Universal Credit Caerphilly Local Authority: Private Rented Sector Landlords

Refresh of what Universal Credit is: A digital claim that replaces the following legacy benefits into a single monthly payment for new claims or where a relevant change of circumstance occurs: Jobseekers Allowance Income Support Employment & Support Allowance Housing Benefit Working Tax Credit Child Tax Credit From 1 February 2019 now open to singles and families with children Hosing costs now payable to all 18-21 yrs ESA customers who are in receipt of Severe Disability Premium are currently protected on transferring to Universal Credit and will be able to make new claim to Housing Benefit.

What are the forward plans for UC? Steady state for next 12 months - 18 months in Caerphilly. 5 Pilots for migration process for customers on the legacy benefits to change to UC commences August to October 2019 for 12 months until October 2020. Evaluation October to December 2020. Managed Migration of legacy benefits to commence January 2021 to end 2023 Pilots are giving customers 3 months to change to UC with an additional month for good cause Payments will be transitionally protected with 2 weeks of JSA/ESA/IS run on and HB run on. Landlords - piloting a private Landlord digital portal – awaiting evaluation

Universal Credit so far in Caerphilly LA We have 4470 customers currently receiving Universal Credit across Caerphilly Borough 55 % are allocated to a Work Coach at Bargoed, Blackwood or Caerphilly 53 % are in receipt of housing costs for rent or mortgage We currently pay 93% of monthly payments in time, main payment blockers being: - Not supplying evidence in time - Not attending appointment - Not accepting claimant commitment Tenants claiming or migrating to Universal Credit can: Receive an additional 2 weeks of Housing Benefit Claim an advance payment of up to 100% of their estimated award Request more frequent payments of Universal Credit Request that housing costs be paid direct to you as their landlord

Verification of Housing Costs The Work Coach at the Jobcentre will verify housing costs for your tenants. To be eligible for Housing Costs they must provide sufficient documentation to verify two criteria : Proof of address/residency Liability for housing payments The claimant is not required to provide a new tenancy agreement when claiming UC – merely their original tenancy and subsequent letters from the landlord detailing any variances. Private Rented Sector (PRS) notes It has been established that the claimant does not need to provide evidence of rent payments made – UC learning & guidance in process of being amended. 18/06/18 A claimant’s Universal Credit calculation will include either the total amount of rent they pay, or the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rate, whichever is lowest. PRS service charges are usually included in the overall rent amount and not shown separately. We don’t make enquiries about service charges in PRS as the overall rent is limited to LHA rate LHA rates are based on the number of bedrooms in a property. An amount will be paid based on the bedrooms that the claimant needs (up to a maximum of 4). Single claimants aged under 35 will usually receive only the Shared Accommodation Rate (SAR). There are some exceptions, for example Exemptions The SAR will not apply if the claimant: is responsible for a child or qualifying young person has non-dependants living in their household Armed Forces Independence Payments was previously in care - they must have been in care on their 16th birthday and now be 18 or over, and under 22 years of age. subject to multi-agency public protection arrangements (MAPPA) was previously homeless and they are: at least 25 years old on or have been on a planned resettlement programme typically provided by their former hostel accommodation. have spent three months or more living in a hostel for homeless people (this can be living in more than one hostel during this time and the three months doesn’t have to be continuous) is receiving a benefit because of a disability - they must be receiving one of the following: Disability Living Allowance (care component at the middle or higher rate) Personal Independence Payment (daily living component at the standard rate or enhanced rate) Constant Attendance Allowance (paid as part of Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit or War Disablement Benefit) Non-dependents living with a claimant in PRS housing are expected to pay towards the rent. This is called a Housing Cost Contribution If there is a room allocated to a non-dependent, a Housing Cost Contribution (HCC) is deducted from the Housing Costs in respect of each adult non-dependent.

How much will you be paid by Universal Credit ? Housing cost element is set at the full monthly rent or the Local Housing Allowance rate (whichever is the lowest) Rules for calculating the Local Housing Allowance are the same as Housing Benefit If request for a managed payment is granted, the full housing cost element will be paid to you as long as the Universal Credit payment is large enough – earnings and deductions will determine the total payable amount each month. You would need to make arrangements with your tenant to ensure the remainder of any rental liability is covered. Managed Payment of rent (MP) is paid into your bank account 7 days after the end of the customers assessment period. Rent arrears (RA) will be paid via the Third Party Deduction 28 day cycle – it is taken from the customers’ monthly UC account so will be 12 payments in a 52 week period. ** There are plans to bring these payments in alignment but no date agreed yet

Alternative Payment Arrangements – Managed Payments to Landlord You can request a Managed Payment of housing costs to be made to you if your: tenant is in arrears with their rent for an amount equal to, or more than, two months of their rent. A third party deduction to recover the rent arrears can also be requested at this point, or tenant has continually underpaid their rent over a period of time, and they have accrued arrears of an amount equal to or more than one month’s rent tenant has been identified as being vulnerable (can apply from day one of the claim) – detailed on next slid You can do this through GOV.UK www.bit.ly/uc47form Customer consent is not required for an MPTL request, although the claimant is given 7 days to prove they are not in the arrears necessary for an MPTL, or are in a formal dispute with the landlord (that is registered with the LA). You can also apply for arrears of rent to be deducted from a claimant’s UC (a Third Party Deduction). This can be also made on the UC47 form.

Disclosure – Explicit Consent The claimant must provide explicit consent before information can be disclosed to a representative they wish to act on their behalf. For explicit consent to be effective the claimant must state: That they give consent for their personal information to be disclosed What information they want to be disclosed Why the information is needed The name of the third party representative who they want to handle the issue on their behalf and the name of the third party organisation (where it applies) Explicit consent can be given by the claimant using the journal, face to face or by phone. Once provided, the period for which explicit consent applies is limited Information can be disclosed to a third party using the most appropriate channel. Before any information is provided by telephone, the third party must verify their identity. Only the information that the claimant has given their consent to release can be disclosed to the third party. Explicit consent will not last indefinitely, it will cease when the specific query is resolved. The claimant should provide explicit consent for each new query raised

Disclosure What DWP can disclose Landlords may ask for their tenant’s rent to be paid directly to them without the need for explicit consent from the claimant. The claimant is informed about the request for Alternative Payment Arrangements (managed payment to the landlord). The claimant does not need to reply to give their consent. Once the APA is in place, the following information can be disclosed to the landlord, if requested: - The start date of the managed payment and/or third party deduction - When you can expect to receive the first managed payment and/or the third party deduction from DWP - The amount of the next payment of the housing costs. - If there have been any changes to the UC housing costs, the reason for the changes will not be provided or discussed. The claimants personal circumstances will not be discussed or why an APA was refused.

Other Sources of Information Universal Credit & Landlords: Provides information on the following areas: Guide for Landlords, Service Charge Guidance, Housing costs & Disclosure guidance, Rent changes advice for April 18, April 18 rent change https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-and-rented-housing--2 Landlord Newsletter https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-landlord-engagement- newsletters Enquiries about Third Party Deductions: 0800 328 0128 Resolution of an issue / enquiry : 0800 328 5644. Escalation as unable to resolute your issue /enquiry: Ceri Pritchard ceri.pritchard:dwp.gov.uk 02920 424297 07786110452