East Suffolk Council
Housing Regulation and Financial Audit
Information regarding issues relating to our housing service.
In January, a Housing Regulation Report was issued by East Suffolk Council, detailing information about how we are addressing matters which led to Regulatory Notices being issued by the regulator for breaching standards.
It also provides an update on the significant amount of progress officers have made since then, in relation to rent setting and the health, safety and compliance management within our properties.
We sincerely apologise to all those affected by any of these issues.
Health, safety and compliance
The Housing Service has carried out a significant piece of work to review compliance of the stock and develop work programmes and contracts to ensure the properties are compliant and remain compliant.
Levels of compliance are reviewed monthly and we are pleased to advise that, at the end of July 2023, East Suffolk’s housing stock was 100% compliant for asbestos safety, fire safety, lift safety and water safety. Gas safety was at 99.92%, with properties we were unable to access now with our in-house legal team. Finally, East Suffolk was 99.76% compliant with electrical regulations. Those outstanding, we were unable to access and will continue to make contact to strive for 100% compliance.
Rent and service charges
The rents issue has been tougher to fully resolve, due to the multiple policies and guidance documents which needed to be considered for difference years.
A thorough, forensic audit was conducted, which has reviewed around 9,000 tenancies from 2010 to the present day and we received the final report on this in June 2023. As a result, all current tenants had their rent and service charge levels reset from April 2023, and we are confident that all tenants are now paying the correct levels of rent and service charge.
In August 2023, we will be able to begin refunding tenants who have been affected. Initially, current tenants will receive a letter outlining the impact any incorrect charges have had on them and the process to request a refund if they are entitled to one.
Once the current tenants have been refunded, officers will then start the process of contacting former tenants.
Please be aware that any information relating to credit refunds will only come from East Suffolk Council in writing. If you are a former tenant we will contact you first to confirm your correspondence address, and this contact might be by email or phone. Former tenants can proactively update or confirm their current address on their myHome account, or call our Customer Services team. We will not cold call and request your bank account details. If you do receive a call from someone stating they are from East Suffolk Council and you are unsure, please call our customer services team on 0333 016 2000.
We will continue to refresh and update this page. However, if you have a question which you do not think is covered here, please get in touch with us and we will respond within five working days.
What are the issues?
| Issue (click heading to jump to relevant section) | Questions |
|---|---|
| General information | What is the overcharge and how did this happen? |
| What happens now? | |
| How do I know you have got it right this time? | |
| Should I stop paying my rent? | |
| Tenants who have been affected | Who is affected? |
| I have not had a letter to say I am affected. | |
| How will I know how much I have been overcharged? | |
| What date are you applying the correction/refund in my case? | |
| Does the adjustment affect any services charges on my rent? | |
| I live on an East Suffolk Gypsy and Traveller site - am I affected? | |
| I am an East Suffolk leaseholder, am I affected by this? | |
| I am an East Suffolk Shared Owner, am I affected by this? | |
| Housing Benefit and Universal Credit queries | How will this affect any benefits I receive towards my rent? |
| I am on partial Housing Benefit now and have been on partial Housing Benefit continuously since my tenancy started, will I get a refund? | |
| I get full Housing Benefit that covers all my rent, will I get a refund? | |
| I have had a Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP)? | |
| I had bedroom tax, how will this affect my refund? | |
| I am benefit capped, how will this affect my refund? | |
| I am on Housing Benefit now, but I have not always been, how will this affect my refund? | |
| I was on Housing Benefit and am now on Universal Credit, how will this affect my refund? | |
| I have Non-Dependant Deductions - how will this affect my refund? | |
| Why has the Housing Benefit not gone down by the same percentage as the rent? | |
| I am on Universal Credit with a managed payment to my landlord. What do I need to do? | |
| I am on Universal Credit and the housing element is paid to me. What do I need to do? | |
| What if I do not agree with the way that the Housing Benefit has been recalculated? | |
| Do I need to tell the DWP if I get a lump sum refund? | |
| What if I had a previous overpayment that I have repaid? | |
| I have a credit on my rent account, but I have always been on full benefit, what do I do? | |
| Refund queries | When can I request a refund of any money owed to me? |
| How long will it take to get my refund? | |
| I have arrears, can I request the refund to me and not to my rent account instead? | |
| Can I have the credit paid to me? | |
| I have also had a tenancy of another property with East Suffolk Council, what will happen to the rent refund for the previous property? | |
| Tenancy queries | I have a joint tenancy – what happens to my credit? |
| I was assigned the tenancy from a family/ex-partner member – from a joint to sole, tenancy. What happens to any credit? | |
| I was assigned the tenancy from a family member – sole to sole tenancy. What happens to any credit? | |
| I succeeded to my tenancy on the death of a family member since the tenancy started – what happens to any credit? | |
| Rent account queries | I pay by Direct Debit and don’t know what rent is going to be taken for my next payment. How is this calculated? |
| Can I keep my Direct Debit and have a separate refund? | |
| Should I cancel my Direct Debit? | |
| I have a possession order which was made during the period I was overcharged. Will this be set aside? | |
| I have a possession order which was made during the period I was overcharged. Will you reimburse my court costs? | |
| Former tenant queries | I have a former tenancy with East Suffolk Council which may be affected, what should I do? |
General information
What is the overcharge and how did this happen?
- East Suffolk Council identified that it may have overcharged rent to some of its tenants. In early 2022 we hired an independent company to complete a full audit of all our tenancies going back to 2010 to understand if tenants had been overcharged and if so by how much.
- The audit has identified two key issues:
- Incorrect conversions of existing East Suffolk Council homes to affordable rent
- Incorrect charging via either a service charge or de-pooled rental charge for heating systems maintenance
- Both issues happened when it was still Waveney District Council and were due to misinterpreting guidance and not having a Rent and Service Charge Setting Policy for officers and members to keep to.
What happens now?
- The audit of tenants rent accounts has been completed up to 31 August 2022 and we have received the information as to which tenants are affected by these overcharges.
- We have been completing an audit of 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023 in April and May and will include all this information in the work we need to do on tenants account to ensure they are correct.
- In June 2023 we will start the large piece of work to correct any overcharges on our computer systems and apply any credits that are due to individual rent accounts. We will be working closely with Anglia Revenues Partnership (ARP) to resolve any Housing Benefit overpayments and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) for any Universal Credit overpayments.
- This is a significant piece of work, and it will take time to work through all 9,025 accounts that have been audited.
How do I know that you have got it right this time?
- We have been working with the Regulator for Social Housing.
- We engaged independent external consultants to conduct the audit of our accounts, this organisation is well regarded for their expert knowledge and ability to carry our audits against the regulatory standards.
- We have sought specialist external legal advice from Trower’s and Hamlin law firm who are specialist in housing law.
- We are confident that the correct social formula rent has been applied and robustly checked, and that your new rent and any credit on your account will be accurate.
Should I stop paying my rent?
- No, you should continue to pay your rent as normal, until we have made the corrections on our computer system and worked with ARP and DWP on any benefit overpayments we will not know how much is owed to you. If you are struggling financially, please reach out to your rent officer who can support you with a payment plan and a referral to our Financial Inclusion Officer.
Tenants who have been affected
Who is affected?
- We will be writing to each of our tenants individually with specific information about how you may have been affected and what this means for your individual account. Please be patient during this time, we will be in contact with everyone but will not be able to tell you exactly how you are affected until we have written to you.
I have not had a letter to say I am affected?
- We will be writing to everyone and will commence this significant piece of work in May 2023.
- Please be patient during this time, we will be in contact with everyone, but will not be able to tell you exactly how you are affected until we have written to you.
How will I know how much I have been overcharged?
- If you have been affected, we will write to you with the amount you have been overcharged.
What date are you applying the correction/refund in my case?
- This information will be included on your individual letter as it is different for each account depending on how you have been affected and when your tenancy commenced.
Does the adjustment affect any services charges on my rent?
- The service charge for heating systems maintenance was an overcharge and this has been removed and refunded, this was Housing Benefit/Universal Credit eligible so an overpayment will need to be calculated and paid back before any credit is refunded to you.
I live on an East Suffolk Gypsy and Traveller site,am I affected?
- No, our Gypsy and Traveller site is not affected by these errors but if you previously held a tenancy with East Suffolk, please follow the guidance for former tenants above.
I am an East Suffolk leaseholder, am I affected by this?
- As a current leaseholder you are not affected by this, but if you previously held a tenancy with East Suffolk, please follow the guidance for former tenants above.
I am an East Suffolk Shared Owner, am I affected by this?
- Shared Owners are not affected by this but if you previously held a tenancy with East Suffolk, please follow the guidance for former tenants above.
Housing Benefit and Universal Credit queries
How will this affect any benefits I receive towards my rent?
- We will be working closely with ARP to ensure that any Housing Benefit overpayments are processed before we send you your letter to advise how you have been affected and if you have a refund due.
- We have worked with the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) over Universal Credit claims and we have an agreement in place that you should not report these changes to them as they do not have the capacity to process the adjustments.
I am on partial Housing Benefit now and have been on partial Housing Benefit continuously since my tenancy started, will I get a refund?
- ARP will re-calculate your Housing Benefit based on the corrected rent and service charge figures we provide and if there has been an overpayment of Housing Benefit this will be paid back to ARP from your credit. Any credit remaining after this process will be refunded to you subject to arrears being cleared and paying rent in advance.
I get full Housing Benefit that covers all my rent, will I get a refund?
- If your full rent has been paid by Housing Benefit you will not get a refund. This is because ARP has been overcharged and not you. Your Housing Benefit will reduce based on the correct rental figures and any amount that you have been overcharged will be paid back to the DWP.
I have had a Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP)?
- Your discretionary Housing Payment will not be affected by these overcharges.
I had bedroom tax, how will this affect my refund?
- If you had contributed toward the bedroom tax, you may get a refund when ARP have recalculated your Housing Benefit.
- The DWP have requested for Universal Credit claims that you should not report these changes to them as they do not have the capacity to process the adjustments.
I am benefit capped, how will this affect my refund?
- Depending on the level of your benefit cap and if you have made payments towards your rent, you may get a refund.
I am on Housing Benefit now, but I have not always been, how will this affect my refund?
- It is likely that you will receive a refund based on the period you were not receiving Housing Benefit.
I was on Housing Benefit and am now on Universal Credit, how will this affect my refund?
- We will be working closely with ARP and for any period you were on Housing Benefit. ARP will re-calculate your Housing Benefit based on the corrected rent and service charge figures we provide and if there has been an overpayment of Housing Benefit this will be paid back to ARP from your credit. Any credit remaining after this process will be refunded to you subject to arrears being cleared and paying rent in advance.
- The DWP have requested for Universal Credit claims that you should not report these changes to them as they do not have the capacity to process the adjustments.
I have Non-Dependant Deductions, how will this affect my refund?
- The non-dependant deduction will not be changed when the rent is re-calculated.
Why has the Housing Benefit not gone down by the same percentage as the rent?
- When ARP calculate your Housing Benefit they compare your weekly income to the amount that the government thinks that someone with your household needs to live on each week (known as the applicable amount). If your income is more than your applicable amount you are expected to pay 65p in every £1 towards your rent. Your Housing Benefit is then the difference between the amount that you need to pay and your full rent. So, if your full rent changes the amount that you need to pay generally stays the same and just the amount of Housing Benefit changes.
For example:
Jenny’s rent is £90 per week and she is assessed as needing to pay £70 per week towards her rent. This means that she gets £20 per week in Housing Benefit.
If her rent changes to £80 per week, as there is no change to her income and the only change has been the rent, she still needs to pay £70 per week towards her rent but her Housing Benefit will reduce to £10 per week and she may have been overpaid by £10. However, if her rent has also gone down by £10 from £90 to £80 the £10 reduction in her rent and the overpayment of £10 should cancel each other out.
If Jenny’s rent was to reduce to £68 per week, she would still be assessed for Housing Benefit as able to afford £70 per week but would no longer get any Housing Benefit as her rent charge or liability is less than what she needs to pay each week.
I am on Universal Credit with a managed payment to my landlord. What do I need to do?
- The DWP have requested for Universal Credit claims that you should not report these changes to them as they do not have the capacity to process the adjustments.
I am on Universal Credit and the housing element is paid to me. What do I need to do?
- The DWP have requested for Universal Credit claims that you should not report these rent changes to them as they do not have the capacity to process the adjustments.
What if I don’t agree with the way that the Housing Benefit has been recalculated?
- If you want to know more about this decision, you should get in touch with ARP within one month of the date of your letter. You can ask for a full explanation of the decision, or you can ask us to reconsider the decision. If we do not change the decision, you can appeal against this.
You must do so in writing, within one month of the date of your letter, giving your reasons in full. You will be notified of the outcome in writing. An independent tribunal administered by the Tribunals Service will hear your appeal.
If you would like to get independent advice about your claim, contact your local Citizens Advice. If they cannot help you, they should be able to advise you of other sources of help.
Do I need to tell the DWP if I get a lump sum refund?
- It is possible that if you receive a refund of overcharged rent, that this may increase your capital and savings to a level that puts you over a savings threshold for either a Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) benefit or Housing Benefit or Council Tax Reduction. The thresholds work in two ways.
There is the first threshold where the DWP or ARP ignores the savings and treats it as if it does not exist. (This is generally £6,000 if you are working age and £10,000 if you are over pension age).
The second threshold is the maximum that you are allowed to have before your benefit is stopped. This is usually £16,000 for most income-related benefits (although this is unlimited if you get Pension Credit Guarantee Credit).
If the refund amount will bring your total savings over one of the thresholds, you must contact the DWP and ARP to let them know.
What if I had a previous overpayment that I have repaid?
- If you have a previous Housing Benefit/Universal Credit overpayment that you have paid back in full you may get a refund.
I have a credit on my rent account, but I have always been on full benefit, what do I do?
- If you have had a Housing Benefit overpayment account raised, this credit will be transferred to that account. This is because you did not pay your rent, it was paid by ARP on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions. The work we have been doing correcting the rent account and working with ARP to correct Housing Benefit has resulted in a temporary credit on your rent account. This credit therefore needs to be transferred to your overpayment to reduce the amount that is owed to ARP.
Refund queries
When can I request a refund of any money owed to me?
- If you are affected, you will be written to with the amount you have overpaid, any credit owed to you and how to claim a refund. These letters will start to go out in December 2023 and will relate to your individual account(s).
How long will it take to get my refund?
- Once you have received your letter which will tell you how you have been affected, you will need to complete an online form to request any refund due to you. There will be a link to this online form on your letter and a QR code.
- If you do not have access to the internet or struggle with completing the form, please call our customer services team on 03330 162 000 who will be able to assist you.
- Refunds will be processed and paid within 28 working days of the online form being completed and submitted to us.
I have arrears, can I request the refund to me and not to my rent account instead?
- Any arrears on your account will be cleared first and you will be able to have a refund of any remaining balance subject to paying rent in advance.
Can I have the credit paid to me?
- Any rent over-charged will be refunded to your rent account, once Housing Benefit/Universal Credit overpayments have been paid back, arrears cleared, and your account being paid in advance, any remaining credit can be refunded to you.
I have also had a tenancy of another property with East Suffolk Council, what will happen to the rent refund for the previous property?
- Wherever possible we will try to ensure all former tenancies are processed at the same time as your current one, so we make all the accounts correct together and issue you with one refund for any credits on all accounts.
Tenancy queries
I have a joint tenancy – what happens to my credit?
- Any credit will ideally need to be paid into a joint bank account. If you do not have a joint bank account, you will to confirm which of the joint tenants’ bank account you want the money to go into.
I was assigned the tenancy from a family/ex-partner member – from a joint to sole, tenancy. What happens to any credit?
- The overcharges will be placed on the rent account for the whole period of the tenancy, the person who assigned their joint tenancy will not be able to claim this credit it will go to the current sole tenant.
I was assigned the tenancy from a family member – sole to sole tenancy. What happens to any credit?
- Any rent over-charged whilst you were the sole tenant will be credited back to you, any over-charges on the previous sole tenancy in the name of your family member will be classed as a former tenancy.
I succeeded to my tenancy on the death of a family member since the tenancy started – what happens to any credit?
- Any rent over-charged whilst you were the succession tenant will be credited back to you, any over-charges on the previous sole tenancy in the name of your family member will be classed as a former tenancy and will need to be dealt with by the executor of the estate.
Rent account queries
I pay by Direct Debit and don’t know what rent is going to be taken for my next payment. How is this calculated?
- When you receive your individual letter, this will give you the options for any credit you have. It is East Suffolk Council’s preference for your direct debit to remain the same, and for any credit to be refunded back to you. You will be able to discuss this with a Rent Officer to ensure the best option for you and your circumstances.
Can I keep my Direct Debit and have a separate refund?
- Yes, you can and this is East Suffolk Council’s preferred option.
Should I cancel my Direct Debit?
- No, you should continue to pay your rent as normal, until we have made the corrections on our computer system and worked with ARP and DWP on any benefit overpayments we will not know how much is owed to you. If you are struggling financially, please reach out to your rent officer who can support you with a payment plan and a referral to our Financial Inclusion Officer.
I have a possession order which was made during the period I was overcharged. Will this be set aside?
- All accounts will be reviewed for any possession orders or warrants of eviction. If the arrears on the account would not have arisen if the correct rent had been charged at the time of the referral to court, then this will be considered on a case-by-case basis. We will advise you of the status of your possession order/warrant of eviction in your individual letter.
I have a possession order which was made during the period I was overcharged. Will you reimburse my court costs?
- All accounts with court costs will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, we will update you on any court costs in your individual letter.
Former tenant queries
I have a former tenancy with East Suffolk Council which may be affected, what should I do?
- All our former accounts have be part of the full audit, if you have a former account please contact housing@eastsuffolk.gov.uk providing your name and previous address and a correspondence address for where you live now to ensure we can send you a letter when the audit has been completed if you are affected.