Can you get housing benefits paid to you directly rather than to the landlord?

pboae

clutton wrote: »

If a tenant is found to be fraudulently claiming HB - the council will "claw-back" the rent from the landlord - and they claim that they have the legal authority to claw it back from ANY other property the landlord owns and which has HB paid on it. Councils have been known to try to claw back a years worth of HB. This is so grossly unfair as to be criminal - why should a landlord be made to lose rent if the tenant has acted fraudulently without the landlord having any knowledge of it ? Councils only claw-back off landlords, as they know it is pointless clawing back off HB tenants - cos they have no money to pay with.

That happened to us, and by the time the council demanded the money back the tenant had already moved out, leaving us with no chance of being able to get the money back off him. So now I will not let to tenants claiming HB. It's a risk I cannot protect myself from, so it is one I am not willing to take.

before_hollywood

Voyager2002 wrote: »

Not any more. As a landlord, I was told this by an underwriter working for my trade union's insurance service for members. Later, I was told this by a buildings insurer that I had been planning to use: at that point my letting agent pointed me in the direction of a different insurer who did not discriminate.

BTW this kind of discrimination is perfectly legal, just like an employer discriminating against people who don't have the necessary qualification. Discrimination is only illegal when it is on the basis of race; gender; disability and perhaps sexual orientation.

that kind of discrimination is also common in the rental market, i applied for a room rental earlier in the year and the agent had been instructed to not allow any males to make appointments to view by the landlord.

i said to the agent, his loss, i've got as much deposit as he wants, rent in advance and i am never there :rolleyes:

you think you've got a problem being on benefits- try being a bloke and looking for rental property, ask any of my friends :eek:

MiaWallace_2

Thank you for all the responses. It appears that it maybe even more difficult than I expected to find somewhere to rent. I have decided I will be upfront with any landlords I deal with in regards to claiming HB. I don't want to cause anybody problems if they have conditions placed on them by insurance/mortgage companies.

Think it's going to take alot of luck for me to find somewhere and I fear I maybe unable to attend the University

deary65

It does start you thinking, when a young lady obviously trying to better herself and become a valued member of the community meets this kind of discrimination. I would have though such a person would make a very good tenant.

As to the insurance issue, it would be interesting to read how this is worded since there could be implied discrimination.

As to the “claw-back” unless the agency can prove conspiracy( a conscious agreement between the tenant and landlord) to defraud then there is no way in law i can see this being legal.

As to being victims of an housing policy, i think we are all victims of maladministration and wrong full interpretation of the law.

With regard to rent restrictions, there are two ways in which you can control rent,one is by way of market forces the other is by way of a rent act. The government have chosen the former: what this means is, the “law” of “market forces” set the rent not the benefit agency. We are also fortunate in this country that we enjoy the freedom, to freely enter into contractual relations, such a contract must be respected by one and all. Have any of you ever though of taking legal advice.

thesaint

deary65 wrote: »

It does start you thinking, when a young lady obviously trying to better herself and become a valued member of the community meets this kind of discrimination. I would have though such a person would make a very good tenant.

As to the insurance issue, it would be interesting to read how this is worded since there could be implied discrimination.

As to the “claw-back” unless the agency can prove conspiracy( a conscious agreement between the tenant and landlord) to defraud then there is no way in law i can see this being legal.

As to being victims of an housing policy, i think we are all victims of maladministration and wrong full interpretation of the law.

With regard to rent restrictions, there are two ways in which you can control rent,one is by way of market forces the other is by way of a rent act. The government have chosen the former: what this means is, the “law” of “market forces” set the rent not the benefit agency. We are also fortunate in this country that we enjoy the freedom, to freely enter into contractual relations, such a contract must be respected by one and all. Have any of you ever though of taking legal advice.

I guess you are right with what you say, but local authorities do not operate within the rules set out. Landlords generally do not have the time or the inclination to wade through poor admin issues, rent acts and their poor interpretation of the housing act.

As previously stated, I do have tenants on housing benefits but I turn away most people that come to me on it because it requires more work to set the tenancy up and manage.

The final reason is that HB NEVER pay market rent, and how can a landlord ask a HB tenant for a reasonable rent increase knowing that they cannot afford it ?

In fairness to my local authority, they do pay the market rent whenever i've approached them.

Vickicb

MiaWallace wrote: »

Thank you for all the responses. It appears that it maybe even more difficult than I expected to find somewhere to rent. I have decided I will be upfront with any landlords I deal with in regards to claiming HB. I don't want to cause anybody problems if they have conditions placed on them by insurance/mortgage companies.

Think it's going to take alot of luck for me to find somewhere and I fear I maybe unable to attend the University

Place an advert in the local paper Mia, get yourself a guaranteur if you can, offer a couple of months rent up front. Many landlords would be glad to have you. Will you be there all year round? If so, put that in the advert too, many students only pay rent 9 months of the year. Sell yourself!

silvercar

I would accept a tenant on housing benefit provided that they claimed any HB from the council and they paid the rent directly to me on the due date. Any HB claim is between them and the council.

For all potential tenants, the contract with me stipulates that the the rent gets paid monthly in advance on the due date, not in arrears in 4 weekly instalments. As long as the tenant understands this I wouldn't have a problem. The HB tenant is then as responsible for paying the rent as any other. Any risk of council clawbacks don't arise.

clutton_2

deary

""As to the “claw-back” unless the agency can prove conspiracy( a conscious agreement between the tenant and landlord) to defraud then there is no way in law i can see this being legal."

whether you think it is legal or not - it happens every week of the year to a landlord somewhere. i know of a landlord who, at the end of the day, did not get rent for almost 18 months due to his local councils giving HB with one hand and taking it back via clawbacks - once the tenant was evicted - guess what the Council rehoused him !! i bet you a pound to a penny they paid themselves HB on time !!!

If i offered property to the market in the same condition that some councils offer their properties out - i would have Environmental health down on me like a ton of bricks with cries of "Rachmann" from the local papers - but Council housing departments often seem to think they are a law unto themselves.

deary65

"but Council housing departments often seem to think they are a law unto themselves." That neatly sums up matters under discussion.

The only way in law i see this being legal,( claw- back),the landlord the tenant and the benefit agency reduce an agreement to writing and have it signed by all the parties thereto.

Gold_Shogun

clutton wrote: »

deary

"As to the “claw-back” ..."

whether you think it is legal or not - it happens every week of the year to a landlord somewhere. i know of a landlord who, at the end of the day, did not get rent for almost 18 months due to his local councils giving HB with one hand and taking it back via clawbacks - once the tenant was evicted - guess what the Council rehoused him !! i bet you a pound to a penny they paid themselves HB on time !!!

If i offered property to the market in the same condition that some councils offer their properties out - i would have Environmental health down on me like a ton of bricks with cries of "Rachmann" from the local papers - but Council housing departments often seem to think they are a law unto themselves.

Hmmm, Interesting that many Landlords are still having problems with "Council clawbacks" in respect of Direct Payments, as I've successfully devised & used my own "Landlord Defence" against the Councils for myself & my clients for many years now ... I had thought that most Landlords & Letting Agencies would have sought to protect themselves in a similar way.

However, as it still appears not, for those LL/LA still having problems with HB Clawbacks, might I suggest that the following Document be completed & Signed as part of your STANDARD PROCEDURE whenever you next Create or Renew your Tenancy Agreements ...
I hereby confirm that I am the Legal Copyright Holder of this Document & Intellectual Property, and I hereby licence said document without any Royalty Liability for the benefit & self-protection of Individual Private Landlords ONLY ... All other Rights are Reserved.

... For Clarification, whilst numerous Councils have TRIED to clawback from us over the years, NONE have been successful due in large part to our useage of this Document & "sheer stubborness" on our part.

https://www.ferengi.org.uk/GUEST/HB_AUTHORITY_BLANK.PDF

You should also employ these TWO Tips for "Keeping it Valid" AND "Minimising" any chance of a successful challenge on the part of the Council :-

1) ... Supply a Copy of it to the Council by Rec.Del. ASAP (Many councils demand a copy of the Tenancy Agreement Docs anyway, so simply include this as part of the "bundle")

2) ... Many Councils use "Pre-Printed HB Cheques" which "request/demand" on the rear that the Landlord is "Supposed" to Sign .... This often includes a Disclaimer to the effect that the "Landlord hereby promises to repay to the Council any overpayments arising from the Tenant's HB Claim" ---> Do NOT sign any such disclaimer, and simply deposit the cheques into your bank as normal.

Cheers, and I hope this may be of benefit to some of you.
Bob