Tenants getting housing benefit

BigAunty

NoAngel wrote: »

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And we really have tried to be understanding, I've reassured the tenant that I'll wait for the money. I did get a bit stressed when his phone got disconnected and I had no way of making contact but I resolved that by calling his father.



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Unless the father is a guarantor (and it doesn't sound like he is), then contacting a relative about your tenant's rent arrears is very unprofessional and runs the risk of being construed as harassment. Professional landlords, rather than accidental ones who turn to renting when they can't sell their property, would put all matters in writing.

My understanding is that a tenant who submits all the correct paperwork for their HB claim can request an interim housing benefit payment after 2 weeks if the council has not fully processed their claim. From an earlier debate on this topic, it seems a council is supposed to honour the request of interim payment by housing law but some wriggle out of it and there's not much a tenant can do.

If the tenant has received any HB directly (though the payments appear to be directed to the OP so this shouldn't be an issue) then if they've spent it on other things, there is little way to clear the debt as it's virtually impossible to get money out of someone on benefits.

NoAngel

BigAunty wrote: »

Unless the father is a guarantor (and it doesn't sound like he is), then contacting a relative about your tenant's rent arrears is very unprofessional and runs the risk of being construed as harassment. Professional landlords, rather than accidental ones who turn to renting when they can't sell their property, would put all matters in writing.

My understanding is that a tenant who submits all the correct paperwork for their HB claim can request an interim housing benefit payment after 2 weeks if the council has not fully processed their claim. From an earlier debate on this topic, it seems a council is supposed to honour the request of interim payment by housing law but some wriggle out of it and there's not much a tenant can do.

If the tenant has received any HB directly (though the payments appear to be directed to the OP so this shouldn't be an issue) then if they've spent it on other things, there is little way to clear the debt as it's virtually impossible to get money out of someone on benefits.

I didn't mention the arrears to his father just asked for an alternative contact number. I had put it in writing 10 days previously but they hadnt told me they were temporarily staying at her mothers house, house sitting as she was away so hadnt recieved the letter. This coupled with the phone being cut off had me concerned. The tenant had given me his fathers number, I merely asked for a number to contact his son, no harassment.

Just because we are trying to sell whilst renting doesn't make us terrible landlords, we really have done everything properly. There was no easy solution... Stay in the house and lose my job and it's prospects, continue to leave it empty and thus paying a heck of a lot for an empty house or rent it out. I got proper advice and opted for the latter.