Council disclosed information to landlord

john539

cakey wrote: »

i'll have to find my policy document to get the exact wording, but it is an exclusion under my buy to let that, unless authorised by the lender to let to HB or LHA. IT must be a private professional let. With my insurance it asks when quoting do i let to HB or LHA applicants, i stated no. if this is not the case they do not cover you under your insurance

There is no way you can check & control that, many working people claim HB/LHA.

The quote is to assess general risk & premium, does not mean they are excluded.

What counts is policy wording & whether it is enforcable.

If you carry out reasonable checks & referencing, that is all you can do.

concerned43

The council complaints procedure only wants you to state your complaint not compensation - you can only do that once you have been through their complaint procedure and your complaint is upheld!
Just lay out your claim and mention that this is in breach of the data protection act.

Macro_3

cakey wrote: »

i'm sorry this may go down like a lead fart, but the landlord would have every right to evict the tenant if they did not disclose they are receiving HB/LHA. i am a landlord myself and it is against my insurance and mortgage to let to those of benefits. if anything happened to my house, i would not be covered.if the OP hasn't disclosed this they are being very irresponsible and deceptive.

I realise this, and that is your right as a landlord. That doesn't make it the right of the LA to disclose information to a landlord without the permission of the tenant.

The purpose of the LA/LHA is to enable people on a low income to obtain and keep their homes, not to ensure that a landlord complies with the terms of his own insurance policies.

furndire

A lot of Buy to Let lenders will not lend the landlord money to buy a house with tennents who are on benefit. If the landlord has a mortgage coming to an end of a fixed period loan, they may not be able to get a mortgage deal if they say they have LA/LHA

Macro_3

DaisyFlower wrote: »

I think that it should be automatic to advise the landlord re a HB/LHA claim. Lots of mortgage and insurance companies wont cover tennants on this benefit and to not advise the landlord could have serious consequences for him/her. Its not the tennants asset to risk.

So you are seriously proposing that LA's be allowed to breach the data protection act in order to inform landlords that their tenants are claiming benefits, simply so that the assets of the landlord are protected? The landlord is running a business, and it is his problem to sort out an adequate mortgage and insurance policy - ones which recognise that even working tenants will ocassionally claim benefit to assist them for short periods in times of need.

Morally, I suppose, the tenant should inform the landlord they are claiming, but many don't understand the insurance implications for their landlord and therefore don't see why they should. It's perfectly understandable that someone who has just lost his job and is struggling financially would prefer to avoid doing anything which might also see him lose his home, or even a couple of teeth.

john539

furndire wrote: »

A lot of Buy to Let lenders will not lend the landlord money to buy a house with tennents who are on benefit. If the landlord has a mortgage coming to an end of a fixed period loan, they may not be able to get a mortgage deal if they say they have LA/LHA

That's a completely different matter, as it is matter of choice by landlord to choose & vet tenant and choice by insurer to vet landlord.

It does not mean it invalidates insurance if landlords have given correct information they know & done reasonable checks.

There is no way for landlord to check someone is claiming LHA/HB or benefits of which there are many & most of the population claim in one form or another.

antrobus

lolly22 wrote: »

I recently moved house and had to change the address for my local housing allowance/housing benefit. I made sure I ticked the box saying I didn't want my landlord to be contacted about this. ...

I don't think that's quite what it says on HCTB1. It asks for your consent to share information regarding your claim with the landlord, and confirms that if you agree to do so the LA can tell the landlord that you are claiming HB. But there is nothing to prevent the LA from contacting the landord and asking for information - "We may need to confirm information with your landlord before we can make a decision on your claim... In these circumsances we can contact your landlord without your permission" is what it says on the form, and obviously a landlord in such circumstances will add two and two together and realise that a tenant is claiming HB even if they haven't actually been informed of that fact.

AsknAnswer2

What it states on the HB form is as follows:

Sharing information with your landlord could help us deal with your claim more quickly and reduce the risk of you falling behind with your rent because of your claim being delayed. We may need to confirm information with your landlord before we can make a decision on your claim, for example, the start date of your tenancy. In these circumstances, we can contact your landlord without your permission. The law requires that we inform your landlord of certain decisions we make on your claim, for example, when a decision is made to pay your benefit to your landlord. Under the Data Protection Act 1998 we need your permission to discuss anything else.

If you give us permission, we would be able to tell your landlord whether:
●you have claimed Housing Benefit, or
●we have made a decision on your claim, or
●we need more information to make a decision on your claim, and what that information may be.

We will not give your landlord any information about:
●your personal or household circumstances, or
●your financial circumstances.

You can withdraw your permission at any time. It will not affect your claim if you do not give us permission to discuss your claim with your landlord. If you want to give us permission to discuss your claim with your landlord, please sign below.

Oldernotwiser

john539 wrote: »

There is no way for landlord to check someone is claiming LHA/HB or benefits of which there are many & most of the population claim in one form or another.

Even if you include tax credits, it's a complete exaggeration to say that the majority of the population claim some form of benefits.

cakey

john539 wrote: »

There is no way you can check & control that, many working people claim HB/LHA.

The quote is to assess general risk & premium, does not mean they are excluded.

What counts is policy wording & whether it is enforcable.

If you carry out reasonable checks & referencing, that is all you can do.

Actually there is a way you check, and that is by getting credit referencing at the beginning of your tenancy. Plus it does say they are excluded, it also excluded rental to students. I'm pretty sure your not a mortgage lender or insurance company, so to say that doesn't mean they are excluded is wrong. the whole statement in there mentions Exclusions