Housing Benefit and Rehab (England)

I’m running into a significant problem.

I’m working alongside a lot of people that are substance dependant who when attempting to go to rehab temporarily to better their situation, they are being told by the rehab they need to end their current tenancy agreement (usually a social housing tenancy) in order to claim Housing Benefit/UC Housing Element for the rehabs rent.

I’m aware that the HB legislation will allow a dual payment for a maximum period of four weeks and only in certain circumstances including where the new property is waiting to be adapted due to disability or where somebody has fled a property due to fear of violence. 

Is there anything i’m missing? or are these folks just doomed to become intentionally homeless to try and go through recovery?

Essentially, yes.

The problem is with the residential rehab funding model. As you know, a temporary absence for up to 52 weeks is permitted if a person is resident in hospital or similar institution or is undergoing medical treatment or convalescence (but only 6 months for UC) so rehab itself need not jeopardise a person’s tenancy; the issue is that rehab places charge rent.

An argument could be put to the landlord - “I’m off to rehab for 6 months. I can only do this if I claim UC/HB for the residential place. Please allow me to accrue 6 months rent arrears whilst this happens and to keep my tenancy. I will try to repay the arrears and will be in a much better position to do so - and any existing arrears - if rehab is successful. Even if I am not able to find work immediately I will not be spending £££s on my habit. Further, this will be of assistance to you in reducing any anti-social behaviour I might have engaged in whilst out of my nut.” You might just get a progressive social landlord to wear that.

It really requires a policy change - but I think one that actually funds residential rehab places (and does not permit private rehab places to boost the finances by charging rent) rather than a change to the HB/UC regs.

If the temporarily vacated home is funded by UC, and/or the rehab setting is in another LA area, and if the rehab is “specified accommodation”, you can sometimes find different decision makers coming to advantageously contradictory views about where the claimant’s normal home is:

- DM1 says “as far as I’m concerned this place you will be absent from for no longer than six months or 52 weeks remains your normal home, I’ll keep paying UC/HB for it”
- DM2 says “I take the view that you have moved and this rehab setting has become your normal home for the time being.  I will pay HB for it”.

It is not entirely unknown for DM1 and DM2 to each be aware of what the other has done and be quite happy with that as a work-around that helps out the claimant.  I might even have been DM1 or DM2 in those circumstances every now and again.

I have also seen NHS-funded rehab and also sometimes a funded place in a care home, which allows HB/UC to continue on the rented home.  But rented rehab seems to be more common these days.

There is no satisfactory answer that you can rely on in every case and it does need a change to the funding model to make it more joined up.