Housing Benefit - Restraining Order on main home

Spectrum2020

Hi all,

Not sure if there are any housing benefit experts on here?

I have a case where a gentleman has a restraining order preventing him from living at his home address for 6 months.  He owns the home with a mortgage but currently claims UC including the housing element.

As he had nowhere else to go he presented himself to the local authority as homeless, and they referred him to temporary accommodation providers.  As there was nowhere available in his own local authority area, he was housed in the next closest local authority area by a supported accommodation provider who helped him complete an application for housing benefit (as the property is either exempt or specified accommodation).

However the local authority have now written to him to say he isn't entitled to housing benefit for the temporary accommodation as he intends to return to his main home when the restraining order ends, and is only eligible to housing costs for one home, which is the one he intends to return to.  When he has spoken to them they have also said if he ends his UC housing element claim on his main home he still won't be entitled to housing benefit for the temporary accommodation as it is not his normal home.

Has anyone come across a similar situation?  I'm not sure what they expect him to do, other than sleep on the streets or run up a huge bill in temporary accommodation costs.  He can't afford to stay in hotels or rent anywhere privately, and doesn't have any friends or family who could put him up.

Does the local authorities decision sound right?

Alice_Holt

He may want to seek advice from Shelter.
https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice

I'm not sufficiently familiar with the law / case law around HB / temporary housing / restraining orders, but he has always the option to appeal the LA decision, (however that is a lengthy process). 

NedS

As he is claiming UC, any housing entitlement would be paid through that rather than Housing Benefit by the local authority.

From a UC perspective, the issue is that if he owns a property that he is not living in, then that property falls to be treated as capital, and if there is more than £16k of capital they are not eligible to claim. He would need to ask UC to consider disregarding the capital of the property during the next 6 months until he is legally able to return to the property. In the meantime, UC can pay housing entitlement to help towards the cost of renting somewhere to live.

poppy12345

NedS said:

As he is claiming UC, any housing entitlement would be paid through that rather than Housing Benefit by the local authority.

OP says it's temporary housing, so this would be covered by housing benefit.

Spectrum2020 said:

 they referred him to temporary accommodation providers.

pmlindyloo

Spectrum2020 said:

Hi all,

Not sure if there are any housing benefit experts on here?

I have a case where a gentleman has a restraining order preventing him from living at his home address for 6 months.  He owns the home with a mortgage but currently claims UC including the housing element.

As he had nowhere else to go he presented himself to the local authority as homeless, and they referred him to temporary accommodation providers.  As there was nowhere available in his own local authority area, he was housed in the next closest local authority area by a supported accommodation provider who helped him complete an application for housing benefit (as the property is either exempt or specified accommodation).

However the local authority have now written to him to say he isn't entitled to housing benefit for the temporary accommodation as he intends to return to his main home when the restraining order ends, and is only eligible to housing costs for one home, which is the one he intends to return to.  When he has spoken to them they have also said if he ends his UC housing element claim on his main home he still won't be entitled to housing benefit for the temporary accommodation as it is not his normal home.

Has anyone come across a similar situation?  I'm not sure what they expect him to do, other than sleep on the streets or run up a huge bill in temporary accommodation costs.  He can't afford to stay in hotels or rent anywhere privately, and doesn't have any friends or family who could put him up.

Does the local authorities decision sound right?

Perhaps you could explain the sentence that I have highlighted?

Do you mean that he is claiming housing costs for his main mortgaged home?  What kind of costs are these? For example, is this a shared ownership home and the housing costs cover the rent?  Or something else?

I am no expert but I would have thought that claiming housing costs through Universal Credit for his main home and housing benefit for his temporary accommodation would be a no no. (if this is the case)

Did he live in his main home by himself or has he a partner?  If he has a partner is it a joint mortgage?

With further details someone may be able to give some more possible solutions.

huckster

Have come across similar situations Housing problems , where the DWP local partnership manager has a discussion with the local Council Authority to try to resolve.  Both DWP and Local Council Authority have a responsibility to prevent homelessness.

Best way forward may be to contact local Job Centre to book an appointment, where all information can be obtained about the circumstances and they can then seek to get the local DWP partnership manager involved, who will have access to senior people at the Local Council Authority.

Let DWP and Local Council Authority argue this one out. Hopefully one of them will pick up the temporary housing costs.