Summary: Mr X complains the Council delayed in telling his father he was not eligible for housing benefit and to instead apply for Universal Credit. The Ombudsman does not find fault with the Council’s actions.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council delayed in informing his father he was not eligible for housing benefit and that he should instead apply for Universal Credit. Mr X says due to the incorrect information provided by the Council, he had to pay over £1300 in rent when he should not have.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
3. We cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
4. If we are satisfied with a council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I spoke with Mr X and considered the information he provided.
6. I made enquiries with the Council and considered the information it provided.
7. I sent two draft decisions to Mr X and the Council and considered their comments.

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What I found

Legislation and guidance

Housing Benefit

8. Housing benefit is a benefit paid to help people pay their rent. If the claimant lives with a partner, the council will consider the partner’s circumstances in its calculation of how much housing benefit it can pay.
9. Housing benefit is being replaced by Universal Credit. A new claim for housing benefit can be made if the following apply to the claimant:
• they get, or are entitled to, the severe disability premium;
• they got, or were entitled to, the severe disability premium within the last month and are still eligible for it;
• they reached state pension age; and
• they are in supported, sheltered, or temporary housing.
10. A person may claim for Universal Credit if they are not eligible to make a claim for housing benefit.

Non-dependant deduction – Housing Benefit

11. A non-dependant deduction is a reduction in housing benefit for certain adults who normally resides with the claimant. It is assumed that a non-dependant will make contributions towards the rent, whether such contributions are made or not.
12. A non-dependant deduction is not made if the claimant (or their partner) are registered blind, or if either of them get the following benefits:
• Personal independent payment (PIP) – daily living component.
• Disability living allowance (DLA) – care component.
• Attendance allowance.
• Armed forces
13. The amount of non-dependant deduction is related to whether the non-dependant is working and how much they earn. The claimant is responsible for providing the relevant information. If no, or inadequate, information about the non-dependent’s gross income is provided, the highest deduction should only be made after considering all the available relevant facts and evidence (Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit guidance: Part A, 5.550)

Non-dependant deduction – Universal Credit

14. Under Universal Credit rules, there is a flat rate contribution (deduction) each moth regardless of the non-dependant’s income.
15. There is no deduction made for a non-dependant if they (the non-dependant) receive one of the following benefits:
• carer’s allowance;
• pension credit;
• DLA care component at the middle or highest rate;
• PIP daily living component; or
• Attendance allowance, constant attendance allowance or exceptionally severe disablement allowance.

What happened

16. Mr X’s father, Mr H, was a housing benefit claimant. His claim included his wife, Mrs H. Mrs H died in October 2018.
17. In November 2018, the Council were made aware of Mrs H’s death. The Council reassessed Mr H’s benefit claim to take account of this change in circumstances. The Council said there was no change to Mr H’s housing benefit award. The Council did note it needed to check the status of the non-dependent who was registered as living at the address. This was Mr X’s brother, Mr K.
18. The Council sent Mr H three letters in November 2018. Those letters asked for proof of Mr K’s income, benefit, or student status and whether he was still living in the property. The second letter asked Mr H to complete a housing benefit review form. The third letter asked Mr H to provide proof of Mr X’s income, as the Council were now aware he was also living at the address. The Council asked Mr H to provide the information within one month. The Council suspended Mr H’s housing benefit payments in the meantime.
19. In January 2019, the Council said it did not receive a response to its letters from Mr H. The Council changed Mr K’s status to a non-dependant and added Mr X to the household. The Council applied the highest non-dependant deduction as it had no evidence of either Mr K or Mr X’s earnings. The Council closed Mr H’s housing benefit claim as the application of the highest non-dependant deduction reduced Mr H’s housing benefit award to nil.
20. In February 2019, Mr H sent the Council a completed housing benefit review form. He also provided Mr X’s payslips and evidence of his PIP award. Mr H also told the Council Mr K no longer lived at the address.
21. As Mr H’s housing benefit claim had been closed, the Council asked Mr H to complete a new online application for housing benefit. The Council said Mr H was eligible to claim for housing benefit because he received income support. Mr H completed the online application form at the end of February 2020. Mr H also applied for Universal Credit on the same day he completed the online housing benefit application form.
22. In March 2019, the Council were notified that Mr H had applied for Universal Credit. The Council said at this point, Mr H was no longer eligible for housing benefit as he had applied for Universal Credit.
23. In response to the Ombudsman’s enquiries, the Council explained it was not responsible for providing welfare advice to claimants. The Council said as Mr H was eligible to claim for housing benefit, it invited him to apply for it.
24. The Council also explained it awarded Mr H housing benefit for the period November 2018 to February 2019. The Council said this was because it revised its decision to apply the highest non-dependent deduction, which it made in January 2019. The Council explained it restarted Mr H’s housing benefit claim.

Analysis

25. Different rules apply for non-dependant deductions for housing benefit and Universal Credit. It is clear from the evidence no non-dependant deduction would be made for Mr X under Universal Credit rules. This is because he receives the daily living component of PIP.
26. However, under housing benefit rules, the Council could apply a non-dependant deduction for Mr X as he did not meet any of the exemption criteria.
27. Mr X feels the Council should have told Mr H to apply for Universal Credit earlier. He says if the Council had told Mr H to apply for Universal Credit, there would have been no non-dependant deduction as he was exempt.
28. The Council only closed Mr H’s housing benefit claim in January 2019, when it applied the maximum non-dependant deductions. I do not find fault with the Council for applying the maximum non-dependant deductions. This is because Mr H did not provide the Council with the requested information. As outlined in the guidance, it is the claimant’s responsibility to provide the relevant information. If no information is provided, the Council can apply the highest deduction.
29. This means the Council could not have told Mr H to apply for Universal Credit in November or December 2018 because Mr H was still in receipt of housing benefit. Although the Council had suspended his payments, the claim was still open.
30. When Mr X provided the requested information in February 2019, the Council asked Mr X to complete a new online application form. The evidence suggests the Council used the information to revise its decision to apply the highest non-dependant deduction. The Council therefore restarted Mr H’s housing benefit claim.
31. I do not find fault with the Council’s decision to restart Mr H’s housing benefit claim. This is because it was entitled to revise its decision when it received new information from Mr H.
32. Further, the Council was not at fault for telling Mr X to apply for housing benefit rather than Universal Credit in February 2019. This is because it is not the Council’s responsibility to work out whether Mr H was better off applying for housing benefit or for Universal Credit.

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Final decision

33. I find no fault with the Council’s actions. Therefore, I have completed my investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman