Direct Payment Tenants Taken To Court

One of the housing associations involved in the Government’s direct payment demonstration projects - GreenSquare Group - has warned social landlords to get strict with their arrears policy ahead of Universal Credit after revealing it has taken five tenants to court over unpaid rent. GreenSquare has around 400 tenants involved in the demonstration project and a spokesperson said 50% were adapting fine to direct payments and were coping with the change, however the remaining 50% it was having “issues” with.  Read more on 24dash.

DWP Slammed For Withholding Direct Payment Data

The Department for Work and Pensions has been criticised after revealing it will not tell landlords how well its universal credit pilots are working until next year.  Six pilot projects are running across the country to test the direct payment of benefit to tenants instead of to landlords. The projects, which run until next summer, feature housing associations and councils and test direct payment to around 12,000 tenants.  The DWP had indicated it would publish initial data in the first week in November. But instead of publishing information showing the progress of the projects, it released results from a baseline survey of 1,639 tenants, which was carried out before the projects started in June.  Read more on Inside Housing.

Direct Payments Demonstration Projects Learning Network

The department for work and pensions (DWP) are currently running a number of direct payment demonstration projects with local authorities and housing providers to see how tenants manage their monthly payment of housing benefit and to seek to address any problems in communication that may arise. As part of this process CIH, together with DWP and the department for communities and local government (DCLG), is facilitating an online learning network to enable organisations to keep track of the demonstration projects, to share in their learning and to exchange information and views about implementing direct payments with other interested parties. The network will enable you to keep up to date with the lessons learnt by the demonstration projects. Regular learning reports are posted in the network's document library.  A discussion forum allows everyone to keep in touch with each other, to exchange experiences and ideas and find solutions to problems and webinars are also used to allow participants to hear from and speak directly to those involved in the demonstration projects online.  Find out how to join the network on the CIH website.

Freud: UC Switch Will Be Simple For Most – But We Must Prepare Early

The early findings from the DWP Direct Payment Demonstration Projects reveal 54 per cent of tenants surveyed said they were confident receiving their Housing Benefit payment directly to their own bank account.  This shows projects are starting with a good foundation but more work is needed to get tenants ready.  Minister for Welfare Reform Lord Freud said "These findings show most people on low incomes manage their money well and for most tenants the switch to direct payments under Universal Credit will be straightforward.”  So far the key lessons for social housing providers include:

    *Social landlords need to contact and work with tenants early

    *Tenants prefer a range of payment options to take control of the budgets

    *Most tenants prioritise the payment of their rent but some could imagine a situation when their housing benefit could be spent to cover unexpected expenses.

    *People on low incomes often budget on a fortnightly or weekly basis.

    *Accounts that allow customers to separate several 'pots' of money are likely to be helpful.

    *Close working between local authority housing benefit departments and landlords has been crucial for effective implementation.

The Projects are also helping to identify tenants at risk who may not be suitable for direct payments at the start. Read more on the DWP website.

DWP to Publish Early Findings from Direct Payment Projects

Welfare reform minister Lord Freud says the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will be publishing early findings from the direct payment demonstration projects at the end of October.  Early learning from the first month of the project has been:

engaging with and assessing the needs of tenants has taken longer than anticipated

Landlords do not have immediate access to the information needed to assess tenants’ readiness for direct payment

the role of support partners in the project is crucial

there is a general lack of awareness among tenants of wider benefit reforms

developing appropriate safeguards has helped to reassure landlords.

One of the housing associations involved in the demonstration projects revealed payment errors in the first two months of the project had seen tenants go overdrawn; while another said it was stepping up interventions on its project to collect unpaid rent.   Read more on the DWP website.

Universal Credit – Parliamentary Written Answer

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State what circumstances will trigger the automatic payment of the housing element of universal credit direct to a private sector landlord instead of to a tenant.

Steve Webb: As part of the transition to Universal Credit, claimants will receive the single monthly payment which will contain an element payable for rent.  We recognise that some claimants may need additional help to budget, particularly during the transitional period. As a first step, claimants will be offered budgeting support products and services. Where it is evident that a claimant cannot manage a single monthly payment effectively an alternative payment arrangement will be considered. This could include the payment of housing costs direct to the landlord.  The Direct Payment Demonstration projects have been set up to help inform the development of the criteria for determining when it would be appropriate to make a payment direct to a landlord therefore the detailed process is still being developed.