do different councils have different rules for housing benefit payment?

tucbiscuit

Hi, hopefully someone can help me.

What I would like to know is do some councils have different rules to other when it comes to housing benefits and who they are paid to?

More specifically do some councils allow the tenant to sign a waiver/ agreement for the benefit to be paid direct to the landlord from day one? as the ones I have come across so far stipulate the tenant must be either in two months of arrears or prove they are incapable of managing their own money for the benefit to be paid direct to the landlord.


Hopefully someone know. Thanks

clutton_2

Under the terms of the 2004 Housing Act - the only tenants who are allowed to have their LHA paid directly to the landlord are those tenants who are described as "Vulnerable" - ask your council what their definition of vulnerbility is...... and how you might prove vulnerability for a potential tenant

other than that.. all LHA goes to tenants......

once a tenant is 8 weeks in arrrears, a LL can apply to the council for direct payment...

squinty

The short answer is no. Councils do not set the rules for HB /LHA - they merely administer this on behalf of government.

clutton_2

but different councils need different sorts of "proof" to prove vulnerability.....

PasturesNew

There was stuff about this on the telly tonight. It's being suggested that:
- LHA needs to be looked at because (while it is a good system/works) it can lead cr4p landlords to charge LHA rates for cr4ppy flats just because that's the price. This would result in there being further bandings for LHA, so cr4ppy fl4ts in cr4ppy areas would attract a lower LHA than the median.
- Shelter want the tenant to be able to sign to get it paid directly to the LL, in the hope this would persuade more LLs to accept DSS
- LHA needs to start paying monthly, rather than 2-weekly/4-weekly, to enable tenants to budget more easily where their rent is due monthly.

Morglin

This article is quite interesting:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2009/dec/21/landlords-lha-review

Lin

property.advert

I wasn't aware that LHA was paid anything other than monthly in arrears, as mine is. I did query this with the council and was informed that it was policy these days. I remember when HB was paid in the middle of the month, meaning you were sort of 2 weeks in arrears and 2 weeks ahead so to speak. Paying in arrears seems to me to be at odds with what every landlord requires.

poppysarah

I suspect it's easier if the tenant wants it rather than the landlord wants it...

HappyMJ

The landlord would need to agree and if already being paid on time then i doubt they would take on the potential liability of the payments having to be returned due to overpayment and then having to chase the tenant.

Quote from my council website says .........
[URL="javascript:"]Question[/URL] : When may the council make payments to my landlord? ‎(1)
Although you cannot choose to have your benefit paid to your landlord, the council can, in the following circumstances, decide to pay benefit to your landlord :

If you are eight weeks or more in arrears with your rent
If you are likely to have difficulty in managing your financial affairs
If you are unlikely to pay your rent

clutton_2

landlords dont like LHA because of huge arrears that have built up nation-wide by LHA scammers ......

i get some LHA two weeks in arrears and others 4 weeks in arrears..... i wish i got paid monthly - as it makes accounting so much easiers.

it also means that if a LL has agreed to take a LHA tenant on monthly in arrears, then depending on when the tenant leaves, a LL may not be able to comply with deposit protection timeframe to put in any claim on the deposit within 14 days as they wont know if all the rent has been paid for anything up to a month....

tucbiscuit

HappyMJ wrote: »

The landlord would need to agree and if already being paid on time then i doubt they would take on the potential liability of the payments having to be returned due to overpayment and then having to chase the tenant.

Quote from my council website says .........
Question : When may the council make payments to my landlord? ‎(1)
Although you cannot choose to have your benefit paid to your landlord, the council can, in the following circumstances, decide to pay benefit to your landlord :

If you are eight weeks or more in arrears with your rent
If you are likely to have difficulty in managing your financial affairs
If you are unlikely to pay your rent

thanks to everyone for all the replies, very interesting

HappyMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM, which council is that?