Confusing situation with rent as I am on LHA

Viberduo

I paid 2 months in advance when I moved in, council pays 4 weekly in arrears the full amount but rent is due per calendar month.

So I would assume I am always at least 2 months in advance and then X amount of days

I only ask as the council is now paying a little less so works out about £10 top up per month and landlord claims I am not therefore £10 in arrears(he gets paid direct), I did a calculation of rent due and rent paid that means I am well in credit i.e if rent was £250 per month I currenty am paid up the 2 months in advance and have a credit balance of about £150 so next month £100 would be due instead of £250(these amounts are a example not the real amounts as have to get my file with calculations.

Either way the landlord claims I must pay him the £10 straight away as I am in arrears.

Yes it may be confusing but I hope its at least clear I do not owe arrears but am in fact in credit.

IMO this £150 credit should cover top up for 15 months especially as at no point will it be in arrears i.e lets say rent is due 1st of month the council 4 weekly payment would go through a few days before that leaving only the alleged £10 top up(even though balance is in credit when rent is due either way)

silvercar

What does your contract say. Usually your contract would require you to pay one month in advance, so maybe the landlord calls "arrears" when he doesn't have the month in advance in his bank account on the first day of the new rent period.

The easiest way to calculate top ups is to say over a year the council pays 13 instalments of 4 weekly rent and the landlord expects monthly payments, so take the monthly rent as per your contract and multiply by 12. Take the instalments paid by the council and multiply by 13. Taking one from the other will tell you the shortfall. Divide it by 12 and pay that monthly to your landlord. Or divide it by 13 and pay it on the same date that the council pay him ie every 4 weeks.

Annisele

Viberduo wrote: »

I paid 2 months in advance when I moved in.

Was that money all to pay for rent, or was half of it for the deposit?

It's common for people to pay two months rent when the move in, but usually that only counts as one month's payment in advance. The rest of the money isn't really rent at all, but a deposit.

If that is what happened with you, then I think you might well be in arrears now.

Viberduo

Annisele wrote: »

Was that money all to pay for rent, or was half of it for the deposit?

It's common for people to pay two months rent when the move in, but usually that only counts as one month's payment in advance. The rest of the money isn't really rent at all, but a deposit.

If that is what happened with you, then I think you might well be in arrears now.

No deposit, I did originally assume it was a deposit equal to 1 months rent plus 1 month in advance but LL told me when I queried a few weeks later it was just 2 months in advance so I was up to date at that point, plus also confirmed that at date of first council payment I was also in credit.

Going purely by rent paid to date by myself and council and rent due it works out I am £150 in credit and paid up to 1st April at this point

Annisele

I wonder if your landlord is trying to get around the deposit protection rules.

If he had taken a deposit, he'd have been required to protect it. So maybe he's decided that if he calls the money "an extra month's rent in advance" instead of "a deposit", he doesn't have to protect it? If he does think that, he's wrong - but that doesn't help you very much.

Have you tried sending him a list of all the money you think he's been paid (in total - from you, from the council, from anyone else) and checking whether he agrees on the amount of money that's been paid? Once you've agreed on how much has actually been handed over, you can worry about how much should have been paid.