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Homeless Prevention Fund offer but with conditions to move home
Our Beneficiary has around £4000 of rent arrears which he is paying back (Suspended Possession Order in place). We approached the LA to ask if they could use the Homeless Prevention Fund (HPF) to reduce the arrears. The LA have come back and stated that they will pay £1500 from the HPF if our Charity pays £1500. This will leave our Beneficiary with £1000 still to pay under the SPO. The LA have said that in order to receive the £1500 our Beneficiary must look to leave his property (3 bedroom @£340 pcm) and register and bid on cheaper properties.
Discretion will be exercised by the LA to enable our Beneficiary to register and bid on properties. If they feel that they do not wish to move from their property, then unfortunately the LA will be unable to assist financially.
The LA have asked our Beneficiary to agree to these terms-
1-Once banded, we agree to automatic bids being placed on our behalf on a weekly basis
2- If a property is allocated, we agree to attend viewings
3- We will not unreasonably refuse the offer which meets our needs and improves our current situation
4-We understand that if this agreement is not adhered to, any monies granted may be recalled and further action will be taken against our tenancy.
My question is are the LA acting fairly? They are willing to reduce the arrears by £1500 but only if our Beneficiary moves out. He will still have a balance of arrears to pay. It feels like the LA are wanting him and his wife out of a 3 bedroom property (which they have lived in for over 25 years)
Any views?
Many thanks David
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I do not know about the legality of it but I don’t have any problem with it from a moral point of view. He would get £1500.00 of his arrears paid for him and move into a suitable property if one could be found. It would also help another family (where there were too many members for a smaller property) to not be homeless. At the moment the client has got two spare bedrooms.
its it likely that the arreras ar epreventing him joining the jousing list , and this in turn is preventing him bidding on social housing of the correct size. there is no point the LA clearing the arrears just so the tenant can stay in the same property - if he wants to stay in the property then he can clear the arrears himself.
I think it would be unusual for any LA to agree to clear arrears for someone who is over accommodated without expecting them to move to suitable sized accommodation.
Presumably the tenancy is secure as he is sticking to his SPO ?
I feel this leap of faith and concession is because they know he is sticking to his SPO but they want the 3 bed freed up
The deal steers him to move, the consequences of not doing so are it appears , that he just continues with his SPO.
That bit about further action i they recall the funds can only be relevant if he fails the SPO so I suppose the SPO is unaffordable at present and that’s why clearance has been sought ?
Could these conditions also save them having to look at/ award a DHP perhaps?
Assuming he hasn’t been in receipt of full HB/ UCHC , could he make a claim for backdated DHP and ongoing DHP which would help clear the arrears ?
I suppose If he could clear them, and then afford to stay that doesn’t achieve what is wanted by LA ∨ HA at all.
They could remove ongoing DHP if he didn’t look for smaller property , but if he was able to afford to stay with arrears payments having become a thing of the past, there is nothing they can do.
Id apply for backdated DHP , maybe theyd cover that £1000.
I believe the £1000 is an amount they can reduce the arrears to and then provide these concessions to still bid / be on register - especially if they know there is an arrangement for the arrears in place
I don’t think that once they have awarded the monies to the rent account they can recall them as they suggest - they couldn’t do that if it was to a HA ( I presume LA is landlord here) and I cant say in the dozens of these deals made ive ever seen that as a condition or threat.
I must admit that i hadn’t seen the part about them wanting them out of the 3 bed .
Its a conclusion that can be drawn in many cases nowadays - my possession cases are all 3 beds .
At first HA’s used to use an early alert and seek to have LA fund arrears clearance .
then they began to routinely use section 8 ground 8 so the early warning seemed to wane .
Suspicion arises when the gr8 possession only moves forward when the arrears have reached an amount above what the LA will fund.
Conversations often reveal motive as well - We have tenants already told by HA they wont get funding from LA before we even see them - confirmed by the LA !!
I do not know about the legality of it but I don’t have any problem with it from a moral point of view. He would get £1500.00 of his arrears paid for him and move into a suitable property if one could be found. It would also help another family (where there were too many members for a smaller property) to not be homeless. At the moment the client has got two spare bedrooms.
Hi. Yes I agree that there is a shortage of 3 bedroom properties. However, I did not go into detail about the full circumstances but this person suffered a serious head injury. His partner is also disabled and they need separate bedrooms. The third bedroom is used by their son who works away and comes home at weekends
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The issue is that whilst the LA are willing to reduce the arrears by £1500 this is on the basis that they look for a cheaper property ( there are no cheaper or suitable properties in the current area they live in). the LA are willing to let them bid on properties even though they have rent arrears and their housing policy states that you are now allowed to register and bid on properties whilst you have rent arrears. The LA are willing to waive this. Yet when I have approached the LA about someone else with historic rent arrears they state that they cant bid on properties until the historic rent arrears are cleared..
Its seem the LA are not looking out for the best interest of the person whilst bending their rules to get him out/
its it likely that the arreras ar epreventing him joining the jousing list , and this in turn is preventing him bidding on social housing of the correct size. there is no point the LA clearing the arrears just so the tenant can stay in the same property - if he wants to stay in the property then he can clear the arrears himself.
I think it would be unusual for any LA to agree to clear arrears for someone who is over accommodated without expecting them to move to suitable sized accommodation.
Hi. Yes I agree that there is a shortage of 3 bedroom properties. However, I did not go into detail about the full circumstances but this person suffered a serious head injury. His partner is also disabled and they need separate bedrooms. The third bedroom is used by their son who works away and comes home at weekends
.
The issue is that whilst the LA are willing to reduce the arrears by £1500 this is on the basis that they look for a cheaper property ( there are no cheaper or suitable properties in the current area they live in). the LA are willing to let them bid on properties even though they have rent arrears and their housing policy states that you are now allowed to register and bid on properties whilst you have rent arrears. The LA are willing to waive this. Yet when I have approached the LA about someone else with historic rent arrears they state that they cant bid on properties until the historic rent arrears are cleared..
Its seem the LA are not looking out for the best interest of the person whilst bending their rules to get him out
are they getting HB or UCHE at the 3 bedroomed rate?
if non dep is working away, then no DHP wpuld be awarded unless he was contributing at least the correct non dep charge. Even if there is PIP/DLA for claimant or partner, we would expect the non fep to be contributing towards the rent before looking at a discretionary payment.
Is the property social housing or privately rented? is the rent way above the LHA rate?
I do DHP’s all day long - if they have a 3 bed requirement, then we would look at why the arrears accrued and over what period.
Our local authority Housing doesnt let people bifd if they have arreras of more than 8 weeks rent.
If I were you id be asking them WHY they are prepared to make an exception in your customers case and why they expect him to move if the property is the right size for him and family.
(this assumes the non dep is declared as part of the household etc_)