Tenants – This is probably the second joint biggest reason why you can’t get a house and why you’re paying extortionate rents

Completely agree. This is just one of the ways that the government has got no joined up thinking regarding housing policy. The fact that the latest incumbent for Housing, Michael Gove, is in charge of not just 'Housing' but other aspects of society as well - such as 'levelling up' whatever that means in Boris speak, shows that this extremely important feature of modern life is being given scant priority.

My mortgage companies won't allow me to rent to benefit claimants although it is against the law for me to refuse them. So do I commit mortgage fraud or break the law?

If the system were fairer to landlords (and therefore also help tenants) then mortgage companies wouldn't see benefit claimants as such a risk.

Got a tenant who put in a claim for UC early August lost his job I think around May but communication with me is very poor. Now seven months arrears accrued. Filled in form UC47 end of August to have rent paid direct to me. Heard nothing apart from being sent up as a “third party supplier” and being given a reference number. Had a few phone calls to UC and they cannot tell me anything whatsoever just say refer to your tenant. So I’m just sitting wondering when and if I’ll receive any rent. They wouldn’t even confirm if his claim was still live. (Tenant on drugs and any rent benefit paid directly to him will simply go on more substances. I haven’t disclosed the drug issue to UC due to data privacy but told them in no uncertain terms not to pay tenant to send rent direct to me).
This is my first experience with UC and I’m not very impressed.

Hi - yes similar situation, bought a property with tenant in situ and they stopped paying rent immediately, but were still receiving benefits. They owe £7500 - Council said they could not pay Landlord direct as tenant did not have mental health issues. Finally filled in form for UC and OK for three months then tenants did something and now gone back to being paid to them. So I have a successful eviction notice, tenants and children lose their home and council have to pay to re house them. How does that make sense. Landlords have to have a system that guarantees the rent but it also makes sense for Councils who do not have the properties to re house them.

Not sure I agree with all of this. If you are unemployed I believe UC should be as such to act as an incentive to get a job. Since brexit, the jobs are there. For those who need UC as a top up or for other reasons I agree with most of it.

I also agree with UC in principle and have a number of tenants on it. The problem is when the tenant is more than two months in arrears the old system was the Landlord got paid direct. Not paying the Landlord direct means the tenant gets the housing benefit as well as other benefits but doesn't use it to pay the rent.

Mick, we have both written a lot on this in the past but your timing of this post coincides with my tenant scamming me once again this time for three months rent. This tenant who I took in 2017 fell into arrears towards the beginning of her tenancy and after she owed me two months rent, I managed to get payments directly to me from UC.

Following the above in around March 2020, the tenant asked for the rent to be paid to her account and I lost two months rent there however, did not evict her at that point due to the Covid restrictions that came into force and the hassle of it all.

More recently, she did the same thing again and I have so far lost three months rent and I am hoping that I get the payment for October 2021. I spoke to UC twice regarding this and they assured me that I would be getting the next payment made to me which I hope to be the case as, I never trust what UC say.

Note all this has happened although, in 2020 they assured me this would not happen again. When I called them again this time, they arranged on two occasions for the case manager to phone me to explain what had gone wrong. So far, although I was informed that I would hear from the case manager by 6 pm the next day on both occasions, I have not heard anything.

It was only yesterday, that I served the tenant with a section 8 notice (I will also be serving her a section 21 notice) of which I doubt she is bothered as she knows, that she will be there for a long time and when she is actually evicted, the council will provide her with accommodation..

I have in the past complained to UC following all the procedures and have had no response. I have also complained to my MP on several occasions where he has acted but nothing has actually happened.

Excellent summary.

The money is there because it's being paid to tenants, who in return either won't pay their landlord, or are simply incapable of managing their own affairs. The DWP should not find it difficult to simply pay the landlord direct (I know how their IT systems work!) but their processes are poor and priorities wrong.

Reply to the comment left by at 11/10/2021 - 11:52
Exactly Helen,
If the system was fairer (to tenants), we'd take 'em all.

Reply to the comment left by Dylan Morris at 11/10/2021 - 12:00
Yes Dylan the 5% above speaks for itself. UC reply all the time from the top to the bottom is
The Onus is on the tenant.

Reply to the comment left by Rob Crawford at 11/10/2021 - 12:42Be nice Rob in ideal world. There is loads of jobs there, however I believe we should still have safety net for peoples food gas elec Shelter (house). Cause some tenant's won't work (wrong I know) some can't work. I can take u to many of mine no disabled no DLA etc. But u wun't employ 'em Niceist word is Thick as FXXX.