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The question of liability for rates in rental properties continues to be a major concern to our tenants. Sarah Corrigan, Housing Adviser, discusses a recent case where this issue raised its head for a vulnerable, homeless single mother living in temporary accommodation arranged by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive.
Our adviser Severina recently helped a client claim a huge overpayment of rent back from an estate agent. The client, Lesley, had overpaid her rent account by a sizeable amount during the three years she had lived in her private tenancy. It can be difficult to reconcile the amount of rent owed with the amount of money paid towards rent. For this reason, it’s vitally important that tenants keep accurate accounts of all payments they make and get and keep receipts for any cash payments made
Stephen’s client, Esther, is a Housing Executive tenant who had previously fallen into rent arrears. Esther said she’d been too embarrassed to talk to someone when she first fell into arrears and hadn’t gone to court when the Housing Executive had applied for a possession order. In her absence, the judge granted a Possession Order with a stay. This meant that Esther could continue to live in her home as long as she kept to the terms of the order, which were made by the judge in court. Thi
Social Security benefit decisions made on or after Monday 23rd May will be subject to a new challenge and appeal process.
Mandatory Reconsideration
Where previously, a claimant could proceed straight to tribunal when challenging a benefits decision, from 23rd May the claimant must first have their decision reconsidered by the relevant body. This is referred to as “mandatory reconsideration.”
A second group of Syrian refugees have arrived in Northern Ireland. These individuals and families are being relocated in Northern Ireland in accordance with the Vulnerable Persons Relocation Scheme 2015.
Housing Rights’ work, in advising and supporting people at risk of losing their home through mortgage repossession, evidences the critical importance of timely access to Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) payments. These payments are vital in allowing low-income households to maintain their mortgage repayments and sustain their homes.
When Brian first spoke to Housing Rights, he was living in a private tenancy and his only income was carer’s allowance. He was in arrears with his rent and at risk of eviction by his landlord. At this stage, Brian was not entitled to Housing Benefit, but our adviser agreed to take on his case and look into how she could help him.
Each April, the Government introduces a number of changes to social security benefits. We recently updated Housing Law in Practice NI with these changes:
