Expert advice needed on social housing rent arrears

Brie

Here's the situation....

A property has been rented by a housing association for a very long time to an individual - maybe 20 years.  Because of an array of medical and mental health issues the rent has been paid throughout the tenancy directly from benefits.  Every month as agreed when the individual moved in.  

The housing association has recently changed management and someone has clocked the fact that the original rental agreement as signed by the HA & the tenant 20 years back states that rent is to be paid in advance.  In reality it has always been paid in arrears at the end of the rental month.  So rent due this month should be paid on the 1st at the latest but has always been paid on the 28th.  There is almost no danger (assuming the DWP doesn't cut off everyone) of the rent not continuing to being paid. 

Because the actual original tenancy states rent is paid in advance tenants are now being issued with rent arrears letters stating they need to pay up within 30 days.  The letters then go on to state that if paying in 30 days isn't possible an agreement will need to be set up to pay over the next 2 years.  So the HA might say £720 is due now but agree that this can be paid off at £30 a month. 

Because the individual involved is vulnerable physically and mentally they have no way to magic up this money and the demand for payment is exceedingly upsetting for them.  Unfortunately so far the HA isn't willing to take no for an answer even even with the support of a debt adviser/citizen's advice.  

So 2 questions

Is this legal?  In that it's never been an issue for 2 decades why do they have the right to suddenly make demands that the individual cannot fulfill?   Given the HA exists as a way to support vulnerable individuals it seems odd, to say the least, that they feel their actions are appropriate.

And assuming that it is legal what amount are they allowed to demand?  They are asking for an amount equal to a current month's rent.  Should they not be asking for the original amount from 20 years back which obviously would be significantly less and might be managed though perhaps only over the next 10 years. 

silvercar

Because the actual original tenancy states rent is paid in advance tenants are now being issued with rent arrears letters stating they need to pay up within 30 days. 

Which is exactly what will happen. The arrears as such will be paid within 30 days as the benefits will pay them at the end of the month.

Is this legal?  In that it's never been an issue for 2 decades why do they have the right to suddenly make demands that the individual cannot fulfill? 

Yes it is legal, the tenant signed an agreement that they then breached. Continuously. 

Given the HA exists as a way to support vulnerable individuals

The HAA exists to provide housing. It doesn't exist to support individuals, really the benefit system exists to support individuals.

And assuming that it is legal what amount are they allowed to demand?  They are asking for an amount equal to a current month's rent.  Should they not be asking for the original amount from 20 years back which obviously would be significantly less and might be managed though perhaps only over the next 10 years.

They can ask for the current arrears, whatever they are. From what you post they are this month's advance rent.

They can ask, but there is little they can do, given that the arrears are cleared each month and never amount to more than a month's rent. Involve the local councillor if it is an issue that is effecting a lot of people. It may be that having voiced discontent, the issue then goes quiet. It isn't in anyone's interest to evict tenants.

elmer

Are they able to make regular small payments to eventually build up  enough that their rent is then in credit? My local HA has been asking their tenants to do this since UC started.

Brie

@silvercar
so effectively you're saying they can safely ignore these letters?  Obviously the HA isn't going to try to evict them but it's still distressing especially where someone's mental health is less than perfect (& whose is?).

@elmer
I expect that some of their tenants will manage but others will not.  The individual I've been talking to currently has more outgoings than income so any top up is impossible and will remain so possibly indefinitely.  

So the problem is to get the HA to stop sending these things out to those who cannot and will not be able ever to catch up.  I'd be happy to get them to limit their request to once a year but maybe that's optimistic.  

silvercar

Brie said:

@silvercar
so effectively you're saying they can safely ignore these letters?  Obviously the HA isn't going to try to evict them but it's still distressing especially where someone's mental health is less than perfect (& whose is?).

@elmer
I expect that some of their tenants will manage but others will not.  The individual I've been talking to currently has more outgoings than income so any top up is impossible and will remain so possibly indefinitely.  

So the problem is to get the HA to stop sending these things out to those who cannot and will not be able ever to catch up.  I'd be happy to get them to limit their request to once a year but maybe that's optimistic.  

That is why I suggested involving a local councillor. 

Unlikely the HA will only send to some not to others as (a) they won't know who can't pay and (b) it isn't fair to only target those able/ willing to pay.

MultiFuelBurner

Is there not a precedent set for rent in arrears that trumps an agreement if this has been the case for 20 years?

powerspowers

I’ve seen this before with HAs as a result of UC changes they want tenants to be ahead in case there’s issues with the housing element. As far as I’m aware it’s a legitimate change to t&cs. 

I’d complain and say it’s causing distress. If they are still adamant offer a paltry sum £2 a month to very gradually get in front. 

Brie

Just as an update - had a meeting today with the HA and they honestly(?) didn't realise the impact the letters were having on some individuals.  They also stated that sending a letter was down the line in the process - first they ring, and text, then email and then send a letter.  But given that many vulnerable individuals don't answer the phone if they don't know who's calling and may not have a mobile (so no text) or an email account they ever look at the letter may be the first thing time they hear about these "arrears". 

So the income team have been asked to look again at the letter and amend it to say this is the Xth attempt to reach someone.  

They have also been asked to explain that a major reason for tidying up the arrears is so that the individual can move to a different home should they wish to as having any kind of arrears would prevent that.  

And as an fyi - the HA has various teams to deal specifically with the needs of vulnerable individuals - so liaison officers to help deal with complaints, benefits, debt issues etc.  

They were saying all the right words and in the right order but it did seem a bit of a publicity stunt - something good may come out of it but how much and for how long?

deannagone

Be grateful your HA has any kind of a special needs department lol.  My council housing department has absolutely nothing to make communication easier for those with special needs.., not even one person.  Consequntly comms are a nightmare (am autistic).

pmlindyloo

Have you tried to get help with this debt ? (I see you have spoken with a CAB advisor)

Did the CAB advisor not suggest that the individual can apply for a Discretionary Housing payment?

Applying for a Discretionary Housing Payment - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Or are you concerned with the admin process of the HA rather than the debt? 

goldfinches

In my experience what you were told at the meeting is window dressing to make the HA look good. 

I think it disingenuous to say that they have no idea of the impact of arrears notifications on tenants. HAs know perfectly well that threatening someone's home is very frightening and they know who their vulnerable tenants are especially if those tenants have lived there for decades. 
I also think the process of phone calls, texts etc. that they describe could well appear to be a scam to some people. If someone rang you up and said you owed them money and should pay immediately would you believe them without having received any paperwork?

Do they not send regular rent statements? The HAs local to this area send quarterly letters including these statements plus a newsletter.

The HA's local to this area ask new tenants to complete a form specifying their preferred method of contact. Are you able to discover whether the tenant you're helping was ever asked to fill in a form like this and, if so, point out that the HA should follow the form when making contact with them.

Secondly, when you're housing vulnerable tenants and have a team of liaison officers can they have a named contact that they've met and formed a relationship with and can that person be the one who sorts out issues like this? Surely that's what such a team should be doing so if this isn't possible ask why not.

In my experience there are a lot of tenants in this situation which I think of as being technically in arrears due to the way the HA , the local authority HB and any contributions coming from the DWP intersect. This is one area that I do believe is well overdue for legislation to make HA's in particular acknowledge that many of their tenants are not and have never been in arrears.

What I've found effective after these sorts of meetings is to write a complaint letter to them giving very specific details of what the tenant you're supporting wants to happen now and in the future. I think of these as being like a Letter Before Action and they are minutely detailed.

e.g. HA will send quarterly hard copy rent statements showing all payments made into Tenant's rent account with details of depositors and showing that each month the rent is paid in full.
There should also be a written explanation included saying that the rent is due on x date and that the HA system shows arrears until the HB and DWP money is received but that this is a technical accounting term and is not meant to alarm or distress the tenant and does not require any action by the tenant. 

I keep a copy, send a copy to the relevant local councillor and have the HAs copy delivered by Recorded Signed For. Once you have either had no response or a useless one then I go to the Housing Ombudsman. I usually find that then there is a mild panic and something is done about your complaint, however I warn you that you do have to keep revisiting it as quite often the action starts well but then peters out and you have to remind people that they said they'd do x. 

In my experience there is no hope of getting overall procedures changed, the best you can hope for is that your individual case is taken up and dealt with properly and all of this takes a long time. I usually allow 18 months from start to finish but have experienced longer times so the tenant you're supporting needs to be able to cope with the situation for all that time. This can be difficult because people don't usually ask for help until they're at the end of their tether so that might need talking over carefully. 

Good luck, you're going to need it.