room tax for housing assosiation

[Gabi71]

I got sick with metal problems and they took my 2 children into care, after 6 months only the youngest came back the other one was older and decided to continue in care she has many problems of behaviour. So I did not know and nobody advice me to tell housing that my daughter's room was free. So mental health and social workers were following me but none of them told me to tell the council about the room, and i am not English and i didnt know, so after 3 years they found out. And they charged me £3000 for her room and i am still paying it. This was in 2016 so they said it is late to do something now, but even Citizens Advice could not help me at that time. Why are they taking money from sick and vulnerable people, the ones more in need? I need some help please, thanks

[Gabi71]

Hello how is this woriking? I need help

[Wylderose]

Hello Gabi,

I am very sorry that you are having problems with your benefits claim. Whilst I appreciate that english is not your first language and you also have mental health issues, several things have happened over the years since you claimed benefits.

When you made your claim, you would have read your claim form or had the form read to you, and you would have had the declaration that states: "I will advise the Local authority of all changes to my circumstances, whether this is income or household and I will not rely on any other third party organisation to do so on my behalf". This is your obligation under the Housing Benefit Regulations 2006. If you claim benefits you must advise of all changes in circumstances within one month of the date of change.

What this means is that "your landlord, your social worker and your mental health nurse are not responsible for telling you to notify the Local authority that your children are not in the household" and they would not be able to tell the Local authority either because in all probability, you have never given signed authority for them to administer your claim on your behalf.

You say that the Local Authority found out and charged you £3000 for her room. This is the spare room subsidy or "bedroom tax". Everyone who lives in social housing accommodation is subject to the Social Size Sector Criteria/Bedroom Tax and this is something you would have been made aware of when you took your tenancy. For one unoccupied bedroom you lose 14% of your housing benefit, for 2 unoccupied rooms you lose 25% of your housing benefit.

You have options with regards the overpayment:
1. Underlying entitlement. When the overpayment was created you should have received a letter offering you underlying entitlement. This is a way that you can provide evidence of all the household circumstances because there may be a way to reduce the amount of the overpayment. For example. When both children were taken into care, you say one child came back after 6 months. Her absence should be treated as temporary absence and if you were charged for two spare rooms then up until the time that the decision was taken that your other child would not return, your bedroom tax could have been supported by a discretionary housing payment. So for underlying entitlement you provide the proofs that would be required in order to try to get your overpayment reduced.
2. Reconsideration: Depending on when the overpayment was created, you could ask for a reconsideration. This would need to be in writing to your Local Authority and would need to provide all the proof of when the children went away and when the first child came back, when the second child decided not to return, letters from your mental health workers and social workers. It may be possible to write back some of the overpayment
3. Appeal: If you have provided Underlying entitlement and asked for a Reconsideration and this is not successful, then you could ask for this to be taken to an appeals tribunal. An appeal must be requested within one year of the reconsideration being unsuccessful.

Contrary to what you believe, the Local authority are not deliberately taking money from someone who is vulnerable. The overpayment represents the amount of benefit that you were paid or which was paid to your landlord and which you were not entitled to. It is being recovered from you because you were responsible for advising of the changes and not your landlord.

All you can do is work with the Local authority to see what can be done.

Good luck