Old council house rent - Can we challenge?

fuzzgun19

We moved from a council house on 06/06/08.

I had enquired by phone a couple of months previously about how much notice we needed to give, and was told we could inform the council on the day we moved if we liked, as they would rather know nearer to the time incase they did all the paperwork then the move didn't happen, I did not get the man's name though.

Another property can up quite quickly, and when I went to give notice one week before we moved, I was then told I had been told wrong (on the phone) and we had to give 4 weeks notice. As we had all arrangements in place to move, this was not possible.
I was told that we would be liable for the rent up until 28/06/08.
I said ok, and presumed it would be worked out taking into account the housing Benefit we were receiving at the time (and still are).

We moved house as planned, and have heard nothing about this until today.
Have had a letter from the council saying we owe £193 in respect of rent for former council tenancy up to 29/06/08.

I have just phoned them and explained about our situation regarding Housing Benefit, and she just said "we cannot pay housing benefit on 2 properties" (the council house, and the property we are in now) for this 3 week overlap in rent.

I cannot understand how they have still charged us full rent of £59 per week + extra taking it to £64 per week.
We have one income of minimum wage, and have had throughout this last few months, so shouldn't we be getting charged the £6.10 per week that we were paying at the council house before we moved?

Is there any way we can challenge this (Citizens advice or something), as we do not agree we should have been charged full rent + more.

We are happy to pay the £6.10 per week for the 3 weeks overlap, as I had presumed this would be the case.

Can anyone advise?

Conor_3

They have charged you because you haven't adhered to the 4 weeks notice period which was written in your tenancy agreement as being required. As stated, you cannot have HB paid on two properties concurrently so you would have to cover the FULL rent on one of them for the overlap period.

They are correct and you owe three weeks full rent for the property which ended up not having a HB claim in force on.

There is nothing to challenge. You can shout all you want but it is written in black and white in your tenancy agreement and they can show documentation which states you cannot claim HB for two properties at the same time.

elmer

You can claim for an overlap on the house that you are occupying from the day you moved in as well as the house that you had to give notice on.

However its at the discretion of the LA and they wont automatically pay you for an overlap if you havent applied for one. Speak to the Housing Benefit dept to apply as soon as possible.

Hope this helps

Elmer

fuzzgun19

What gets me also, is that I was told by a man when I phoned the council that I didn't have to give any notice. I even remember him saying I could inform them AFTER I had moved (to be on the safeside)!!
This stupid council always seems to muck things up.

However its at the discretion of the LA and they wont automatically pay you for an overlap if you havent applied for one. Speak to the Housing Benefit dept to apply as soon as possible.

Can you tell me what LA is?

I wish they had told me about applying for an overlap when I gave notice on the council house. They are so incompetent.

I am going to call them back and complain that this was not mentioned to me either.

Oldernotwiser

fuzzgun19 wrote: »

What gets me also, is that I was told by a man when I phoned the council that I didn't have to give any notice. I even remember him saying I could inform them AFTER I had moved (to be on the safeside)!!
This stupid council always seems to muck things up.


Can you tell me what LA is?

I wish they had told me about applying for an overlap when I gave notice on the council house. They are so incompetent.

I am going to call them back and complain that this was not mentioned to me either.

You really should have read your housing contract and used a bit of common sense. I can't think of any housing situation when you'd be ok to ring up the day you're leaving and expect that to be the end of it. As far as being told this by someone on the phone, I assume you have this person's name , but when it comes down to it, it'll be your word against theirs.

viktory

Sorry fuzzgun 1, I think you are the incompetent person at fault. It is your responsibility to check the notice required as it is your tenancy.

You say that 'someone' from the council said you only had to give one week's notice but failed to get his name or get it confirmed in writing - I am sure the council think you are making this up. Your tenancy, your mistake.

Oh and LA stands for local authority.

fuzzgun19

when you phone your landlord to ask how much notice you need to give, you would expect to receive the correct information.

Anyway. I will definitely be contacting the council tomorrow about applying for this benefit overlap elmer mentioned above (and the council did not due to their ongoing incompetence).

seven-day-weekend

fuzzgun19 wrote: »

What gets me also, is that I was told by a man when I phoned the council that I didn't have to give any notice. I even remember him saying I could inform them AFTER I had moved (to be on the safeside)!!
This stupid council always seems to muck things up.


Can you tell me what LA is?

I wish they had told me about applying for an overlap when I gave notice on the council house. They are so incompetent.

I am going to call them back and complain that this was not mentioned to me either.

Yes, you can inform them on the day you move out....but you will still be liable for the rent for the four week's notice you ideally should have given.

viktory

fuzzgun19 wrote: »

when you phone your landlord to ask how much notice you need to give, you would expect to receive the correct information.

Anyway. I will definitely be contacting the council tomorrow about applying for this benefit overlap elmer mentioned above (and the council did not due to their ongoing incompetence).

Assuming this 'man' at the council exists :rolleyes:

When one takes on a tenancy, one would expect the renter to read and understand the tenancy agreement.

fuzzgun19

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

Yes, you can inform them on the day you move out....but you will still be liable for the rent for the four week's notice you ideally should have given.

Thanks, I wish they had told me this when I called.

Oldernotwiser

Perhaps you didn't ask the right question?