Housing Benefit - Interim payment?

Anne1234_2

Hi All,

I have a question , i put in a new claim for HB on 17th jan, however my local council are telling me there is a 'glich' in the system which means they cannot pay me HB (even though I am entitiled - im on income based jsa and the have confirmed, that they have all the info they need from me). It seems to be a massive problem and no one seems to know what the glich is or how to fix it - they have advised me to complain.

so they have told me they will issue an interim payment. what is this? is it repayable? and how much will it be for? - should it be for the full amount of rent? (on monday 28th - when they are telling me it will be issued, it will have been 5 weeks since my claim date).

any advice would be appreciated!

Thanks

Jowo_2

If you are a private or housing association tenant and the local authority has not been able to assess your HB within 14 days, you should receive a payment on account (known as an interim payment) while your claim is being sorted out.3 The local authority should automatically do this. You should not have to request an interim payment.4
Some local authorities treat interim payments as though they are discretionary. However, the local authority must pay you an amount which it considers reasonable, given what it knows about your circumstances.5
Interim payments can only be refused if it is clear you will not be entitled to HB, or the reason for the delay is that you have been asked for information or evidence to support your claim and you have failed, without good cause, to provide it.6
If the delay has been caused by a third party (eg, the rent officer, your bank or employer), this does not affect your right to an interim payment. If your local authority has not made a payment on account, you should complain (see ►).
If the local authority makes a payment on account, it should notify you of the amount and that it can recover any overpayment that occurs if your actual HB entitlement is different from the interim amount.
If your interim payment is less than your entitlement, your future HB can be adjusted to take account of the underpayment.7

http://newshop.cpag.org.uk/book/chs/157495