Hi... I work for the Homeless Unit in Soputhampton Council... families who are homeless in an emergency from fires or violence etc are placed into emergency (furnished) accommodation, or bed & breakfast under Housing Act 1996 s193... HB pay the rent. They are then allocated more suitable but unfurnished accomodation which they must sign the tenancy agreement for immediately... They now have a rent liability on the new property... however... they cannot move in because they have no beds or furniture... Social Fund loans or comm care grants take at least 2-3 weeks... Can we get HB to to pay from the start of the tenancy, before they acually move in... because they cannot move in untill they have beds etc ?? These families are now starting a new tenancy with an immediate rent arrears problem !

Can we get HB on both tenancies ? untill the furniture arrives ?

We used to get our furniture from a large charity witch could delive within one week... they have closed down.

If you are seeking HB on 2-homes, and there is a delay in moving into the second home, HB can only be paid on a dual liability where:

"the delay in moving into the dwelling in respect of which there was liability to make payments before moving in was reasonable AND

(i) that delay was necessary in order to adapt the dwelling to meet the disablement needs of that person or any member of his family; or...."

The relevant provision starts at HBR 5(5)(e), but requires that HBR 5(6)(c)(i) MUST be satisfied.


However, if there is only ONE liability at issue (i.e. the NEW one), then HBR 5(6) is considered in its entirety. The "Social Fund" issue requires that:

"the move was delayed pending the outcome of an application under Part III of the Act for a social fund payment to meet a need arising out of the move or in connection with setting up the home in the dwelling and either a member of the claimant's family is aged 5 or under or the claimant's applicable amount includes a premium under paragraph 9, 9A, 10, 11, 13 or 14 of Schedule 2; or......."

A link to the whole of HBR 5 is here:

www.hbinfo.org/menu2/hbregs/005.shtml

Hope this helps to at least clarify the legal provision(s).

Regards

if they don't fall into the reg 5(5) provisions as above because they have a rental liability on 2 homes, but they are moving within the same L.A, try asking for a Discretionary Housing payment to top up the HB for the "overlap" period. The HB office may need persuading this fits within the remit of a DHP but it does- however it is discretionary so you'll need to assist the tenants to make a good case.