URGENT. Do you rent from a HOUSING ASSOCIATION? Do you claim HB Then please READ THIS.

[HelenaDove]

Many tenants are now receiving letters from their housing associations asking for their rent to be paid weekly in advance.

Example. You do not appear to be paying your rent in line with your tenancy agreement. For example you may not be paying your rent weekly in advance.

Please contact us on the above no. to discuss your rent account so we can advise you how best to keep your rent payments up to date and prevent further letters being sent.

When i recieved the first letter on the 14th June i was told by HA when i phoned them they tried to say that it was because of a break in our claim about 4 years ago. He backtracked when i told him that was rubbish then after talking to someone in the office he said it was sorted.

3 weeks later (last week ) we got an identical letter. Rang them up. Told rent now must be paid weekly in advance. Despite them accepting it the way it is for the past 23 years.

HB is paid 4 weekly in arrears.

Got a letter today telling us that 4 weeks rent is outstanding. I rang them up to be told our account was a few pence in credit.

Tenants are recieving these letters when they are just a DAY late paying the rent.

I popped to the council today to tell them what was going on and i was the second person going along there today. Bloke i saw at the council was really nice and helpful. And after ringing up making enquiries to a supervisor it is evident that all housing associations are doing it.

But not everyone is aware which is why i am posting this.

A poster on another thread said it could be down to Universal Credit or the approach of it.

Why dont they put that in the letters though. Instead of frightening people with letters like this.

Disabled people, pensioners, single parents are or will be getting these letters dropping on the doormat.

Some people have even had letters seeking possesion.

Got

Rent did get paid weekly while we were working in the early 2000s

DH had a heart attack a few years later and is now on state pension.

If you're rent is a day late I'd be visiting or wfiting to you too, if its a one off fine but if your rent is regularly paid late then that's an issue.

Having said that if you're entitled to housing benefit and this is the cause of the rent being paid late due to their payment cycle then there is not much you can do.

If the HA take you to court a sheriff will undoubtably side with the tenant, just be careful though that expenses are not sought against you in taking such action.

UC is a different matter altogether with folk spending their housing element and not paying rent.

I'm HA and they wrote to me a while ago explaining tHat they wanted everyone to get a month ahead of themselves with their rent because of UC. I guess different housing associations have approached it differently but we were given plenty of warning and the reasons were clearly explained.

Does the HB go to you or your housing association?
If I understand what you have put you currently pay your rent 4 weekly and your housing association are now insisting on weekly?
And that they want you to be a week in advance?
How long have you been a tenant with them? I thought a week in advance was standard practice.

Is there any information online about this to read?

user they are moving the goalposts after 23 years. And when i was working nights from 2001 to 2003 the rent didnt always get paid weekly in advance on a Monday due to the fact that i needed to sleep. (my nights included Sunday nights) we never got one letter about it back then.

HB goes straight to HA from council.

WildBelle my HA have not been so courteous The letters do not mention UC at all.

Which is interesting because ive just found out through a search just now that they took part in pilot tests.

With UC coming in, housing associations are facing a huge challenge as most people will get all of the UC paid direct to them and the housing element will be the responsibility of the tenant to pay rather than the money go direct to landlord, as it usually does with HB.

It is likely that arrears will sky rocket for HA's as many tenants will not prioritise rent which is going to be a huge problem. Getting the rent accounts in credit will mean they are 4 weeks better off to start chasing arrears than if they have to wait after the payment has been missed after already being 4 weeks in arrears.

Unfortunately they can't write to you and explain that, so you got the letter you did.

I work for a HA and the change to UC has changed many of the ways we were working and whole new teams have been employed to try to limit the damage and support people to pay their rent.

I don't claim HB but do pay my rent by DD. This is calculated and our rent statement flits from being in credit to debit throughout the year, Its the HA that calculates it like that so wondering what the difference to them this is just because of the methods of payments.

Why have you not set up a direct debit to ensure you are never late?
Easy to do then you don't have to worry.
It might work in your favour if the HB is paid to you and you pay the full rent each month.

Because we havent had to do that Cherie This has happened with NO NOTICE.

And DH and i will be paying by cheque when the time comes.

My friend gets full HB and has been getting letters saying that she has to psy x amount per week to keep the rent up to date. Fuck off was my polite answer to that. Its not my friends fault the rent is due monthly but the HB is paid 4 weekly so can sometimes be a little behind. They are still getting the full amount at the end of the year.

I get partial HB. 99% of the year i pay it weekly. The rest of the time its paid when i can. But i never get letters about it. We are the same HA.

You ask this every week or so!

Most HA are trying their best to bring tenants to a point where they are in advance with rent as I'm afraid that so many of them are owed vast rent arrears due to people thinking it is ok to not pay rent on time. I have worked with HA a lot and there is a core of tenants who appear to have a very "flexible" approach to rent payment no matter how small the rent. I'm not saying this applies to anyone posting but as with many things the few often spoil it for the many

i see paying rent as bloody important. I can already read beween the lines that assumptions are being made just because im a tenant DH and i can and do prioritise the rent.

i dont drink (have actually never been drunk in my life) i dont smoke and i am childfree by choice.

We would have appreciated some notice Surely thats not much to ask.

Seriously Helena why would you not set up a dd?
That way you don't have to worry about it getting there late!
You're going to pay by cheque when the time comes?? Are you trying to be awkward on purpose?

Is there any information online about this to read?

Rent is the most important bill for us so we do everything to ensure we pay it on time and don't do anything to cause unnecessary stress. We pay by direct debit. Principles ain't mean shit if you're homeless.

DH and i dont like the idea of DDs. At the moment we are showing up as in credit.

It will be paid by cheque. We are not being awkward. I did not post this thread to justify our possible payment methods. I posted it to warn others what is going on.

The cheques will be sent in advance. They wont be late. HB is paid 4 weeks in arrears at the mo. There is nothing we can do at the moment because that is how its paid.

Crochet i saw something on fb I will copy and paste it here.

'Don't like the idea of DDs' ??

Eh??

You have more financial protection than paying by cheque for a start?

And you might send them in advance but by the time they clear you will be in arrears again!

Hyde Housing Independent Resident Group
11 March ·

"Hi. Thanks for the add.
I have some very important information to share regarding the change that many people in Hyde and other Housing Associations are facing, regarding our rent being due in advance and Housing Benefit (in future Universal Credit) being paid in arrears.
I recently received a letter demanding payment, even though I am in receipt of full Housing Benefit.
This is due to Governmental Political changes.
When I received the letter, I phoned for clarification, and the (typically) rude person I spoke to told me that my Tenancy Agreement states that my rent is due in advance, and that I must ensure that this happens.
Following this, I put out a statement on Facebook, asking if anyone knew what the hell this is all about.
I received a response from a friend who is a Paralegal, and her comment was backed up by another friend who is a shit hot lawyer, and teacher of law students.
THEY HAVE NO LEGAL GROUNDS TO DO THIS.
I will ask my lawyer friend for further clarification, and the precise wording to use (she has already offered this).
But the way the law, all law, works is on the basic of precedence.
Despite the fact that our Tenancy Agreements state rent in advance, Hyde (& other HAs) have willingly entered into a three-way agreement between themselves, us (the Tenants) and Housing Benefit, in which the set legal precedence is that PAYMENTS THROUGH HOUSING BENEFIT ARE PAID IN ARREARS.
Now, the case may be different for newly established tenants from this point forward, but if you signed your tenancy agreement with the understanding that all or part of your rent is paid via Housing Benefit, then they have no legal right whatsoever to demand monies from you in advance.
As and when Universal Credit is rolled out, the same conditions are applied. ALL benefits are paid in arrears, and the expectation and legal precedence stands with those facts.
Do not let them fool you, they are committing an illegal act"

Most HA's have run lots of promotional material about the welfare changes. It has been difficult with UC as the roll out has been subject to delays so it has been hard for HA's to advise tenants as to when they will switch on to UC (roll out is geographical and by claimant groups - so not one cut off date). When UC is fully operational there will be possibly a five week delay between claiming and first payment and so HA's have had to work to ensure that tenants know their responsibilities. Most if not all tenancy agreements will stipulate that rent is due in advance - so they could have asked for an upfront payment even if tenants were intending to claim HB.