do i have to tell the landlord if i apply for housing benefit?

veronicamars_2

do i have a legal obligation to tell the landlord if I'm claiming housing benefit? my job finishes next week and unless i get housing benefit I won't be able to pay the rent. I live in a shared house and i'm sure the ad for the room originally said no DHSS/benefits. i would ask the landlord, but we she's not very impressed with me at the moment (long story and not really my fault) so i'm a little scared to ask if she'd be okay with it in case she says no and tells me i'll have to move out if i intend to claim benefits.

DUTR

If she is not impressed with you at the moment then you are not in good stead, i think the no dss/benefits applies when you are initially taking up residency, and in fairness, some dss tenants mess landlords about when it comes to rent time, good luck with your job hunt though.

pandaspot

No you don't have to tell her, just make sure when you complete your form that you state that you don't want information shared with your landlord.

There does seem to be issues with landlord insurance where it might be void if they have benefit claimants at the property but from a housing benefit point of view your landlord does not need to know. Legally I don't think you have to tell them.

veronicamars_2

DUTR wrote: »

If she is not impressed with you at the moment then you are not in good stead, i think the no dss/benefits applies when you are initially taking up residency, and in fairness, some dss tenants mess landlords about when it comes to rent time, good luck with your job hunt though.

thanks, the annoying this is i haven't done anything wrong. I alerted her to a gas leak and its basically cost her thousands to get it fixed so she's annoyed at me even though it was her own fault for not maintaining things.

pandaspot wrote: »

No you don't have to tell her, just make sure when you complete your form that you state that you don't want information shared with your landlord.

well thats good to know. i'm still a little concerned as she lives at the house too and she my see that the letters from the council, but if i'm under no legal obligation to tell her then i can use that as my defense if she finds out

HappyMJ

veronicamars wrote: »

thanks, the annoying this is i haven't done anything wrong. I alerted her to a gas leak and its basically cost her thousands to get it fixed so she's annoyed at me even though it was her own fault for not maintaining things.


well thats good to know. i'm still a little concerned as she lives at the house too and she my see that the letters from the council, but if i'm under no legal obligation to tell her then i can use that as my defense if she finds out

As a lodger if you don't tell her upfront that you'll be claiming and she finds out later she could kick you out immediately. I'd let her know now or at the very least just after paying the rent then you should have a bit of notice to move if she disagrees with having a benefit claimant in the property all day.

Jowo_2

No, there's no legal obligation for you to inform the landlord. Many are averse to claimants as tenants for a variety of reasons. Apparently some have mortgages/insurance (not sure if either or both) where they are not supposed to have benefit claimants as tenants.

Also, those that like to fly under the radar and not declare their rental income may also know that a HB/LHA claim can flag up the arrangement with the HMRC. A landlord with a live in lodger is allowed £4250 rental income without having to pay tax or submit a tax return so it's probably not an issue.

If you are a live in lodger and therefore share common space and amenities with the landlady, such as living room/bathroom or kitchen, won't she realise you are unemployed because you aren't going out to work?!

The LHA direct website will indicate to you the maximum LHA you can receive and if the rent is inclusive of some bills, I don't think these are included in it.

Does the property have a gas safety certificate for gas appliances and the boiler? I know that tenants must have one but not sure if lodgers do.

meercatsunited

I am a landlord and this happened to my tenant who did inform me and fortunately for them when the benefits dept insisted on contacting me I was aware of the situation.

if you have a rent book the benefits may accept that as proof of rent paid but dont count on it.

I do have to pay extra insurance if dss tenants occupy my property.

My mortgage lender insist I do not have dss tenants and its created a problem for me but whats the lender going to do, not a lot it would cost too much as long as the mortgage is paid they are usually happy.

Landlords have an obligation to have a gas safety check every 12 months so your landlord is breaking the law.

Hammyman

I am a Landlord. My tenant is on HB. The only reason I know this is because I've known them for a while - I was not contacted in any way by the council. So it is possible for you to claim HB and as long as you can provide proof of rent the landlord need never find out.

dseventy

I am landlord and contrary to Hannymans reply, I was contacted by the HMRC when a tenant claimed benefits.

D70

mirrorimage0

im a landlady and used to get regular letters informing me of what i was bing paid and when from the council

Macro_3

It does occasionally cause problems for the landlord - for example tenant claims HB, provides tenancy agreement and LA look up the named landlord, only to find they are claiming in their own right and have not declared they have rental income or own other properties.

As to the original question, though, no.