Universal Credit Query. Help Please!

[HotPotatoe22]

Posted here for footfall and because I'm not sure where else to post it.

I've left my husband and moved out of our mortgaged home with our young child because he refused too. We are selling the property and I will recieve some equity when it has all finalised.

Basically I have made a claim for universal credit for the personal allowance as we are currently living back at my parents due to the lack of properties available to rent in our area at the moment.
I was meant to find out on the 5th march how much I would be getting but for some reason this hasn't been done. I am meant to be recieving my first payment on the 9th.

However I have been lucky enough to now secure a property which is available for me to move in too on the 22nd March.
So I now have to apply for the housing costs too but how long will it take for that money to get to me so I can pay the landlord. I don't have alot of spare cash to pay upfront until the money has come through.
I understand I won't be eligible for Universal Credit once my equity from the property sale comes through and will then have to fend for myself and my young child.

Also, can anyone tell me if I can claim the full amount of housing costs that I'm entitled too even though my rent is less. I spoke to someone on the phone at universal credit who said that if my rent was actually £100 less then my housing allowance, then I get to keep that £100.

But my new landlord seems to think that they have to right me a tenancy agreement for the full amount of what my entitlement is and then I pay all that too them.
The property I'm looking at renting was advertised at £50 less then my allowance should be but he says that so we can help each other out, he will write me a tenancy agreement for the full amount and I will pay him all of it and he will put the money towards maintenance etc.
Saves it going back into the council's bank as they will only pay me the rent cost otherwise if that is what the tenancy agreement is.

Can anyone shed any light on this. I was hoping that I would receive the full amount then pay them the rent and have £50 left over to help with bill costs.

Thanks in advance x

You will get what's on the tenancy agreement as your rent.
They won't just give you the local allowance amount

Ahh ok thankyou for that information.
So strange that the lady I spoke to on the phone from Universal Credit themselves gave me the wrong Information.

They are useless, you get a different answer everyone you ask.

Unfortunately there are a lot of new 'call centre' staff from Capita and Serco who have been employed to help with the massive increase in UC workload, and they don't know enough about UC and end up giving incorrect advice. You seem to have spoken to one of those.

You will receive your full rent if it is below your Local Housing Allowance but will not get the extra. Providing you provide all information required (usually a utility bill and tenancy agreement) then you should receive the housing allowance in your next payment. You can apply for backdating if, for some reason, you don't get it straight away, but this can take a very long time to decide and is by no means guaranteed

You wont get paid more than you pay in rent because you have chosen to rent a property that is less than your LHA. The day you start renting you will need to report a change on your journal that you are now paying rent and you will need to upload a tenancy agreement. As soon as they verify that it should be able to be paid fairly quickly.
Rent element is paid alongside your standard and child elements and wages reduce the whole award. If you are working then , one you start claiming the rent element, the first £292 of earnings is disregarded before wages reduce your total UC.

Errm the landlord should be covering the maint costs in your actual rent not the inflated rent to get more out of the government

Your landlord sounds dodgy too !!

If you are going to use your equity to buy another home then that money can be disregarded for up to 6 months.

The value in the house you've moved out of can be disregarded for 6 months, and then a further six months from it being placed on the market (this latter 6 months can be extended where reasonable).

Please be careful. I have seen a case where a lady moved out of a home she jointly owned with her child and her ex then refused to sell. After the initial 6 months was up, she was no longer able to get any UC at all and was left in very difficult position.

Have you obtained some legal advice regarding your split?

I agree landlord sounds dodgy. The rent is the rent. He shouldn't be putting it up because he knows he can get extra from UC. He should be maintaining the property anyway!

There are two big issues for you here. 1. If he ups the rent on the tenancy agreement and you stop being eligible for UC then you have to pay that increased rent if that's what you signed up to 2. If he is proposing to write a fake agreement for you to give UC as proof of a higher rent so he can get more money then that is fraud that you do not want to be colluding in. So that should be a hard no from you on that one.

And as others have said you don't get your LHA if your rent is less.

You get your rent OR LHA whichever is lower.

I would call the citizen advice UC alone if you are still within the first month of your claim for advice - 0800 144 8444. As others have said most people working on the DWP line and at the Job Centres have been poorly trained and commonly give out incorrect information.

If your landlord is dodgy about the rent what else is he going to be dodgy about. He's making it sound like doing repairs is him doing you a favour, instead of the truth which is it's his responsibility as landlord. I wouldn't move there.

@AmberItsACertainty

If your landlord is dodgy about the rent what else is he going to be dodgy about. He's making it sound like doing repairs is him doing you a favour, instead of the truth which is it's his responsibility as landlord. I wouldn't move there.

Yeah, this. Also, why on earth did you tell him you'd be getting more than the rent cost (you won't). The money is most definitely better off with the council than it is with the landlord.

I'm a little confused about why you are so keen to get more money than your rent but are then considering giving it to your landlord? The system is set up to ensure you have a roof over your head which is what it will do if it pays your rent. Any additional housing costs you claim is ripping off tax payers, depriving someone who needs it of that money and lining the pockets of your landlord. Please don't do this.

What PP said, you can only claim the amount of your rent, you do not get the full LHA if your rent is less. I have been on housing benefit myself so I know.

You do have to pay your costs upfront and housing benefit is paid in arrears. So you won't get the first payment until about 4 weeks after your claim. I think it might even be longer than that with UC.

I don't like the sound of your landlord.

Do not rent this property.

Really! Despite what was told to you, did you really think that you’ll be able to essentially make a profit?

UC is absolutely shit OP, do not listen to them when they tell you your better off working if you need to claim childcare costs. Every month they manage to fuck something up so it doesn't get paid, if you work get a job around kids school or family help.

Gingerbread have a helpline for single parents qhich can give benefit advice. It is really good and often you get straight through.

Good luck OP I think you will need it. Double check everything they tell you.