HAP not being backdated from application date??

rawn

Hi all

My mam lost her job last year, went on the dole and applied for HAP. She lives alone in an apartment.

She applied for HAP in October, and was told it would be about roughly14 weeks before it was approved. She had enough (just about) to continue paying her rent for 2 months.

When she handed in the form that the LL filled out, she was told by the SW that HAP would be backdated from the date she applied, so herself and the LL would have had to work that out when it came through in case of overpayment, which was fine.

At the beginning of Jan her form came back in the post as it was missing a signature, she signed it and handed the form into the council office the next day. She also had another meeting to sign a form to take her name off the lease to her old council house (she moved out 10 years ago, my dad lives there now). That was all fine.

She called into the council today to ask for an update as her LL (rightly) is getting impatient as she is now owed 2 months rent, well 3 months rent next week. The lady at the desk said there was absolutely nothing in their files under her name! No application, no forms - nothing. She's been told she has to fill out the forms again, also asking her LL to fill out the original form again and provide lease etc, but now they're saying that the HAP won't be backdated at all! Is this correct?? My mam is sick with worry as she will now owe her LL thousands, at the moment the LL is owed nearly 3k and they'd have to go through this whole process AGAIN so she could potentially be owed double that, and my mam does not have the means to pay it! The LL has been so reasonable but if this is correct she'll have no choice but to kick my mam out and set up a payment plan for the arrears! Please someone tell me the council have this wrong!

ted1

And people wonder why HAP isn’t accepted.

rawn

ted1 wrote: »

And people wonder why HAP isn’t accepted.

Well in this case it wasn't a case of if the LL would accept it or not - my mam was already living there so she didn't have a choice. The LL wasn't aware of what it was all about until my ma asked her to fill in the forms, she owns several other properties that I can guarantee won't be accepting new HAP tenants after this. It's a nightmare, my mother is sick with worry.

Mrs OBumble

Did she keep a copy of the original forms?

TBH, I'd be calling a local councillor about this - I'd say it's likely the file is on someone's desk.

Stheno

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Did she keep a copy of the original forms?

TBH, I'd be calling a local councillor about this - I'd say it's likely the file is on someone's desk.

I'd agree with this

rawn

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Did she keep a copy of the original forms?

TBH, I'd be calling a local councillor about this - I'd say it's likely the file is on someone's desk.

No - she has no copies. They also have the original of her lease (I know, I know! She doesn't think of these things ). Her TD is aware of the situation from a while back - she told my mam to mention her name when talking to them, which she did when she applied, for all the good it seems to have done! She left her a message yesterday so hopefully she'll hear back and she can help. it seems massively unfair on both tenant and LL not to backdate it.

rawn

Sorry but need to bump - I will condense my ramblings down to the main question!

Is HAP backdated to the date you apply? Or do you only get HAP from the day it is issued?

Th3B1tcH

I do know most SW payments will be backdated from when 1st applyed for assume HAP is same (RA was backdated when they finaly sorted mine before when I was on 3 day week) the paperwork can take time but once a claim is made they date from it from when made like JSA etc
FROM HERE
http://hap.ie/landlords/payments/
The earliest date from which a local authority will make HAP payments to you is the date they receive a complete and valid HAP application form from the applicant and you as landlord.

rawn

Th3B1tcH wrote: »

I do know most SW payments will be backdated from when 1st applyed for assume HAP is same (RA was backdated when they finaly sorted mine before when I was on 3 day week) the paperwork can take time but once a claim is made they date from it from when made like JSA etc
FROM HERE
http://hap.ie/landlords/payments/
The earliest date from which a local authority will make HAP payments to you is the date they receive a complete and valid HAP application form from the applicant and you as landlord.

Thank you for that. FECK. I guess that means that potentially it would only be backdated from when my mam send it back at the beginning of Jan after missing a signature. Balls balls balls. She does not have that kind of money, and the LL has requested a meeting with her on Monday and is demanding next months rent on the first of the month. And rightfully so, but wtf is my mam to do, she has no money and we have nothing to help her with :(:(

Stheno

rawn wrote: »

Thank you for that. FECK. I guess that means that potentially it would only be backdated from when my mam send it back at the beginning of Jan after missing a signature. Balls balls balls. She does not have that kind of money, and the LL has requested a meeting with her on Monday and is demanding next months rent on the first of the month. And rightfully so, but wtf is my mam to do, she has no money and we have nothing to help her with :(:(

Complain to the council about the lost application and get a local councillor involved

rawn

Stheno wrote: »

Complain to the council about the lost application and get a local councillor involved

Thank you. We're awaiting a call from our local TD, who is already aware of her situation previous to this weeks changes. Hopefully she can help. I have no idea what to do, she'll be kicked out and she will owe her LL thousands and will have nowhere to go. She was told by the lady in the council to go to the Supplementary Welfare Officer. Are they in the habit of handing out thousands of Euro to people to pay back-dated rent?!

rawn

Mam met with TD today. She told my mam that as soon as the council had recieved the forms they should have began paying the LL, and when HAP was granted the council would be reimbursed. My mam has to go down again and insist that her forms are found and not to fill in new ones. In the meantime she has to go to Threshold and ask for them to help with this month's rent, otherwise she will lose her home. Hopefully this will buy us some time for the HAP situation to be sorted. What a nightmare.