Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Unable to pay full rent

415 replies

bratzdoll · 25/11/2021 12:25

I'm a single parent currently on maternity leave so I receive UC monthly to help pay my rent and further bills. I'm private renting but I got the flat through the homelessness scheme (when you're homeless and in temporary accommodation but willing to take a private flat instead of waiting years in temporary accommodation until a council flat is available)

The benefit of private renting through the homelessness scheme is that the council are in contact with Landlords that are happy to rent to someone on UC and are usually happy to negotiate the monthly rent price.

I moved into the flat a few months ago and always pay my rent to the Landlord's agent one day before it's due just so the receive it without any problems or anything.

This month my UC was around £1100 less than it should have been because my employer incorrectly reported that I had earned around £2500 last monthConfused
I'm still only receiving SMP so I have no clue how they made such a drastic mistake but this means DD and I are living on near to nothing this month.

I sent an email to the Landlord's agent a few days before the rent was due to let them know the situation. I included screenshots of my UC Payment page so they could see the breakdown of what I normally get and see what was deducted. I did say I was able to contribute a small amount to the rent (less than £200 as I was given less than £400 from UC to live on for the month)
I also let them know that I spoke to my work coach about what happened as she's raised this with the investigation team so hopefully she'll hear back from them soon.

I spoke to the agent on the phone the day before the rent was due (I always speak to the manager btw) and she was very understanding and just said to update her with what happens. The next morning I get an email from her saying the Landlord was not happy at all (understandingly) and that I need to do whatever it takes to be able to pay the rent in full including taking out an overdraft!

I've never not paid my rent since I've lived here and it's not as if I got the dates mixed up or I spent the money on something else. The rent amount wasn't given to me for no fault of my own. I was a bit shocked at the Landlord's response as I'd literally given him more than half of what I received just to be able to contribute something. When in reality I could have kept it and spent that on myself and my daughter as we desperately need it!

There's often a discussion on Twitter about some Landlords and how they refuse to be understanding even in unavoidable situations. I understand I'm renting and effectively helping to pay off his mortgage, but this wasn't my fault at all.

(just in case anyone wants to bash me for being on benefits, I've been working full time since I was 17. It's more or less impossible to be a single parent living on SMP)

OP posts:
Itsalmostanaccessory · 25/11/2021 13:14

Cross posted there.
I'd be calling your payroll department directly. And keep on at them.

Embracelife · 25/11/2021 13:16

Can you get a temporary overdraft?
Since you expect yo get refunded soon

Can you return to work sooner?

VanCleefArpels · 25/11/2021 13:18

Speak to employer, get the PAYE sorted

Get a referral to a food bank from CAB, this will free up some cash
Plan to eat everything in your cupboards, this will free up some cash
Discuss with family, could they help out with some cash

Bottom line is to demonstrate with landlord/agent that you have done everything you can to solve this temporary cash flow issue and paid as much as you humanly can

But also don’t panic, even if the worst were to happen it takes a very long time and is v expensive for a landlord to properly evict you. Assuming your landlord is rational they will weigh up the costs against what you owe and I will guarantee the former is greater than the latter.

LIZS · 25/11/2021 13:19

Unfortunately many ll have outgoings of their own, dependant on rental income, and they may previously have had tenants who let them down. Hope you get it sorted. How much can you pay?

Faevern · 25/11/2021 13:24

Have you asked for an advance or loan on your UC to release the money while you wait. This is one of the big problems with UC any fuck up, whoever’s fault, can leave the claimant in dire straits.

Newnameneededxx · 25/11/2021 13:25

“This month my UC was around £1100 ”

Just trying to get my head round this and thinking I must have done something wrong somewhere along the line when my monthly take home pay is £1400

claymodels · 25/11/2021 13:29

Landlord was not happy at all (understandingly) and that I need to do whatever it takes to be able to pay the rent in full including taking out an overdraft!

Landlord suggestion is a good one tbh. I don't know why you think otherwise. It's your responsibility and if an ID could help you get your rent paid then pay it back when you get the money sorted that is a great solution.

misssunshine4040 · 25/11/2021 13:33

@VanCleefArpels

Speak to employer, get the PAYE sorted

Get a referral to a food bank from CAB, this will free up some cash
Plan to eat everything in your cupboards, this will free up some cash
Discuss with family, could they help out with some cash

Bottom line is to demonstrate with landlord/agent that you have done everything you can to solve this temporary cash flow issue and paid as much as you humanly can

But also don’t panic, even if the worst were to happen it takes a very long time and is v expensive for a landlord to properly evict you. Assuming your landlord is rational they will weigh up the costs against what you owe and I will guarantee the former is greater than the latter.

The landlord is not going to know whether she has done any of this or not. It's an admin error that needs corrected. It does not require the OP to go to food banks and eat all the food in her cupboard
Lou98 · 25/11/2021 13:33

This is very true. He didn't get on with the previous tenants and they happened to be on UC too

I would say this is most likely causing his judgement to be clouded. In fairness to him, you said you've been there a few months so while you've always paid so far, it has only been a few months - it would be different if you'd been there for years and never missed a payment but after a few months it isn't really fair to say he should trust you'll pay it because you've never missed a payment.

At the end of the day though, there isn't much you can do until it's sorted. Pay the rent as soon as you're able and hopefully your employers won't make the same mistake again

LittleGwyneth · 25/11/2021 13:34

I very much doubt that a bank is going to give a £1000 overdraft to someone who is on UC. And if they did, it would probably be a very expensive solution.

It's odd how defensively of landlords people are on Mumsnet. I assume because lots of people on here are multiple property owners. But realistically your LL's options are to wait, or evict you. Which is a time consuming and probably expensive process. So really s/he would be best off trying to find a bit of sympathy and waiting for a bit.

Freddiefox · 25/11/2021 13:34

@Newnameneededxx

“This month my UC was around £1100 ”

Just trying to get my head round this and thinking I must have done something wrong somewhere along the line when my monthly take home pay is £1400

Have you applied for universal credit? What’s the average rent in your area.

I’m my area rent of often more than £1400, so people need support even if they are working.

SinoohXaenaHide · 25/11/2021 13:35

This is your employer's fault so they should be the ones to fix it. Your employers should be giving you an interest-free loan to be repaid once the UC situation is resolved and you get the money you should have got (and if it never gets resolved then if should be them that loses out, not you and not your landlord)

Faevern · 25/11/2021 13:40

@Newnameneededxx

“This month my UC was around £1100 ”

Just trying to get my head round this and thinking I must have done something wrong somewhere along the line when my monthly take home pay is £1400

Well if you are a single parent on maternity leave with rent to pay the thing you have done wrong is not claim UC.

If not then its not comparable.

Original poster
bratzdoll · 25/11/2021 13:42

@LIZS I've already paid all that I could have paid. I was given less than £400 from UC and gave the Landlord a little less than £200. I gave him just over half than what I received

OP posts:
VanCleefArpels · 25/11/2021 13:43

@misssunshine4040 what I was getting at was to encourage OP to open a dialogue with landlord to stress that she had tried to pay everything she can while thus using being sorted- the review could take many weeks if not months and OP’s landlord may be more understanding if they know the background abs the steps OP has taken to alleviate it

HarrietsChariot · 25/11/2021 13:43

Landlords aren't renting property to people to give them a place to live, they are trying to make money. One of the reasons landlords are often reluctant to take people on benefits is that they can be unreliable when it comes to paying on time, either they mismanage their money or a mistake is made that isn't the tenant's fault but causes them not to be able to pay.

I think the overdraft suggestion is fair enough, yes there may be fees and interest to pay but that's for you to try to claim back from your employer.

If the landlord has a mortgage he won't be able to delay paying it because your benefits are screwed up. Even if he doesn't have a mortgage he will budget for the rent in his calculations so your failure to pay might delay him expanding his property portfolio or mean he can't afford a trip to the Carribean this winter.

Ultimately it's the tenant's responsibility to pay on time regardless of circumstances that make it impossible.

misssunshine4040 · 25/11/2021 13:48

@HarrietsChariot

Landlords aren't renting property to people to give them a place to live, they are trying to make money. One of the reasons landlords are often reluctant to take people on benefits is that they can be unreliable when it comes to paying on time, either they mismanage their money or a mistake is made that isn't the tenant's fault but causes them not to be able to pay.

I think the overdraft suggestion is fair enough, yes there may be fees and interest to pay but that's for you to try to claim back from your employer.

If the landlord has a mortgage he won't be able to delay paying it because your benefits are screwed up. Even if he doesn't have a mortgage he will budget for the rent in his calculations so your failure to pay might delay him expanding his property portfolio or mean he can't afford a trip to the Carribean this winter.

Ultimately it's the tenant's responsibility to pay on time regardless of circumstances that make it impossible.

I agree but this landlord in particular was happy to take public funds to pay his rent purposely as he joined the council scheme to get a tenant knowing full well they would be in receipt of UC. In this circumstance he takes what comes with that
Original poster
bratzdoll · 25/11/2021 13:50

@claymodels

Landlord was not happy at all (understandingly) and that I need to do whatever it takes to be able to pay the rent in full including taking out an overdraft!

Landlord suggestion is a good one tbh. I don't know why you think otherwise. It's your responsibility and if an ID could help you get your rent paid then pay it back when you get the money sorted that is a great solution.

I don't know why you think I haven't already tried to take out an overdraft already.

As someone already said, what bank would approve £1k overdraft to someone who's on SMP and already on UC.

I've also tried to borrow from family members but it hasn't been possible

OP posts:
LIZS · 25/11/2021 13:51

£200 is how much of the rent due?

lampygirl · 25/11/2021 13:52

The overdraft is a valid suggestion IMO. It (or a loan etc) is what the rest of us have to do. Being on UC doesn't get you out of your responsibilities.

GiltEdges · 25/11/2021 13:54

Would you believe the property was empty for a year plus before I moved in! Of course I don't know his financial situation but you'd think he'd have some sort of back up in place especially due to how long the property was empty for beforehand.

For all you know the property being empty for a year is what used up any back up/contingency the landlord had.

In any case, your negative feelings towards your landlord need to be redirected towards your employer; they're the ones who caused this situation by misreporting your earnings.

authenticforgery · 25/11/2021 13:57

@Newnameneededxx

“This month my UC was around £1100 ”

Just trying to get my head round this and thinking I must have done something wrong somewhere along the line when my monthly take home pay is £1400

What were you trying to do here? How is this helpful?
Burnamer · 25/11/2021 14:00

Why should the landlord have a buffer to cover your shortfall when it’s not reasonable to expect you to have a buffer to cover UC’s shortfall?
I understand it’s not practical for you to have that but why is there a mismatched expectation for the landlord to somehow have a magic pot of cash?
Ideally both parties should have a buffer but in reality neither may be able to.

You should pay your rent by any means OP but the practicalities of it are that you won’t get kicked out for not.

Original poster
bratzdoll · 25/11/2021 14:03

@Newnameneededxx

“This month my UC was around £1100 ”

Just trying to get my head round this and thinking I must have done something wrong somewhere along the line when my monthly take home pay is £1400

@Newnameneededxx Was this meant to be funny? I clearly stated I'm a single parent on maternity leave.

I never understood benefit bashing as everyone's circumstance/situation is different

OP posts:
Pinkdelight3 · 25/11/2021 14:03

you'd think he'd have some sort of back up in place

Funny, I thought the same about you having some sort of back up too. But you don't. And you think he should be glad that you've given him a fraction of what he's owed. Why? Are you glad that UC has given you a fraction of what you're owed? It's a crappy situation all round so try to be a bit less you vs him. There's so much ire on here about landlords not renting to people on benefits and yet when they do, this happens and they're still the bad guys.