Case study:Suma

How we helped Suma with her housing situation.

Suma contacted our service during the current lockdown. She was a joint secure tenant of a local authority property with her ex husband and he had left the property in 2019. The local authority applied for a possession order on the basis of rent arrears of just over £4000, with a hearing listed to take place in April 2000.

We went through Suma’s Universal Credit journal with her and discovered that UC are only paying 50% of her housing costs because her exhusband is still named as a joint tenant on the Tenancy Agreement. In addition, her recent UC payment, omits the child element for her two children.

In the meantime, we negotiated with the local authority to agree to an adjournment generally on terms of payment of 50% of the current rent plus an amount towards the arrears. The landlord has agreed that it will vary the order when the UC is sorted out. We also asked the local authority to authorise a grant to Suma under the Residents Support Scheme for financial assistance, and it agreed to do so.

Suma has since been in touch to say her income has been sorted out. Suma is delighted.