Payment of housing benefit

honeychurch

Anyone with knowlege of housign benefit payment woudl be greatly appeciated:

My lodger has just transferred the housing benefit payments so that instead of being made to her they are coming to me (the landlord). Can anyone help explain when I will next get a payment?

She is away for 2 months and hasn't been completely truthful with me about when I will be getting my money and the local benefits office at the council are not very helpful and keeping saying that they will put it all in writing but the paperwork is still waiting to be processeed. I imagine this depends on when they stop paying her, and i understand that tenants get paid fortnightly in arrear and landlords 4 weekly in arrears. So if for example her last cheque was for the period 14th to 28th Feb, when should I receive the next payment?
I'm not being greedy but I do rely on that money to pay the mortgage! (incidentally she never told me she would be claiming HB when she moved in, and this hasn't been a problem until now, as she has just been paying me and getting reimbursed).
thanks
Clare

cifpower

How has she been paid up to 28 February if it is paid in arrears? My HB is paid every fortnight on a Wednesday in arrears and my last payment 2 days ago covered me up to 11 February

thesaint

If it still is being processed then you will simply have to wait.

I recieve HB for a tenant, and once up and running, it comes every four weeks, but they do suspend payment on a whim, so becareful about relying on it for your mortgage payment.

If they get in serious arrears simply start eviction proceedings, this will concentrate their minds.

honeychurch

I'm so confused about it all, I realise my original post doesn't make sense. I'm assuming that because they haven't sorted it all out yet that she might get paid at the end of Feb/beginning of March for the previous 2 weeks (say 14th Feb to 28th Feb) before the benefits office get round to changing the payments to me.
So will i have to wait then until the end of March for the next payment (which will be for the four weeks from the 1st March to the 29th March).

Why do they stop payment on a whim? And will they be bothered if i threaten to evict her? I realise now why there are so many rooms/flats advertised stating no DSS! They don't make it easy!

thesaint

I do not know if your local authority will issue an interim payment.

They stop payments for all sorts of silly reasons, usually if the tenant does not fill in a form they send to them. If you have a good tenant on H.B. you have one of the most secure tenants available.

The reasons you are stating is why most private landlords refuse to take people on housing benefit, that and if the tenant makes a claim that is subsequently found to be untrue/wrongly assessed, you as a landlord have to return the rent received even though you have provided them with a property and acted in good faith.

They may/may not care whether you evict them or not, but you don't have any loyalty to them, you have a mortgage to pay. So the sooner they pay or leave the better for you.

Zingara

I am concerned about your first post when you state she will be away for two months. HB will only be in payment whilst the tenant is in residence at the property and it is possible that they may not pay if she is absent for two months. Obviously people are allowed to go on holiday but if they pay you and then later find out she has not been there for two months then they will probably claim the money back from you.

Where will she be living for the two months that she is away and has she informed HB about her absence? There are circumstances when HB will pay whilst a tenant is not in residence but they have to know about it in advance.

Karen

Scarlett1

honeychurch wrote:

And will they be bothered if i threaten to evict her? I realise now why there are so many rooms/flats advertised stating no DSS! They don't make it easy!

No they wont be bothered, but your tenant will be protected by her tenancy agreement so you cant evict her, even then once you do issue a notice to quit the council advise to refuse to leave and let the landlord go through the eviction process.

I privately rent and my landlord gets his rent through my HB and there is no problem and he has a mortgage to pay, I have been renting off him for nearly 5 years now

thesaint

Some local authorities will put a tenant on a priority list if they have an eviction notice. If someone has an eviction notice, they tend to badger the local authority to sort out the payments due to the landlord.

If the tenant gets taken to court and waits for the bailiffs, they will have to pay these costs as well as interest of 8%p.a awarded by the court.

honeychurch

I rent out a room in the flat that I own (with the mortgage company!) and live in so I don't think I have to go through any eviction process, i think i have right to ask a tenant to leave at any point, although I obviously woudn't without good notice unless its absolutely necessary.

I don't really know why she is away and if this is a legimate reasons, but I am erring on the side of doubt, and I would not expect that she has told them.
The benefits people are being so unhelpful. Now they won't even talk to me about the claim (despite being happy to do this the first 2 times I called) because she hasn't signed something to say she is happy for the claim to be discussed with the landlord.

I think i'm going to have to send her an email outlining these problems, and I'm very concerned about having to pay the rent back if she isn't authorised to have her rent paid for 2 months when she is away.
I think she is also on unemployment benefit (i know she was...)
This also sounds so messy and dodgy i can't believe i've got into this!

thesaint

Sorry, I didn't take on board that she is a lodger, you are right, you don't have to give her any notice at all.
The council shouldn't have spoken to you without her written consent.

It's up to you what you do now, best speak to your lodger and ask her to speak to the council and give her permission for you to speak to them about her claim. If she is not forthcoming, put her belongings in the shed(secured).

Scarlett1

Im confused now because I believe that in order to claim housing benefit you would have to have a rent book or a tenancy agreement and to have these would give a claimant some rights, honeychurch is this the friend of your sister's who you knew to have been on benefits