housing benefit question

property.advert

If the LHA is up to £15 a week more than the rent due, then would the council send the LHA to the landlord and thus, the landlord would receive an extra £65 a month ? If so, this would help clear any arrears but it would also highlight to any landlord that there was extra available and that could put them in an unfair position when renewing a lease in terms of wanting to raise the rent.

clutton_2

""

If the LHA is up to £15 a week more than the rent due, then would the council send the LHA to the landlord and thus, the landlord would receive an extra £65 a month ""

sorry - just not true.

ALL LHA payments go to tenants directly, unless the council agree that the tenant is "vulnerable" - ie suffering with mental health problems, alcohol/drug abuse issues etc. Each council has different criteria.

if the LHA is up to £15 a week more than the rent charged, then the tenant keeps the difference (but this is being stopped in April)

consumer31

shes having difficulty paying me the rent since her son died. thats why i dont want to tell her to go. that wouldnt be right.
its just the debt is adding up and if the housing benefit was payed to me then we would be getting somewhere. we can the look at the previous debts atleast this way ill be getting something.

poppysarah

Speak to the council section who deal with HB/LHA

PasturesNew

consumer31 wrote: »

shes having difficulty paying me the rent since her son died. thats why i dont want to tell her to go. that wouldnt be right.

If, for example, she was getting her benefits under LHA (as opposed to HB), then she might have been claiming for a 2-bed property ... as her son subsequently died, and if she's on LHA, then it'd be likely that now (if she is over 25) that she'd only get LHA for a 1-bed property.

So reasons for getting behind could, in some cases, be more than just because she's let things slip (naturally) since her bereavement.

Jowo_2

consumer31 wrote: »

shes having difficulty paying me the rent since her son died. thats why i dont want to tell her to go. that wouldnt be right.

Why does the loss of the son impact her payment of the rent if it was paid through benefits anyway? Did he live with her?

Like the earlier poster, is this because she is now living in a property much larger than the rate she is entitled to through HB? Or is it that she spent the rent on his funeral expenses, for example?

consumer31

yeah she spent it all on funeral expenses and yes the boy lived with her. the housing benefit is still the same as she has two other children.

Jowo_2

Just in case your tenant is not aware, there is a funeral grant available through the Social Fund that is sometimes paid that can be applied for up to 3 months after the funeral. You could bring this to her attention to ease her hardship

http://direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/BenefitsTaxCreditsAndOtherSupport/Bereaved/DG_10018660

consumer31

thanks she already claimed this grant