Our income support team recently supported a vulnerable resident who was at risk of being made homeless.
Elderly resident Mr RB* had been served a NOSP/legal action letter because he had missed rent payments of £1300.
This was out of character because he had always claimed housing benefits. After further investigation, our income officer discovered that Mr RB’s housing benefit had stopped because he had travelled abroad for three months for a funeral.
Our Welfare Rights Advisor worked hard to ensure no legal action was taken against Mr RB, to allow us the time and space to resolve the issue. We helped Mr RB make a new housing benefit claim and a three-month backdated start.
Unfortunately, the housing benefit payment was slow, and Mr RB’s rent arrears increased to over £3,500. Understandably this impacted his mental well-being, and the team consistently sent evidence to the local authority. In the meantime, we encouraged Mr RB to pay what he could while his benefit was processed.
Mr RB’s housing benefit payment was finally processed, and he is happier in his home. He contacted us to say thank you for the advice and support during a stressful time. We will keep an eye on his tenancy to make sure he does not fall into arrears again.
At Wandle, we see our purpose as supporting people across south London, who need a home. We know it can be overwhelming if you fall into debt, and it can be easy to ignore them, but this only makes the problem grow.
If you cannot pay your rent, we will work with you to resolve the problem, and if for any reason we cannot help you, we will sign-post you to agencies who can.
Our customer contact centre is open from 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. You can also email us at customerservices@wandle.com.