housing benefit question

consumer31

hi me and my partner rent our property to a dss tenant
she was good with payments till a few months and now she has fallen behind.

i was wondering if we could get the housing benefit payed into our own bank account.

my tenant has agreed and who do we contact. we live in the kirklees are if that helps.

thanx in andvanced

Jowo_2

Have a look at your local council website - you arrange this with them and their website has the info on this. They can do this if a HB tenant gives permission or is 8 weeks behind. (either 8 weeks or 2 months, I can't remember, but their website should say).

Under the replacement for HB, Local Housing Allowance, (all new claims are now LHA but this doesn't apply retrospectively) discretion is not allowed. Unless the tenant is vulnerable in some way which will affect their payment of rent, then the rent will always be paid directly to the tenant until they get into 8 weeks arrears.

Make sure you understand the difference between HB and LHA so you know where you stand for future tenants who will come under LHA.

Be aware that if you receive the rent directly, and the tenant then is found to not be eligible for HB or is defrauding them, the local council will make you pay the money back. They do not do this if the benefit is paid directly to the tenant.

socrates

consumer31 wrote: »

hi me and my partner rent our property to a dss tenant
she was good with payments till a few months and now she has fallen behind.

i was wondering if we could get the housing benefit payed into our own bank account.

my tenant has agreed and who do we contact. we live in the kirklees are if that helps.

thanx in andvanced

How many weeks is she behind?

If its 8 weeks or more you can ask for it to be paid to you directly until she clears the arrears - which she will probably never do.

She may well be agreeing for you to be paid directly - but some Local Authorities are determined not to pay LL's directly.

First thing to do is contact the local HB office - preferably in person - make a written statement and get her claim 'suspended'

If she is being co-operative get her to go with you and explain her financial difficulties as well as getting her to sign a document that you can discuss her claim directly - it makes it a lot easier in the long run.

Take with you any evidence you have of payments received as well as any shortfalls - a simple excel spreadsheet will do.

Do not accept any promises from the tenant or any 'sob stories'

Its real money we are talking about and you are running a business.

Ultimately prepare yourself to evict her - which probably what she wants as the council will not rehouse her unless you do so.

Its all a game with (some) benefits claimants.

silvercar

Ultimately prepare yourself to evict her - which probably what she wants as the council will not rehouse her unless you do so.

Council won't rehouse if the reason she is homeless is rent arrears.

When my tenant got into arrears I just phoned the council and they suspended her payments. I sent them a spreadsheet of payments/ arrears etc and they wrote to her. Within two weeks they were paying direct and will continue to do so while (a) she is eligible for HB and (b) she is behind with rent. In practice she is never going to catch up as rent is payable in advance and HB paid in arrears.

adg1

If she falls into rental arrears then you can apply to the council to get the LHA paid to you directly. Be prepared to show statements etc to prove her failure to pay though.

Prepare yourself for an eviciton battle though and if she approaches the council for advice they will advise her to stay put knowing that eviction takes a while. Its not a nice way I think of working with landlords that approach the council to help them but thats their current advice around here.

socrates

silvercar wrote: »

Council won't rehouse if the reason she is homeless is rent arrears.

So she will be on the streets?

I think not - she will be put into temporary accommodation or the like - if not that borough another one or in a Housing Association property - so she will be rehoused come rain or shine - unfortunately that is how the system works - and the council will as someone else said - advise her to stay put until she is evicted

silvercar

Sometimes you have to put business interests above personal feelings. If you now have the council paying rent direct, you know the rent will come through. If you evict you risk a void and another tenant who falls behind with rent.

consumer31

thanks for advice. i will get on to our local council office and see what can be done.
dont really wana chuck her out at all. cos shes been a real good tenant till now.

consumer31

and yes she is more than eight weeks behind. hope we can work something out

clutton_2

why does she say she has stopped paying ?

Jowo_2

consumer31 wrote: »

and yes she is more than eight weeks behind. hope we can work something out

Are you planning to work out a repayment schedule for the arrears? I think it's going to be fairly difficult to get someone on benefits to repay a debt, other than a token sum each month that may take years to pay off.