housing benefit refused HELP: experts please

housingproblem

[FONT=&quot]URGENT HELP NEEDED: -Some background….[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]I have been helping my friend try to sort out his housing benefit. He is a vulnerable person who is on ESA. Originally he had no-one to help him sort everything out when he found a new accommodation around two months ago. He was urgently looking for somewhere to move to and I was not available during this period. When he moved in he paid a two weeks deposit and weeks rent and received, keys. He never was offered a full tenancy agreement. Later on he was told by the landlord that he prefers to rents rooms out with just a cash deposit only a one- two weeks’ notice. He doesn’t give tenancy agreements as it saves paperwork, he has made it clear that he has no shortage of tenants so does not need to offer full tenancy agreements.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] The person that helped him originally stated that this would not be a problem as a tenancy agreement is not required, just a proof of rent and tenancy letter. I also phoned Haringey council and was told the same information along with and the criteria needed.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] After getting in touch with me I filled in the online form for him and managed to get him to ask the landlord for a proof of rent/address letter from the landlord (after persuading him it was for another matter). It has all the correct information etc. which was then submitted with a passport scan for ID. This is where the problems began as Haringey council became persistently awkward.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]WE were told in a letter/ and phone call we had to do the following:-[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]1 provides a birth certificate which i eventually was bought and sent![/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]2 send them proof of ESA. we managed to persuade his old civil solicitor to get it FAXED straight away (We even managed to get a strong legal covering letter from the firm stating that he had been a vulnerable CLIENT for two years and to help him as quickly as possible. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]After a week they then sent him a letter stating that the proof of tenancy letter was defective because it was unsigned by him (even though it was from the landlord) and to…..[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]3….. to RE-SIGN it and send it back in [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]4 to write a letter stating why he didn’t have a tenancy letter to begin with. This in-depth letter was then written and both documents were resent.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]* These documents were then taken in. I took all documents and acted on his behalf. at all times.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot] * all of the above was done and then resubmitted to them EXACTLY as they had requested and asked to do at different periods…hence reason that so much time has passed.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]He then got a letter stating that they had decided against him[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot] and that they require a tenancy agreement to prove ‘liability of rent’ I don’t understand how they can demand this when it says specifically on the Harringay website that a proof of rent letter will suffice. He has been given until 30th November to produce a tenancy agreement. Which his private landlord will not do. He also does not accept dss. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot] According to Harringay website they accept proof of rent letters, so i fail to understand what has gone wrong, especially as before refusing him they asked him to jump through all these hoops to do all of the REQUIREMENTS ABOVE. Is there any anything we can do to more easily remedy this situation WITH THEM? without having to jump through multiple/legal hoops with CAB- which is a complete nightmare.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]any help you can offer i would be extremely grateful; [/FONT][FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I spoke informally to his civil solicitor and she implied Harringay council KNOW they should accept the proof of rent letter and that they are 'trying it on’ I also spoke to someone other legal entity over the phone CAB and they think that Harringay are purposely obstructing the claim?[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]he has been using his ESA money to cover rent and is owed approx. 10-12 weeks rent. I have been helping him also. But this situation cannot continue. We have until 30th to provide a tenancy agreement which wont be forthcoming, even though this is not legally required. Obviously, I want to get the claim started and get him paid so does he have to stay there in the same accommodation to fight / appeal the claim? at the same time paying out rent he cannot afford?[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]1 Or can he move out and still appeal this claim as he is owed money. But he cannot keep continuing to pay out his esa like this.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]2 how do we appeal/ fight/ win the claim/ how long will this take?[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]3 how can Harringay demand a tenancy agreement when they instructed me to do all these things and then refuse my claim. I had to buy a birth certificate. He will not be able to get a tenacy agreement also the private landlord does not accept dss. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]4 how do we fight this? [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]5 can they legally close the claim on the 30th Nov.? due to lack of tenancy agreement?[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Thanks for your help – we are desperate. Thanks[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]p.s from haringay website:- [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT][FONT=&quot]If you are a private tenant, you need to provide a tenancy agreement or a rent book or a letter from your landlord confirming how much rent you pay and what is included in the rent.’[/FONT]

welshmoneylover

housingproblem wrote: »

[FONT=&quot]URGENT HELP NEEDED: -Some background….[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]I have been helping my friend try to sort out his housing benefit. He is a vulnerable person who is on ESA. Originally he had no-one to help him sort everything out when he found a new accommodation around two months ago. He was urgently looking for somewhere to move to and I was not available during this period. When he moved in he paid a two weeks deposit and weeks rent and received, keys. He never was offered a full tenancy agreement. Later on he was told by the landlord that he prefers to rents rooms out with just a cash deposit only a one- two weeks’ notice. He doesn’t give tenancy agreements as it saves paperwork, he has made it clear that he has no shortage of tenants so does not need to offer full tenancy agreements.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] The person that helped him originally stated that this would not be a problem as a tenancy agreement is not required, just a proof of rent and tenancy letter. I also phoned Haringey council and was told the same information along with and the criteria needed.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] After getting in touch with me I filled in the online form for him and managed to get him to ask the landlord for a proof of rent/address letter from the landlord (after persuading him it was for another matter). It has all the correct information etc. which was then submitted with a passport scan for ID. This is where the problems began as Haringey council became persistently awkward.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]WE were told in a letter/ and phone call we had to do the following:-[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]1 provides a birth certificate which i eventually was bought and sent![/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]2 send them proof of ESA. we managed to persuade his old civil solicitor to get it FAXED straight away (We even managed to get a strong legal covering letter from the firm stating that he had been a vulnerable CLIENT for two years and to help him as quickly as possible. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]After a week they then sent him a letter stating that the proof of tenancy letter was defective because it was unsigned by him (even though it was from the landlord) and to…..[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]3….. to RE-SIGN it and send it back in [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]4 to write a letter stating why he didn’t have a tenancy letter to begin with. This in-depth letter was then written and both documents were resent.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]* These documents were then taken in. I took all documents and acted on his behalf. at all times.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot] * all of the above was done and then resubmitted to them EXACTLY as they had requested and asked to do at different periods…hence reason that so much time has passed.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]He then got a letter stating that they had decided against him[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot] and that they require a tenancy agreement to prove ‘liability of rent’ I don’t understand how they can demand this when it says specifically on the Harringay website that a proof of rent letter will suffice. He has been given until 30th November to produce a tenancy agreement. Which his private landlord will not do. He also does not accept dss. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot] According to Harringay website they accept proof of rent letters, so i fail to understand what has gone wrong, especially as before refusing him they asked him to jump through all these hoops to do all of the REQUIREMENTS ABOVE. Is there any anything we can do to more easily remedy this situation WITH THEM? without having to jump through multiple/legal hoops with CAB- which is a complete nightmare.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]any help you can offer i would be extremely grateful; [/FONT][FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I spoke informally to his civil solicitor and she implied Harringay council KNOW they should accept the proof of rent letter and that they are 'trying it on’ I also spoke to someone other legal entity over the phone CAB and they think that Harringay are purposely obstructing the claim?[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]he has been using his ESA money to cover rent and is owed approx. 10-12 weeks rent. I have been helping him also. But this situation cannot continue. We have until 30th to provide a tenancy agreement which wont be forthcoming, even though this is not legally required. Obviously, I want to get the claim started and get him paid so does he have to stay there in the same accommodation to fight / appeal the claim? at the same time paying out rent he cannot afford?[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]1 Or can he move out and still appeal this claim as he is owed money. But he cannot keep continuing to pay out his esa like this.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]2 how do we appeal/ fight/ win the claim/ how long will this take?[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]3 how can Harringay demand a tenancy agreement when they instructed me to do all these things and then refuse my claim. I had to buy a birth certificate. He will not be able to get a tenacy agreement also the private landlord does not accept dss. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]4 how do we fight this? [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]5 can they legally close the claim on the 30th Nov.? due to lack of tenancy agreement?[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Thanks for your help – we are desperate. Thanks[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]p.s from haringay website:- [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT][FONT=&quot]If you are a private tenant, you need to provide a tenancy agreement or a rent book or a letter from your landlord confirming how much rent you pay and what is included in the rent.’[/FONT]

Has the letter you provided from the landlord got all the details the council need?

CIS

There's no absolute requirement in law for a tenancy agreement to be in writing however they obviously have some sort of query over the circumstances. The only way forward is to find out why they've rejected the information already asked for and provided.

GlasweJen

I had similar from Glasgow City Council a while back, basically I didn’t have a signed copy of my tenancy agreement because my letting agent went out of business and the new agency just took on the old agreement and faxed us an unsigned new one which stipulated that if we wanted to change anything we were to sign a piece of paper and return. Months later I lost my job and had to claim LHA which was a nightmare without the signed tenancy agreement and the only person who fixed it was my local councillor who said the situation was ridiculous and managed to wobble the head of the correct person after myself and my MP got onto him.

housingproblem

We supplied a letter which contained all relevant info name address of landlord, signed, rent amount, times its paid, when he moved in, bills included one room etc and it had name and address and was dated and signed by both parties. it also stated that the rent was currently up to date.

there has been an update. We got a legal adviser involved who contacted the council on Wednesday. She explained the situation and asked to speak to the decision maker or at least his department. the call center were helpful, the adviser explained the landlord wont give a tenancy agreement and isn't obliged to. she also explained that we had done everything the council had asked which implied that we was going to get a successful outcome to the claim. and that according the council website a rent letter is acceptable. So why the insistence on a tenancy agreement. The dept. asked if the tenant could get one and she said no way. They have agreed to re-examine the claim, the same decision maker. he actually wanted to speak to the tenanct but she said he suffers from anxiety so to contact me (the advocate) they said no one was on the system, which wast true. I wasn't there at the time.

she also followed this up with an in-depth email afterwards saying that tenant was vulnerable and has been paying his esa to his landlord and that we can supply medical evidence and that the situation is affecting his health.

we wont see her until next Wednesday. I phoned on his behalf on Friday and it hasn't been looked at yet. Does this look hopeful, they seem to have backed down a bit since the legal adviser phoned? or do you think they are just fobbing us off?

is there anything we can do in the meantime? we have re-uploaded all documents (just in case any of the originals weren't looked at the first time around.... is there anything else we can do????