Housing benefit rant!

lfckerry

yes i have informed the mortgage company and have permission to let the property.
yes i have vetted my tenant as in references and a guarantor.
i dont have issue with my tenant at the moment anyway,its the council that are causing the delay

t0rt0ise

I agree with the OP it isn't really good enough and it puts landlords off from taking on HB tenants.

I remember when I was working and claiming HB, I had to send in all my payslips and my son's, who lived with me, along with other papers. It would take a couple of months for them to work out, then they'd write to me with the wrong amount and I'd appeal it. They'd correct it and by that time it was time to apply again. At that time I had to apply every four months and it took them that long to sort it out so I was always applying and they always got it wrong. It didn't affect my paying the rent but it really was a pain.

lfckerry

Thanks Puddy, i am a new landlord and guessed i'd just have to wait. i will call them and see what they say. are they legally obliged to make an interim payment??
i rang earlier to confirm the delay and they said they did receive paperwork on 4th november but it is yet to be dealt with.

lfckerry

i have just rang the council again and they have said the only thing that can be applied for is a 'crisis loan'.

tbs624

lfckerry wrote: »

yes i have informed the mortgage company and have permission to let the property.
yes i have vetted my tenant as in references and a guarantor.
i dont have issue with my tenant at the moment anyway,its the council that are causing the delay

You are missing the point, which is that if you are going to let property you need to prepare well in advance and make allowances for potential gaps between rent paid and mortgage due.Note that some mortagors specifically exclude lets to LHA claimants.

If you are already worrying about your mortgage payments, the point is that without having credit checked your new T, you may have other hurdles to jump in the future, as the LHA will be paid direct to the T who may have other calls on the funds of which you are unaware.

That said, as you say you have a guarantor in place, ask the G to meet the rent for now and then your T can repay the G once the claim has been finalised. Did you credit check the G btw - do you know that they will have the funds to meet any failure on the part of the T?

You may want to consider signing up to LandlordLaw , the NLA or RLA - tax deductible membership fees , discounts on LL insurances premiums and much useful guidance for newbie LLs.

puddy

lfckerry wrote: »

i have just rang the council again and they have said the only thing that can be applied for is a 'crisis loan'.

im going from my days as an hb officer. that was over 14 years ago, however, yes we were legally obliged, but its the tenant that must kick up a stink. you must put in a high level complaint. the duties may have changed since my day though so you need to check

puddy

lfckerry wrote: »

i have just rang the council again and they have said the only thing that can be applied for is a 'crisis loan'.

payment after 14 days?

If you rent from a private landlord or a housing association, once you have made a claim, the council normally has to make an interim payment of housing benefit within 14 days. This is sometimes called a payment on account.
The only reason that payment can be delayed beyond 14 days is if the delay is caused because you did not provide the council with the information it asked for. An interim payment will allow you to pay off some of the arrears and may stop your landlord from trying to evict you. Contact your council if you don't get this payment after 14 days and get advice if necessary.




-- from the shelter website, it is still the case-- get complaining and get the money

lfckerry

They were quite adamant that there was nothing else to offer except a crisis loan. do you think they are just trying to pull a fast one?

puddy

er yes

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ILW

A friend of mine works for a housing dept, most of the people there cannot afford to buy and have a dislike of BTL landlords who they see as blocking them out of the market. They do not put themselves out to help.