Evidence of Renting for Universal Credit Claim When on Rolling Contract

girlagogo

I am currently claiming Universal Credit and have just secured a full time job. As a privately rented tenant, I started claiming during the Covid pandemic when evidence of a tenancy agreement was not required as this was all done online. I just provided the landlord address details. However, I have now been sent a telephone appointment to provide housing evidence to retrospectively price that I was eligible for claiming. I no longer have a tenancy agreement as I have been on a rolling, periodic contract since 2018. Evidence required is a tenancy agreement or a letter from the landlord stating that I am renting and monthly payments but I really do not want my landlord to know that I have been claiming as I am very worried that she may serve me notice, particularly as she prefers tenants who are not claiming benefits. My new job starts on the 3rd June but my the benefits agent still wants me to attend the appointment. Is there any other evidence that would be deemed as acceptable without me having to contact the landlord? I understand that landlords cannot discriminate but I am sure that she will serve me notice to leave and use an excuse of some sort 

calcotti

I suggest you provide the agreement you have and a copy of recent bank statements to show the amount you are currently paying.
Document Title (parliament.uk)

Supporting evidence for new claims and changes of address
Claimants must provide evidence of both of the following to confirm they are:
 legally responsible for making payment of rent - this can be established from the tenancy agreement, rent book, rent receipt or invoice or a letter from the landlord/agent
  living in the property for which they are liable to make payments of rent - this could be established from a utility bill, council tax bill or bank statement in their name and at that property address (if no other proof is available, a letter from the landlord/agent is allowed where this explicitly confirms the claimant is living at the address)
A single letter from a landlord confirming full details of the rent liability listed below, together with confirmation the tenant is living in the property, is sufficient to meet both evidence requirements.
Evidence of rent liability for new claims and changes of address
Evidence of rental liability is usually contained within a tenancy agreement, which are formal documents. Evidence of rent liability may also be established from handwritten letters or notes from the landlord, a rent book or rent receipts or invoices. A tenancy agreement or evidence of rent liability should include the:
  tenant and landlord’s name, address and contact details
  address of the property rented
 date the tenancy began and how long the term is for
  amount of rent and how often it is paid
  deposit amounts – this is usually mentioned on the tenancy agreement but it may not be clear as to whether it has been paid
 signatures in all relevant places by all tenants and landlord/agent
An expired tenancy agreement is also acceptable evidence. Once expired, they automatically convert to become ‘Statutory Periodic’ agreements’ or ‘Rolling Tenancy’ agreements if a notice to quit is not served

Note the last sentence.

MissFlossy222

I'm in the same boat. I just called the letting agents and asked them to email a copy of our tenancy agreement. It's been a rolling contract since 2013 and I couldn't find our original.
I didnt mention UC at all, they don't need to know why I need a copy. 
Just a word of warning though, I you can't provide the evidence UC need, they can contact your landlord directly to confirm your rent liabilities that way. 

girlagogo

MissFlossy222 said:

I'm in the same boat. I just called the letting agents and asked them to email a copy of our tenancy agreement. It's been a rolling contract since 2013 and I couldn't find our original.
I didnt mention UC at all, they don't need to know why I need a copy. 
Just a word of warning though, I you can't provide the evidence UC need, they can contact your landlord directly to confirm your rent liabilities that way. 

So did they accept the original tenancy agreement from 2013, even though you have been on a rolling contract since then?  Did you not have to provide any further proof of having a current agreement/still having been in the property for the duration of your claim?  I do have the original tenancy agreement but I thought that UC only accepted a current one that was still in date, not one that for example, lasted 6 months from 2016 then went into a rolling contract.

girlagogo

An expired tenancy agreement is also acceptable evidence. Once expired, they automatically convert to become ‘Statutory Periodic’ agreements’ or ‘Rolling Tenancy’ agreements if a notice to quit is not served

Note the last sentence.

Ah thanks calcotti - it looks like my original agreement should be acceptable....if I can find it! 

MissFlossy222

I uploaded it and put a message in my journal saying I could provide bank statements if they wanted, but I haven't heard anything from them. 

girlagogo

MissFlossy222 said:

I uploaded it and put a message in my journal saying I could provide bank statements if they wanted, but I haven't heard anything from them. 

Fingers crossed for you that they'll be ok with that.  If you could update on here what their response is that would be brilliant.

MissFlossy222

I just logged in to my UC account to check, and it says "Proof of housing costs- completed". There's no other message in my inbox so I presume that it's approved.

girlagogo

That's great news MissFlossy222.  I had my UC appointment today and even though I mentioned that my original contract had ended and was now rolling, the advisor still asked me to upload just the first and last page of my tenancy agreement.  So I should be OK, although I do have saved documents summarising my rental payments as standby just in case

girlagogo

MissFlossy222 said:

I just logged in to my UC account to check, and it says "Proof of housing costs- completed". There's no other message in my inbox so I presume that it's approved.

I just logged on today too and have received a message to say that my "documents have been verified".