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Forum Home  →  Discussion  →  Housing costs  →  Thread

Shared Lives as a managing agent

Rebecca Lough
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Welfare rights - Greenwich Council

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Total Posts: 222

Joined: 23 November 2018

Hello,

Wondering if anyone has experience of how this scheme functions under UC. This arrangement is when a client with a learning disability is housed in a family home, and rent is paid from the client to the main owner/tenant. In this circumstance, the landlord is whoever owns/rents the property and Shared Lives is the managing agent.

Previously, HB was paid directly to Shared Lives, and they paid the landlords.

Is this possible under UC? Shared Lives is a department in the council.

Many thanks

pamr
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Benefits & Financial Assessments, Gateshead Council

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Joined: 27 March 2019

In Gateshead, any HB for a client in the shared lives scheme was paid direct to the landlord as a private landlord. Any shortfall to be made up by the client to the landlord.
We did not pay the shared lives team nor saw any legal basis for doing so.
It is working the same under UC, the client makes the claim, the tenancy has the Shared lives carer as the private landlord and the client pays any shortfall directly. Due to their vulnerability, the housing costs are usually paid directly to the landlord although we have some instances where it has been paid directly to the tenant and the tenant then pays in full to their landlord.
We get issues regularly where the client has ticked the accommodation is ‘supported’ and then ensues the argument of is it HB or UC (but it isn’t HB!) but otherwise, it seems to be working as it should.

Rebecca Lough
forum member

Welfare rights - Greenwich Council

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Total Posts: 222

Joined: 23 November 2018

Thank you for your input - helpful!