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| LHA Issues log - last update 12 January 2008 | |||
| Title | Issue | Open/cleared | Comments |
| "Long-stop" date April 2009 | New regulations come into force for all claimants | Cleared | LHA regs will apply to all claimants from April 09. This does not mean that all claimants will move on to LHA from that date (the new regs contain all the current protections). Unclear why DWP lawyers felt they could not apply to all claimants from April. |
| Advantageous changes | How do changes to the size criteria fit in with the advantageous change time limit? | Open | Under the current regs, these are dealt with under D&A Reg 7(2)(a) as a regular change of circs and so the time limit applies. But in future they will be dealt with under Reg 7A, which is not subject to the time limit. |
| Backdating | Loss of entitlement. Any protection? | Closed | Backdating a claim can mean claimant entitled to less benefit. DWP advise they are considering changing the backdating rules to cater for this however, this has not been mentioned since so appears to have been abandoned. |
| Backdating and BRMA | Which month to use? | Cleared | Does the LA use the current rent levels or the levels at the start of the backdate period? DWP advise: use the rent levels at the start of the backdate period. |
| Big bang | Why did DWP not roll out to all claims at once? | Cleared | DWP comment: "Following evaluation of the Pathfinder sites the decision was made not go with a big bang approach in order to give LA’s a feed in time for transferring their caseload, this will alleviate a lot of problems that big bang sites had and also avoid the need for any transitional protections schemes which would add complexity to the scheme." |
| Caravans | Could the 'rental' charge and site rent fall under different schemes? | Open | LHA does not apply to periodical payments of kind falling within regulation 12(1) (rent) which a person is liable to make in relation to a houseboat, caravan or mobile home which he occupies as his home The policy intention appears to be that all such charges are exempt from LHA |
| Children in JT accommodation | How are they treated - definition in reg 13D does not mention them | Open | Seems to be assumed + intended that term "joint tenant" includes anyone else who comes as a package with JT but Reg doesn’t say that. DWP comment: "Children living with joint tenants will count as part of the household that they belong to, they cannot be shared as they will belong to a specific joint tenant." |
| COCs – multiple COCs in same week | What is supersession date if rent or LHA also also changes in same week? | Open | Two superseding decisions will be required in HBINFO’s view, as the rule that aligns multiple changes on the same date only applies to changes of circumstance under HB Reg 79 superseded in accordance with Reg 7(2)(a) & 8(2); LHA changes are superseded under the separate provisions of Reg 7A & 8(15), |
| Date of claim | Which LHA rate is applicable where the claim is backdated | Open | Current definition of "Date of claim" in HB Reg 2 is assumed to apply; but perhaps this needs to be made clearer in amended legislation |
| Date of claim & 60+ Cases | 60 plus cases are automatically started from earlier date | Open | "Backdated" and date of claim rules differ from working age |
| Foster children | Do they count as occupiers and attract extra bedroom | Open | Policy intention appears to be "no". But LHA regs do not define children as excluding foster children and reg 2 in main regs would include them |
| Gaps in claim | Processing times where info is awaited to "fill" a gap. Gaps decisions are crucial in deciding if claimant is a new LHA case + who to pay | Open | Will impact on BVPIs and who to pay. A claimant may be entitled to more money and payee may have to change so LA cannot pay and then adjust later (as with similar transitional schemes in the past). Particularly unique to LHA |
| Joint Tenant | Unequal liabilities divvied up between them | Cleared | Definition of "cap rent" allows unequal apportionment of joint rent |
| Joint Tenants | Does the one-bedroom or "shared" rate apply. According to a second wave site, a major issues for pathfinders | Open | In HBINFO’s view, JTs do satisfy the description set out in Reg 13D(b)(ii) (exclusive use of one bedroom, kitchen and bathroom). "Exclusive" is a term of art in housing law and it is applied jointly to JTs. It means exclusive of the world outside the front door, and in particular exclusive of the landlord. |
| Linking rules | No linking provisions – new policy? Normal linking rules; fire, flood, claimant in prison etc not included in draft regulations | Cleared | DWP confirm no linking provisions. Note that this will include old scheme tenancies where there is a short break |
| Non-dependants | Impact of non-dependants on joint-tenants | Cleared | DWP confirmed now abandoned policy of non-dep belongs to first claimant |
| Non-dependants | Where the non-dep clearly "belongs" to one joint-tenant, do all joint-tenants gain an extra bedroom? | Cleared | DWP confirm the joint-tenant deduction will only apply to one claimant and presumably only this person will get the extra bedroom |
| Payee decisions | How long before a decision must be made on payee | Cleared | CH/3629/2006 allows suspension under 11(2)(a)(ii) – DWP advise although decision CH/3629/2006 allows for benefit to be suspended it is not the policy intention that benefit is suspended without good reason and should not be used as part of the normal processing procedures. |
| Payee decisions | Must HB be paid direct to all claimants from Apr 08? | Cleared | New payment rules only apply to new claims |
| Provision of information to Rent Service | LA required to provide detailed info on service charges etc. to TRS | Cleared HBINFO would maintain that claims should not be held up |
The legislation only requires claimants to provide information that impacts on their individual claims DWP advise The legislation requires claimants to provide information that is necessary for a LA to process their claim - which for LHA includes the information that the local authority needs to pass to The Rent Service |
| Recovery of excess where paid direct | Can the full amount of the overpayment be recovered from the landlord (i.e. the amount paid to the landlord and the excess)? | Cleared |
Under current regs it can if the landlord failed to disclose a
material fact. DWP have advised that they are considering changing the legislation in this area. |
| Recovery target | If payment is being made to the landlord, the excess to the claimant and there is an overpayment, from which payment is the standard deduction taken from? | Open | In HBINFO's view, it makes sense to recover from the excess first. |
| Relevance of HB information sent to Rent Service | Do TRS include HB rents when LHA rents are calculated | Cleared | HBINFO members report different responses. RO (HBF) Order contains assumption that no-one has claimed or will claim HB, but not clear how that works when RO is dealing with data from real tenancies where the claimant is on HB DWP advise: "excluded" |
| Rent changes within the year | Rent increases (or decreases) where rent is more than
£15 below appropriate LHA level Note that a change in joint-tenants could be a "change in the category of dwelling" |
ClearedXX | The Max Rent (LHA) cannot change; the cap rent itself is decided in a preliminary procedure under Reg 13D(4). As the max rent (LHA) is an arithmetical function of cap ret and LHA, could an increase in actual rent before anniversary date still be picked up? DWP advise: If the reckonable rent is increased / decreased this is ignored for the purposes of LHA as the LHA shall apply until there is a change to the category of dwelling, death, change of address or the anniversary date. |
| Rent changes - impact on excess paid to claimant | Where the landlord is paid direct and there is an excess paid to the claimant, does an increase in rent require a recalculation of amounts paid to the parties even if there is no change in overall entitlement? | Open | |
| Changes in number of Joint-Tenants which affect the amount paid in rent but not the size criteria | Will the calculation change if there is an impact on the cap rent calculation | Cleared (The note in the box below suggests the answer is that the LHA cannot change but the cap rent calc can) |
DWP advise: The LA is not required to apply a new LHA rate unless the size criteria changes, but there has been a change of circumstances affecting the amount of the claimant's benefit so the LA can (and should) supersede the original decision under rag 7 of the D&A Regs. |
| Rent-free periods | How dealt with under LHA? Do they count as "gaps in claim" for start date of LHA? | Open | HBINFO have in mind that claimants could be better off if entitlement does end and they become LHA cases |
| Rights of landlord | When does Landlord have a right to know HB paid to
claimant HBINFO view is that recent Commissioner decisions have clarified the rights of landlords |
Open | IT systems do not notify L/L if there is a short break. DWP view on "person affected" challenged by CH/180/2006 DWP advise "see regulation 90 for information about an affected person needs to be notified. Regulations haven’t changed on this area" |
| Statistical information | Will DWP require info on why claimants are deemed "vulnerable" for HB purposes? | Cleared | Pathfinders appear to have adopted very different policies on who is "vulnerable" DWP confirm "no" |
| Studio flats | Which accommodation category? | Cleared | 13D(2) amended to allow one-bed rate to apply to studios |
| Sub-tenants | Do sub-tenants count as an "occupier" Potential for double-counting. Numerous Commissioner decisions on "dwelling" could be relevant to this | Cleared | DWP advise: "sub-tenants are included in the definition of "occupier" and so would count in the size critera". |
| Two homes payment | Could this attract the £15 excess at both properties? | Open | |
| What to call the £15 excess | HBINFO is open to suggestions | ||
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