Universal Credit will not believe my landlord is NOT my partner

SomeonesMum

Hi.  My daughter has been forced to claim Universal Credit as she has missed out on the SEISS grants (despite paying taxes being in paid employment for 10 years)  She has since had to move into a house (the landlord lives there) as a lodger paying £400 a month.  She contacted UC who told her it would be difficult for her to prove her landlord wasn't her partner.  He isn't!  And it is none of their business but he is gay (which is why she felt comfortable sharing with him) and I bet they wouldn't have asked the same question if the landlord was a woman.  How is she supposed to prove they are not a couple?!!!!!

calcotti

That's absurd.
When she claims she will declare she is a lodger, she will need a tenancy agreement to evidence this. UC would need evidence to contradict this in order to treat her as a partner. 
Obviously there are lots of lodgers around the country and I am sure sure most are not sleeping with their landlords.

tomtom256

They would and do ask same sex lodgers and landlords the same question.

Was this sent to a decision maker or did the case manager or work coach make the decison?

Either way ask for a mandatory reconsideration asap.

calcotti

tomtom256 said:

They would and do ask same sex lodgers and landlords the same question.

How do DWP expect people to prove a negative?
OP, I guess it might help if your daughter is able to explain what has prompted the move.

Alice_Holt

SomeonesMum said:

 She contacted UC who told her it would be difficult for her to prove her landlord wasn't her partner. 

     Is her claim in payment ?
     Has she a lodgers agreement with the landlord?   Has she passed this to UC ?
     Has she been refused the housing element ? 

    Or was the UC contact with a call-handler on the UC help line ?
If so, she can ignore that statement - training of UC call handlers is very poor. They often give claimants false information which is at variance with the UC regs.
It can be frustrating for claimants to wait 60 mins on the UC helpline, only to get connected to a DWP call handler giving incorrect info.

macman

If she is a lodger, then she won't have a tenancy agreement...

calcotti

macman said:

If she is a lodger, then she won't have a tenancy agreement...

True, incorrect terminology on my part, however they ought to have a lodger agreement to evidence to UC.

TheShape

First thing to be done (it's not been mentioned that it has been done) is to report the change of address and associated housing costs in the UC account.  There should then follow a request to upload documents.  Take things from there.

calcotti

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/661551/adme4.pdf

E4093 To be treated as LTAMC the relationship has to be the same as that of a married couple. Marriage is where two people join together with the intention of sharing the rest of their lives. There is no single template of what the relationship of a married couple is. It is a stable partnership, not just based on economic dependency but also on an emotional relationship of lifetime commitment rather than one of convenience, friendship, companionship or the living together of lovers. If the evidence does not suggest that it is more likely than not that the relationship between two people has the emotional quality that characterizes a married couple’s partnership, the DM should find that they are not LTAMC.

Read the whole document to see the guidance DMs have on how to determine the nature of the relationship.

Teahfc

If she was to show her bank statement then surely it would have the £400 transfer( payment) to her landlord? 

SomeonesMum

Hi.

Thanks everyone for such helpful advice.  She insisted on the supervisor ringing her back.  She agreed to accept a letter from my daughter's landlord and proof that she was living there which entailed a quick change of address on her driving license, plus proof of payments.  I think it all boiled down to a lack of training of the person assigned to her UC claim.  Steep learning curves for a lot of us at the moment!

Thanks again!