Rent Arrears

Mariolanza

Hello
I hope someone can help.
I have rented my council bungalow for over 2 years and receive a small amount of housing benefit which is sent straight to the housing association. I am in receipt of a small Belgian pension which changes every month due to the exchange rate.  I then neped to notify the Housing benefit of this change.  Now the Housing association has told me I am in arrears by almost £800. They say the problem was not picked up for over 2 years! This is really not my fault as they should have noticed a discrepancy from the onset. I don't feel it's my fault and now I need to pay it back. Where do I stand?

Mariolanza

*I then NEED* etc...

princeofpounds

You need to pay it back, of course, assuming their sums are correct. But you have a good argument to ask for a payment plan. If you do that, together with offering an initial lump sum, then you'll boost your chances of being offered good terms.

AdrianC

Are you being hit with any penalty charges or back interest? You might have a case for arguing they should not apply because the issue was not your fault.

But the actual arrears? Nope. Your best hope is to negotiate time to pay.

[Deleted User]

You stand paying it back. Speak to them about a repayment period that doesn't cause you too much hardship.

moneysavinghero

It's not about who's fault it is. You rent a house that is x per month. If you haven't paid that then you need to. By law they have 6 years in which they can ask you to pay back underpaid rent.

pmlindyloo

Mariolanza said:

Hello
I hope someone can help.
I have rented my council bungalow for over 2 years and receive a small amount of housing benefit which is sent straight to the housing association. I am in receipt of a small Belgian pension which changes every month due to the exchange rate.  I then neped to notify the Housing benefit of this change.  Now the Housing association has told me I am in arrears by almost £800. They say the problem was not picked up for over 2 years! This is really not my fault as they should have noticed a discrepancy from the onset. I don't feel it's my fault and now I need to pay it back. Where do I stand?

The first thing you need to do is ask for a breakdown of rent payments from your housing association to check that the arrears are correct.

You say that your HB varies due to your pension.  So how do you know how much 'top up' to your rent you need to make?

If the arrears are correct then you need to ask your housing association for a repayment plan.

I am sorry to say that I believe the arrears are down to you as the rent is your responsibility and will have to be paid back.

Having said that since your HB is sent to your housing association and the 'top up' comes from you it must be hard for you to keep track of it all.

Is it possible for you to have the HB paid direct to you so that you pay the full rent yourself?  Much simpler although with arrears the HA may not be happy with this.

In the future I would ring your HA just before each rent day and ask how much you need to pay.