Backdating housing benefit

MarkH73

Hi to all hope everyone is havinv a good start to the year.....Well im trying to find out if any of you have had housing benofit backdated oved a year ( well 94 weeks tbh) as dwp recently put me back on my old style esa however i have to repay UC for my issue is that over half of it was on my rent ( but i still have to pay uc back this ) wolud leave me in essance paying the whole of my own rent myself eventhough i am entitled to the 74.15 ( it was march 2019 when i was wronlgy taken off esa)  so if they are  reinstating my esa will they reinstate my housing from march 2019 as its some 6.5 to 7 k  ( and again i am/was entilted to it but its not been my fault ive been messed around by dwp for last 21 months ) as its me thats physically out of pocket by that amount at mo ....if anyone of you wonderful people could point me in right direction or advice will be more than gratefully received.....thank you 

MarkH73

Got assessed no points what so ever so they could kick me onto UC  ( won esa tribunal june 2020)  shouldmt been on UC as getting SDP then week before xmas was offered go bk where i was on old style esa ....so 15000 i owe UC but over half of that is rent ....hope this explains it better for you woodbine

MarkH73

Aye waiting on phone appointment with cab thanks 

janer1967

Hi and welcome 

This is a bit complex for anyone to answer tho one of our benefits experts may help 

Will you be entitled to any back pay from esa to pay the UC payment ? 

MarkH73

Any help or guidance wolud be appreciated 

MarkH73

And yes by my working about 2 to 3 k  mre esa so covers UC  but again its this 6.5 to 7k in rent entitlement  of 74.15 pw that im.having to pay which leaves me well out of pocket for something that's not my fault 

poppy123456

HI,

I remember trying to help you on a previous thread. My advice is still the same and you should get some expert advice because it's very complex. Although my opinion is that your rent has been paid through UC so i don't understand why you need to pay that back to only have to reclaim it all back again through housing benefit. It seems a rather pointless exercise to me.

MarkH73

I know exactly what you are saying as ive not complaints paying anything i actually owe back but paying back something im entitled too and tryimg to reclaim off another government body just putting  unnecessary  obstacles infront of poelpe like me that need help on a daily basis generally 

poppy123456

I just can't see the logic in paying back your housing element to DWP to have to backdate a housing benefit claim for the same length of time.

Just the same as having to pay back your other elements of UC and then to backdate the ESA claim because ESA and UC are both part of DWP

MarkH73

Yeh confusing me too but may have ask esa to with hold housing entitlement part untill its been sorted out ( cant see them doing that keeping bk monies another government agency tbh but cant hurt asking as i feel like im going to have to fight that now on top of everything else lol) 

poppy123456

There's no housing element part to ESA.

MarkH73

Yes i know as i wss claiming housing benefit at 74.15 pw when i was on esa last time hence the 94 weeks now im out of pocket unless housing back date it....but tganx any way poppy

poppy123456

How can you be out of pocket when you were claiming the housing element of UC. They have very similar rules, the only difference is the non dependent deduction rules are different. For you, the housing element and housing benefit pay the same amount. 

MarkH73

I have to pay a total of 15000 back to UC as thats total amount ( housing and uc benifit payments)  so im paying back all housing hence why im out if pocket as ive actually paid the whole rent myself now as ive got to pay bk uc (:full amount including housing element ) so im entitled to 74.15 pw housing benifit any way no matter on uc or esa so  since tgey put me bk on esa i am owed that entitlement of 74.15 pw as i would have got and recieved whilst on esa so some 94 weeks at mo ....can you see what im saying now poppy..??   Hope this helps you understand better thanx

MarkH73

Yes  i was claiming 74.15 off housing ie local council when on esa hence when i pay back total uc aprox 15k  i would have in essance payed my whole rent  myself for last 94 wks eventhough i am eligible for the 74.15 pw due to being put back on esa im out of pocket 6970.10 at mo...dunno how else to explain it  as if i take housing entitlement of 74.15 (6970.10) off total uc payments then its only 7953.61 i owe uc not the 14.9 k  its not my fault theyve actually put me back  on esa so the housing in an honest world should accept that and pay me what im entitled too for the same time period as if i wasnt kicked off esa 2019 id have still been claiming local authority housing benefit  anyhoo hope this explains better thank you for your comment and advice

poppy123456

I understand you perfectly well. I just don’t see the logic in having to pay back all the UC, including the housing element and then try to get your housing benefit backdated almost 2 years. 

MarkH73

Like i said its baffling me and my mental health condition dnt help as i think the worse at times and see them more trying to trip me and others up rather than actually help them n make things easy ....and these days its owt to save a few quid i will see what cab has to say n how this week plays out as answers week supposedly according to esa

MarkH73

Im hoong to phone dwp debt management too to see if i can dispute this and if so how ...will let you all know how it goes as new territory for me as ive not heard anyone being put bk on esa from uc so no previous path  to follow 

Ross_Alumni

Hi @MarkH73

Just wanted to wish you all the best with this. You have our full support and let us know how you get on. I hope the advice above has helped you.

Adrian_Scope

Hi @MarkH73. 
I was involved with a very similar case to yours (and know of one other). Sadly as illogical as it seems they each had to pay back the full amount of UC (including housing element) and then claim backpay from Housing Benefit and ESA etc.
Could you confirm that your ESA claim has been reinstated, with SDP on top and your UC claim closed? 

I definitely agree that specialist advice is needed here. Have you managed to get support from CAB or Welfare Rights? 

MarkH73

Still waiting on an appointment with cab and this week supposedly get confirmation of esa n sdp then i can put in housing benefit forms then see what happens from there but i will keep you updated thanks