Dispute with my housing association over rent arrears

dandosam

es5595 said:

The issue is the ex-husband isn’t planning on paying directly, he is expecting to use benefits to pay the rent, but he can only do that, when the tenancy is in his name. 

As the housing association have not transferred the tenancy over when requested to do so, benefits cannot be claimed, and so arrears have been built up.

OP, I suggest you need to start making a paper trail, and putting in a formal complaint. Can you get a printout of your phone bill/phone calls showing the calls you made to them?
You need to make clear of the dates you asked for the transfer, and also, what is your notice period under the tenancy? I’d suggest that this is all you are liable for in arrears. 

Yes that's it exactly. The termination notice period is 4 weeks. I have started to gather the paper trail, and will get the calls as well. I have already made a formal complaint, so I will make sure everything is ready. Thanks so much 

dandosam

Comms69 said:

dandosam said:

He has got universal credit, but they are saying he can't claim the housing benefit until the tenancy is in his name. I've never claimed benefits in my life, so I've no idea on this, but it makes sens to me that you would need to provide your tenancy agreement and the amount of rent before they'll give the benefits. I don't know it's all a minefield

Whilst yes that's often the case. There is no legal requirement for a tenancy agreement to be in writing; councils know this - in any case he was presumably on the original tenancy agreement?

It wasn't a joint tenancy but he was a named tenant. I'll see if I can investigate the housing benefit side of thins further, thank you. Apologies, I'm quite an emotive writer, and I appreciate my point may not have come across clearly

princeofpounds

Hi OP, not sure why you've deleted your original post (I read it beforehand). I know that some replies you get may be uncomfortable as people come at things from a variety of perspectives and may jump to conclusions (such as the ability of your ex to pay) based on the limited information you give them, but generally people will aim to help where they can. If you left the information up, correct people when they have made wrong inferences and clarify when questioned, the advice tends to converge to a more useful point. 

Making a complaint to the HA absolutely makes sense, but bear in mind the cold, hard legal reality that you remain a tenant until the tenancy is terminated or assigned elsewhere. The HA may have their own service standards and obligations that give you a bit more room, but your own tenancy obligations don't change just because you feel they should due to your new circumstances. There were probably ways to tackle all this in a more planned manner but I can understand you have to deal with the situation as it is now.

I wanted to add one thing to the suggestions given so far - you may want to call Shelter's advice line for better information on how to interact with your HA on these issues. 

davidmcn

Also bear in mind that the HA can't unilaterally transfer the tenancy to somebody else - the new tenant has to co-operate.

dandosam

princeofpounds said:

Hi OP, not sure why you've deleted your original post (I read it beforehand). I know that some replies you get may be uncomfortable as people come at things from a variety of perspectives and may jump to conclusions (such as the ability of your ex to pay) based on the limited information you give them, but generally people will aim to help where they can. If you left the information up, correct people when they have made wrong inferences and clarify when questioned, the advice tends to converge to a more useful point. 

Making a complaint to the HA absolutely makes sense, but bear in mind the cold, hard legal reality that you remain a tenant until the tenancy is terminated or assigned elsewhere. The HA may have their own service standards and obligations that give you a bit more room, but your own tenancy obligations don't change just because you feel they should due to your new circumstances. There were probably ways to tackle all this in a more planned manner but I can understand you have to deal with the situation as it is now.

I wanted to add one thing to the suggestions given so far - you may want to call Shelter's advice line for better information on how to interact with your HA on these issues. 

Thank you, yes it was my first time, and I did feel uncomfortable. I will call the advice line thanks

dandosam

davidmcn said:

Also bear in mind that the HA can't unilaterally transfer the tenancy to somebody else - the new tenant has to co-operate.

Oh he's fine for it to be transferred, in fact he made the initial phone call on the 13.03.20 to try and sort it out, but they would only speak to me (understand that obviously). On top of the numerous calls I have made, he has called too, it's just the principal that if it had been done when originally asked, all I would owe would be my notice period, I had lived there 10 years, and not missed one payment. The only reason I initially cancelled the direct debit was that I foolishly thought it would be dealt with quickly, as they were so certain it would be

dandosam

princeofpounds said:

Hi OP, not sure why you've deleted your original post (I read it beforehand). I know that some replies you get may be uncomfortable as people come at things from a variety of perspectives and may jump to conclusions (such as the ability of your ex to pay) based on the limited information you give them, but generally people will aim to help where they can. If you left the information up, correct people when they have made wrong inferences and clarify when questioned, the advice tends to converge to a more useful point. 

Making a complaint to the HA absolutely makes sense, but bear in mind the cold, hard legal reality that you remain a tenant until the tenancy is terminated or assigned elsewhere. The HA may have their own service standards and obligations that give you a bit more room, but your own tenancy obligations don't change just because you feel they should due to your new circumstances. There were probably ways to tackle all this in a more planned manner but I can understand you have to deal with the situation as it is now.

I wanted to add one thing to the suggestions given so far - you may want to call Shelter's advice line for better information on how to interact with your HA on these issues. 

Oh, I absolutely understand that I was liable, but they agreed it could be done, and then never contacted me back, hence all the chasing. I fully expect to pay my termination notice period, but as they haven't contacted me, even after contacting them several times, the amount has now spiralled

HampshireH

You wouldn't have  a notice period if they transferred  it.

I missed the 1st post. But he cant be a tenant if it wasnt a joint tenancy.  He can be an occupant.