Landlord £10,000 out of pocket as DWP rules complicated payments

A tenant has built up more than £10,000 in rent arrears after the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) refused to accept her landlord’s word that the rent had increased.

Brian Southern’s tenant has twice failed to report changes during the last five years when he issued a Section 13 notice, in line with increases in LHA rates.

It means he is still only receiving direct payments based on the pre-2020 LHA rate of £499 when the uprated amount went up to £750 in April 2020 and £950 in April 2024.

Bill Irvine (pictured), of UC Advice & Advocacy, tells LandlordZONE: “Some tenants, for a variety of reasons, don’t update their journals when circumstances change.

"This tenant thinks her benefit will be reduced if she does, however, the DWP’s stance is allowing this woman to put herself in jeopardy.”

Authority or consent

He says DWP doesn’t require the tenant’s authority or consent before it can alter an award to reflect the new set of circumstances. “Although the claimant has a legal responsibility to report changes, so has a landlord, like Mr Southern, who is receiving direct payments.”

Irvine explains that more than two years ago, DWP started acting on social landlord notifications where its tenants failed to report the annual rent increase and updates the rental charge on the tenant’s account. “The same legislation applies to both social and private landlords, so by not applying the rules equally, DWP is guilty of unfair discrimination.”

LHA rate

“My tenant’s rent has never been more than the LHA rate,” the Manchester-based landlord tells LandlordZONE. “She’s never paid the full rent since moving in. I’ve reported it several times to either housing benefit or later Universal Credit but always been told that the tenant needs to inform them, and not the landlord.

“I have asked repeatedly for an arrears payment off DWP using the correct form but it’s not payable.”

A DWP spokesman tells LandlordZONE: “We are aware of the concerns landlords have raised about reporting changes when they receive direct rent payments. When these difficulties arise, we recommend landlords contact their local Partnership Manager.”