Paying rent one month in advance to housing associations

Hi
Now my relative has migrated from ESA to UC the housing association says he is in arrears of rent. This is because UC, who are paying the rent directly to the housing association, pay a month in arrears. The housing association wants a month in advance. On investigation I have found that his rent has been paid 4 weeks in arrears by housing benefit for the last 5 years. Does the housing association have the right to ask him to credit his account with one months rent from his own funds just because he has switched to UC? There will be no failure to pay rent since it is paid direct under an agreed Alternative Payment Arrangement.

Thank you. I have emailed the housing association to ask if it is really necessary to credit the account with 1 month's rent from his own funds. Since APAs are set up for the most vulnerable it seems contradictory that these same people are then asked for large sums of money, despite the fact there is little chance of a failure in payment.

I got this from AI on Google, it may help someone.

No, a housing association cannot generally ask a tenant, who is on an Alternative Payment Arrangement (APA) for Universal Credit, to contribute one month's rent in advance from their own funds. APAs are specifically designed to manage rent payments, often due to difficulties in managing finances, and typically involve direct payment of rent to the landlord from the tenant's Universal Credit. While landlords can request deductions from a tenant's Universal Credit to repay existing rent arrears, they cannot typically require an upfront payment in addition to the APA.
Here's why:
APAs are designed to manage rent payments:
When a tenant is on an APA, the housing association receives the rent portion of their Universal Credit directly, or potentially through a more frequent payment, rather than the tenant receiving it themselves. This is a mechanism to ensure rent is paid when tenants struggle to manage their finances.
No legal limit on rent in advance, but...:
There is no legal limit on how much rent a landlord can ask for upfront. However, in the context of Universal Credit and APAs, the system is designed to manage rent payments and avoid situations where tenants are required to make large, upfront payments they may not be able to afford.
Landlords can request deductions for arrears:
Landlords can request deductions from a tenant's Universal Credit to recover existing rent arrears, but this is done through a separate process and not through requiring an upfront payment alongside the APA.

Some further information on this topic which may help someone. I have now found that the Housing Benefit system had an agreement with the Housing Association that rent losses caused by tenants would be covered by Housing Benefit. This is not the case with rent paid by UC. Therefore the housing association is having to enforce the one month's rent in advance policy which previously they were lax about due to the arrangement with housing benefit. Therefore all tenants migrating from ESA to UC with rent previously paid by housing benefit must now be one month's rent in credit. If you are not in credit you will receive an arrears letter.

If the tenant cannot afford to pay this in full, they can make a payment agreement with the housing association to pay a nominal amount per month, about £22 minimum. Or they can make an arrangement with UC to deduct an amount per month from their UC to pay the housing association direct, but this will be at least £39 per month. Or they can apply to their local council for a discretionary housing payment.

Finally, at the time of migration it is possible to apply for a housing advance from UC to pay the one month's rent in advance. However, once the first UC payment is received it is too late to apply. This is a loan and is paid back through your UC payments.