Tenant on benefits but want to pay cash

**Brb** · 11-02-2013 15:22 PM

My Mum won't set up DDs nor SOs. It does my head in a bit as she isn't very mobile and I worry that she will have a fall when she goes into town to do her banking/pays rent/bills weekly.

I've given up trying. She just tells me to hush!.

**the-smiths** · 12-02-2013 09:05 AM

don't be scared of cash - its actually what all the little electronic numbers are meant to represent.

If you are scared of cash then get them to pay it into the bank for you.

As said by others many prefer to hold pound notes - they then know how much they have - rather than working on credit and perhaps not knowing how much they owe.

**Berlingogirl** · 13-02-2013 20:07 PM

the-smiths- quite right! provide the T with a number of paying in slips.

mind you, I've just been in court (see my other post about the awful time we had)

**megotbigears** · 13-02-2013 20:50 PM

Just because your tenant wants to pay cash doesnt mean she gonna be a bad paying tenant. I have a tenant who is on LHA and gets it paid into his bank, but because he needs to top it up with some of his own money, he prefers to draw it out of his account so he can top up and pay cash. He's a good tenant and never missed a rent payment. He is old school who prefers to hand money over so he know it has been paid on time!!

The morale of the story is, not all people are the same! Some people like paying cash as they like to physically hand over the money to ensure it has been received!!

**Darth Wookie** · 15-02-2013 07:27 AM

We have a number of HB claimants who prefer to control their own finances this way. Although our local authority usually pays 4wkly, sometimes it goes wrong. Tenants who recieve variable HB awards due to changing hrs of part time work will sometime have a claim 'suspended' until the assessor gets a chance to check it over. This means that an HB payment may be a few days late and is NOT the claimants fault. Having a DD or SO would not allow this flexibility of payment dates.
It's just as easy to bounce a cheque, reject a DD or fail to pay with cash. All can work and all can fail. Don't judge until you have evidence of it going wrong. It might just work!

**D Denby** · 15-02-2013 13:50 PM

I agree with theartfullodger. It sounds suspicious. Of course, as other posters have pointed out, there are people who have an old-fashioned preference for handling cash. However, it sounds as if these are are not the terms on which took the tenancy. Now she's been there for 1.5 months she's changed her mind! I'd insist that she pays by DD as agreed initially, or else it could end up very messy.

**midlandslandlord** · 15-02-2013 22:01 PM

Sounds to me like a possible cash income not being declared so as to avoid losing housing benefit.

The problem is that if that is the case they may come after you for the HB paid in error.

ML

**hbadvocacy** · 17-02-2013 07:17 AM

Hi,

Paying by cash is quite common amongst LHA tenants; doesn't mean there's something fishy or they're more like to default. Interstingly, in the 6 Universal Credit "demonstration projects" around 54% of those tenants participating preferred to pay by that method. Obviously, compared to DD or BO, not what the LL would like but as we all know a DD can be cancelled in an instance or if the funds are not there will fail and createc charges. The best advice is to watch them closely and if there's any suggestion of a missed payment write to the council explaining she is in breach of her tenancy obligations and ask for re-direction of the LHA to you even if only a month arrears exist.

HBadvocacy
www.hbadvice.co.uk
www.ucadvice.co.uk

**Berlingogirl** · 17-02-2013 16:13 PM

mdlandslandlord #17 It is written into my TA that any overpayments of HB are recoverable from the T not LL.

hbadvocacy #18 yes I think it is a good idea to ask for HB to be paid before the 8 weeks of arrears. This alerts HB to the fact that there might be a problem arising.

**hbadvocacy** · 18-02-2013 11:22 AM

Belingogirl,

It makes no difference to the Q of liability if you've built something into your TA about HB Overpayments. If you've received payment of HB and are at least at part to blam for the OP the council may still ignore the TA provision and pursue you.

The same equally applies to the Q of "direct payments". A number of LLs build provisions into TAs requiring tenants to pay them HB direct. The Q of payment is however the clealry in the provence of the Council, not the tenant, so again the Council need not play any heed to the agreement between tenant & landlord/agent.

HBadvocacy
www.hbadvice.co.uk
www.ucadvice.co.uk