Untidy Tenancy

Advice needed…

Mixed age couple living in a one bed property - joint tenants.  They separated and Mr claimed HB for his half of the rent, and Mrs claimed UC for her half.

Mr moved out and Mrs awarded full housing costs as treated as an untidy tenancy.

However now, Mr has moved back in.  Has tried to reclaim HB but it has been refused (we are not sure of the reasons for refusal).

They are still saying not a couple so refusing to make a joint UC claim.

UC have advised that they will continue to pay Mrs full housing costs as an untidy tenancy - even though the other joint tenant is now back living at the property.

I do not believe this is correct and could result in a overpayment being raised down the line.

Their tenancy is currently at risk due to rent arrears, so I want to make sure that they are getting the correct advice.

I don’t feel that they would satisfy the criteria of either sub para c or d of Schedule 2 paragraph 2:

(c)the claimant’s circumstances are such that it would be unreasonable to expect them to make other arrangements;
(d)it is otherwise reasonable in all the circumstances to treat the claimant as liable to make the payments.

Am I missing something?

I think simplest to start from the beginning.

Joint tenants are each jointly and severally liable for the whole of the rent.

Where there are joint tenants who are not in the same benefit unit, the UC regs require the rent payable by the claimant to be apportioned out.

The default basis for apportioning the rent is that it is split equally between the joint tenants. However there is a power to apportion the rent differently where the default would be unreasonable (that isn’t specific to “untidy tenancy” cases). See para 24(5) / 35(5), Sch 4, UC Regs.

If the SSWP has been given all the relevant information and has decided to apportion 100% of the rent to Mrs, that’s a judgment for them and I don’t see that we have to be concerned about an overpayment being (at least validly) raised.