Anyone work in social housing?

[Housinhelpplease]

Posting for traffic DD is distraught .
so we need to know what the rules are , where she stands …
DD 21 is currently in a temporary flat provided my a housing association , she moved there a couple of weeks ago from a young parents unit. Baby is tiny still.
she loves where she is and is happy to stay there for as long as they’ll let her but obviously their intentions are to move her to a long term social let.
here’s the issue , before applying for SH DD was in a private rented flat in the next town which is a different local authority. We paid her rent upfront for that period and she left owing nothing to the LL and getting her full deposit back. All good.
but she unwittingly ( as she thought she was exempt ) racked up council tax arrears of a few hundred pounds.
she’s only just discovered this after the council have enquired about it . Can they refuse to house her on these grounds ?
I’ve tried to find the information on various webpages but can’t . She is not in a position to be able to clear the arrears in one go and neither am I as my partner was the one with money at the time and now I’m a single parent with a disabled child unable to work.
obviously I’d sell my possessions if I have to clear this debt for her so she doesn’t lose her flat . I dont want to do this unnecessarily though. She’s willing to do a payment plan to clear it but will they evict her from her temporary housing in the meantime ?

Seeing as the housing association and local authority/council are two seperated entities I don't know that it would have any relevance.
She is best to ask the HA directly to get an answer from them

She won't be evicted. They still have a duty to house her.

I'm not a housing officer but if she sets up a payment plan to clear the debt I think she will be fine. I don't really think they can ask for anything more.

You said the council enquired about it. Is it the old council that she owes the money to or the new council who raised it?

I think as long as there is a payment plan in place and she sticks to it then that will be fine. She's showing she's clearing the debt. Have you negotiated the payment plan yet?

She needs to set up a payment plan, I had a similar situation and had to clear my arrears not just to my local authority but previous authority. Mine come about through the old LA not billing me properly, and with the new LA having some periods were I earned more money which meant that my standing order didn't cover it all, but my council said I couldn't be housed permanently until all arrears were paid OR I was a few months successfully paying a payment plan (which was only minimal). I would recommend she finds out the rules and also sets up a payment plan.

Council tax arrears should not affect her securing council housing but she does need to contact them and arrange an affordable repayment plan. Until recently I worked in LA housing and all they care about is the tenants ability to pay the rent from employment or benefits.

So for clarity it’s current council overseeing her housing application and the housing association provide special temporary housing units for vulnerable young parents , she’s very independent , drives , no health or emotional issues so she’s very quickly been moved from the unit into one of their self contained temporary flats by the HA. The LA though get to decide if she receives the offer of a proper tenancy and they are the ones asking for proof she owes nothing to the old council or landlord . This LA are very very difficult to get housed with they will use anything to avoid accepting a new tenant . So we are trying to decide how to deal with the housing panel as she has a licence at the current property not a tenancy so they don’t even need a court order to ask her to leave .

What's the reason she would think she was exempt?

I work for a social housing company. Are they a COMPLETELY separate entity from the council? Some are, some aren't. This is key to the outcome of the scenario

My LA is like this, you have to show you are up to date with all your payments or payment plans for council tax and rent or they reduce your banding until it's resolved

She was a student for part of the year but also worked and then claimed UC . To be honest i think they’ve overcalculated her liability but they it’s your responsibility to tell them at the time of benefits and stuff otherwise you’re liable to the bill. I ended up paying nearly £3k in council tax once when I was on benefits and earning below the amount to pay for 80% of that time . They point blank refused to go over those income months and I paid the whole lot with a loan to get a housing transfer .
so the general consensus is to start paying the old LA? And just wait until she’s been paying it off regularly? They won’t remove her from the list and temp accommodation?

I thought you couldn't be offered a tenancy if you had outstanding arrears.

The HA will be managing the temp housing and placements on behalf of the LA. Get a payment plan in place now before she is asked and before the LA gets a money judgment ( they are very quick to do this).

I think it does vary a lot by area how it effects you, but it's never a good plan to ignore a debt always better to face it and pay what you can.

Yes . The HA is a large housing association all over south England . The LA have still got a lot of stock of their own but also house applicants with the HA in their area . It’s a commuter town so demand is really high which is why actually getting a house is so tough. The HA seem to specialise in the temporary housing and special provision like supported / elderly / young / vulnerable. I think she doesn’t really qualify for that so they are paying extra for her to be in this service and want to move her to a bog standard £100 per week flat ( makes sense) but to do this she needs to have full tenancy awarded by council which is where this has come up.

Have a look to see if yoy have a local Law Centre OP. They'll probably have a housing and / or welfare benefits specialist who can advise or act on her behalf. For free. They'll also probably know from experience the practice of your LA and local housing providers.Tackling this early and getting on the right footing is a lot easier than reversing an unfavourable decision from the LA.

Thank you I will do this . Obviously if push comes to shove I’ll clear the debt but it will leave me in a right pickle financially. She’s already on the phone to the old LA negotiating a monthly DD . If they make her wait in the temp flat for 6 months she’ll be delighted because she’s very happy there. The only concern is them withdrawing altogether and her having to start the process again .

let her set up a payment plan. the fact that she is setting up a payment plan show intention to clear up the debt so that should affect her chances of getting a permanent place

In that case, the HA won't be able to refuse her long-term housing based on CT arrears. However, it may well affect the council paying towards anything other than emergency accommodation that she is in now.

Get the arrears paid or on a fixed payment plan. Most councils will accept that it's being paid off

She needs to speak to the council. Go through everything and check the figure they have is right in the first instance.

Then if she does owe it, she needs to set up a payment plan. Even if it's a pound a week. At least then the debt will be shown to be in the process of being paid.

She needs to address it head on and not just hope it will go away. Good luck