child elements to be paid with PC.

So, in order to make him the HB claimant to minimise the rent arrears from the current tenancy, and to prevent the cap applying in future accommodation, we need to swtich the HB claimant. But what does this actually involve in practice? Is it in fact a new claim from him, or can it be done any other way?

CPAG refers to changing which of the couple is the claimant but I haven’t to the best of my knowledge ever done this.

Does he need to become the HB claimant?

They’re now on PC (maybe with child additions), HB & CTR I’m guessing (& CB of course).

HB should be under the SPC regs (see reg 5(3) HB Reg 2006 - ie the working age regs).

So I think no benefit cap should apply?

When/if he predeceases her, I don’t see how she can avoid UC anyway (because PC will stop & that’s what the child additions are in), but at least if she’s getting HB she then gets the 2 week run-on.