Right to refuse access for verification Visit
Tom James
something I would like to ask.
Does a person have the right to refuse a verification person access to
their house or flat?
If access is refused then maybe the verification decision will go against
the claimant. Although this makes me wonder if refusal of access is a
permissable basis for such a verification decision?
Now correct me if I am wrong but it seems to me that the verification
officer has the same sort of rights as the TV man. In other words, he can
ask to be let in but he has no right of access. (ISTR that right of
access is reserved for the customs & excise VAT people or for the police
in hot pursuit or preventing a crime).
The TV man can get a court order to be let in if he is contunually refused
and has grounds to think there is a TV operating in the house and the
police too can get a court order if a magistrate grants it but I would
GUESS that there is no automatic right of access by the verification
person.
What say you specialists?
Robbie
You can refuse to let anyone into your house unless they are allowed by
law and visiting officers (VO) from either the HB department or the DWP
have no right of entry to the property.
Of course, this could impact on your benefit. The emphasis is on the
word *could* rather than would as a verification visit is in part a
visit to confirm residency. Many years ago benefit used to be refused if
someone would not allow the VO into the property. This then changed to
certain parts of the benefit being restricted if entry was refused. But
times have moved on and benefit wouldn't necessarily be refused because
someone refused to let the VO into the property. Most people would let
them in just to save the hassle of perhaps further investigation which
might arise (the thought being "what is that person hiding?")
Robbie
Sue
<3pvn2sF...@individual.net>, Robbie <ngrob...@hotmail.com> writes
>
>Many years ago benefit used to be refused if someone would not allow
>the VO into the property. This then changed to certain parts of the
>benefit being restricted if entry was refused. But times have moved on
>and benefit wouldn't necessarily be refused because someone refused to
>let the VO into the property.
Housing Benefit would be suspended until they were able to visit.
HB is completely dependant on the claimant actually living in the place
we're paying for.
--
Sue @ Darkside Borough Council
Robbie
But would the VO actually need to enter the property? In my days as a VO
at the DWP I conducted a visit on the doorstep because the tenant
refused to let me in. The guy did have a history of refusing to let
anyone in and he was well known to us (he'd been refusing the DWP entry
for over 20 years! with the result that at various times he'd fallen
foul of the rules in operation at the time).
Robbie
Mike
Being at the door doesn't prove habitation, when you enter someone's
home there is a feel you get of occupation even without opening
cupboards etc. Knick nacks, the odd newspaper or magazine, the detrius
of life should be present.
Even do the things you see fit in with the person. I visited a customer
whose hse was full of hindu religios knick nacks. I 'casually' asked him
whether his parents were hindu or if he'd converted. His answers didn't
convince so I went back 2 days later un-announced. He was renting the
hse out to an indian family and he'd sent them away for my visit.
Benefits stopped etc.
Mike
mogga
<matuatakes...@kiwifanboy.com> wrote:
>Being at the door doesn't prove habitation, when you enter someone's
>home there is a feel you get of occupation even without opening
>cupboards etc. Knick nacks, the odd newspaper or magazine, the detrius
>of life should be present.
>Even do the things you see fit in with the person. I visited a customer
>whose hse was full of hindu religios knick nacks. I 'casually' asked him
>whether his parents were hindu or if he'd converted. His answers didn't
>convince so I went back 2 days later un-announced. He was renting the
>hse out to an indian family and he'd sent them away for my visit.
>Benefits stopped etc.
>
>Mike
In Manchester I know someone who reported a giro-drop many times and
got nowhere with it... The place was empty.
--
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Sue
>> Housing Benefit would be suspended until they were able to visit.
>> HB is completely dependant on the claimant actually living in the
>>place we're paying for.
>>
>
>But would the VO actually need to enter the property? In my days as a
>VO at the DWP I conducted a visit on the doorstep because the tenant
>refused to let me in. The guy did have a history of refusing to let
>anyone in and he was well known to us (he'd been refusing the DWP entry
>for over 20 years! with the result that at various times he'd fallen
>foul of the rules in operation at the time).
>
He'd be even better known to us, as Darkside's a unitary we'd be able to
find out who his social worker is. And he'd probably be one of our
tenants. He's probably excluded from the lucky dip for HB visits.
You wouldn't want him to let you in, the place is usually a health and
fire hazard which eventually leads to his being removed to a mental
hospital.
anthonyberet
> All this talk in this group about Verification Visits reminds me of
> something I would like to ask.
>
> Does a person have the right to refuse a verification person access to
> their house or flat?
>
> If access is refused then maybe the verification decision will go against
> the claimant. Although this makes me wonder if refusal of access is a
> permissable basis for such a verification decision?
>
Yes, it is.
> Now correct me if I am wrong but it seems to me that the verification
> officer has the same sort of rights as the TV man. In other words, he can
> ask to be let in but he has no right of access. (ISTR that right of
> access is reserved for the customs & excise VAT people or for the police
> in hot pursuit or preventing a crime).
>
Yes, you are thinking along the right lines.
> The TV man can get a court order to be let in if he is contunually refused
> and has grounds to think there is a TV operating in the house and the
> police too can get a court order if a magistrate grants it but I would
> GUESS that there is no automatic right of access by the verification
> person.
>
> What say you specialists?
>
You are right. A HB verification officer cannot enforce access.
- However, they could and probably would stop HB if their reasonable
access requests are denied.
anthonyberet
I must say I wouldn't pay the HB if the tenant was being evasive.