Don't have Housing proof letter for UC and landlady will not give a letter for UC ?

kayshaw555

Hi i have been claiming UC since a year due to this pandemic and no income from any sources at all. UC has been paying me every month ( £411 standard allowance -single person plus £900 house rent ) . £900 is the housing rent i have claimed living with a private landlady who is 96 yrs old. When i moved in 11 yrs ago i signed a tenancy agreement and cant find now. I have been paying this landlady every month by cash in hand as she is old and its a hassle for her to go to bank and withdraw. Recently UC contacted (Retrospective Verification Team )me that i need to submit my housing rent proof .

1) I don't have tenancy agreement , i have lost it somewhere as its been long as have been living there since 11 yrs.
2) i cant get letter from my landlady as i am abroad now since a month and have gone back to my home country due to an medical emergency and will be here for another 2 months.
3) My landlady wont sign and give me any thing as she is skeptical plus in a stage of dementia ( 96 yrs old ) and paranoid about signing anything due to her age.
4) When i left her home to go to my home country she even told me that she will not take me back home and i need to find other house  

UC has now asked for a proof of housing cost and said if it don't submit i will have to pay back them all overpaid amount . Guys am stressed as i don't want this stress of overpayment recovery which could be £900 (rent ) X 12 months = £10,800. ( don't know how they calculate overpayment) .  Pls help guys am just stressed with all personal and professional things going on in my life  This is the exact notice on UC account asking for proof of ID and housing proof. 

we need you to provide us with proof of your identity, this should be a clear photo of a photographic ID, eg; Passport or Driver’s license, and a photo of 
yourself holding the photographic ID. There is a second upload for proof of your housing costs, we need you to provide us with a copy of your tenancy/rental 
agreement. 
Clear instructions have been listed under both activities. 
Please note you must complete these by 02/07/2021 or your claim will be closed and an overpayment will be generated to recover all payments from the start of 
your claim. We cannot return you claim to payment until they have been completed.

marcarm

Do you rent from an agency or direct from the LL? 

Have you also declared that you are out of the country for longer than 1 month? 

If she won't sign anything, what happens if something goes wrong in the house such as the boiler breaks down, how will that get sorted out? 

To verify pubic rented costs, UC need to see:

Tenancy agreement
Letter from LL
Rent book

as well as proof of occupancy such as utility bill, bank statement with address or letter from agent/LL which expressly confirms occupation. 

without those, the rent cannot be verified

marcarm

Edit to say, she cannot just "not take you back", she has to follow the correct procedure for eviction by law, or this is a criminal matter. 

kayshaw555

Rent direct from LL.  I haven't told UC that am out of country for a month as too many things going on here. If something goes wrong in the house i help her as her children live abroad. one who lives locally is not helpful to her or me. For utility i can give them my bank letter, phone bill.  what are the other alternatives . 

marcarm

There are no other alternatives for UC, it is tenancy or letter. 

And you need to declare your absence, as you are allowed to be out of the country for 1 month (more in certain situations) or your claim will be closed as you have to be in the UK to be entitled to UC

This needs declaring asap or you may end up having to pay more back, once you declare your absence, a Decision Maker will determine your eligibility. 

kayshaw555

Thanks for your advise. I will update my absence in the UC account.

Can i make a new tenancy agreement and tell her children abroad to sign on her behalf and submit ? 

What if i cant produce tenancy or letter ? 
Isn't there a standard housing allowance paid by UC without the housing proof depending on the place you live? 

kayshaw555

Also i feel sorry for her as she is in a stage where she cant remember things and at times she is very normal. Once she told me to leave the house overnight and after 2 hours she was ok and said she never told me to leave the house.  

superbigal

She is smart enough to be accepting cash in hand for rent. Wonder if declaring income.
Presumably you will have receipts for all of your cash payments ? That might be worth uploading.

marcarm

kayshaw555 said:

Thanks for your advise. I will update my absence in the UC account.

Can i make a new tenancy agreement and tell her children abroad to sign on her behalf and submit ? 

What if i cant produce tenancy or letter ? 
Isn't there a standard housing allowance paid by UC without the housing proof depending on the place you live? 

If you cannot prove liability, you will not get anything at all. 

A new tenancy will be acceptable as long as it has the correct dates on it. Problem will be that it won't be singed by the LL, but someone representing them so that might be queried. 

What you are thinking of is the Local housing allowance, which is the maximum you can claim for your property. 

kayshaw555

Don't think so she is declaring . Don't have cash receipts
I have housing proof .

marcarm

What proof of housing do you have?