Landlord failed to inform tenant LHA increase

tealady

Biggysmaller.
As others have said, pick your battles.
You could gain a Pyrrhic victory and lose your home.
Or your landlord could put your rent up.
It's your call 

45002

biggysmaller said:

It's the landlords responsibility to ensure that the housing benefits money, along with my contribution make up the sum of the legally required monthly rent. If he is aware what the there is an excess amount and not declaring it to either the tenant or the council the  I'm  afraid if will not bode well for his reputation with the councils acquisitions housing team. And if is makeing threats to evict vulnerable tenants because of overpayments then that will also not bode well for him with the council.  I don't need to go to court to claim the money back as the council requested he do so. 

Council HB dept have legal duty to write to you biggysmaller and your LL any changes in amount of housing benefit paid direct to a LL.

If LL making threats to evict vulnerable tenants, Contact Shelter or CAB for advice ...

csgohan4

45002 said:

biggysmaller said:

My landlord was given full control to recieve my Housing Benefit (by my agreement) some years back. The rent was always more than the LHA and so I always paid the diffenece each and every month. However, over a year ago the LHA has increased the housing allowance and notified the landlord, however, he still requested and took the same amount of  top up rent for a whole year, or until I found out about the increase. Now that money comes from my disability allowance each month and so you can imagine my feelings about this. 
The landlord works closely with the local council housing acquisitions team and has a number of properties allocated through them for the venunerable in society.
To cut a long story short, was the landlord legally obliged to inform his  tenant of the housing benefit increase 12 months ago, and when he was informed by the council? 
So far he has been asked to return the sizeable sum of money he recieved in  overpayment to me, but has still fallen short of this, claiming that the council are wrong with thier calculations. 
As all Housing Benefit payments were paid to him directly and  his responsibility to manage. I want to know if by continuing to take the same top up payment from the tenant has an offence been committed such as Fraud by Abuse of Position, which is that the landlord did the following::

• failed to disclose information to another person 
• when he was under a legal duty to disclose that information 
• dishonestly intending, by that failure, to make a gain or cause a loss.

He is now threatening eviction because he now sees me as a problem tenant. 
Your advice would be useful until the local authority gets back to me. 

If HB is been paid direct to a LL.

Housing benefit dept have legal duty to write to Both Tenant and Landlord any changes in amount of housing benefits paid...

In the end, its Tenants responsibility for any benefit claims.

Sadly it's always someone else's fault and play the vulnerable card while their at for good measure.

If you overpaid rent, I would agree you should get it back, Letter before action and then use small claims court.  

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/law-and-courts/legal-system/taking-legal-action/small-claims/

A_Lert

Has your landlord claimed that your rent increased, without having told you before the rent increase?

Has your landlord sent you anything that could be seen as fraudulent or dishonest? For example a clear statement that a certain amount was due when in truth less was due, or a falsified rent statement or other documents.

If neither of these are the case then your landlord must repay you the overpaid rent but hasn't done anything wrong and has no further liability.

biggysmaller

I am sorry to harp on about the legal aspect of this matter. But how does this not apply under the Fraud Act 2006 I this matter? 

Fraud by abuse of position (Section 4)

The defendant: 

• occupies a position in which he was expected to safeguard, or not to act against, the financial interests of another person 
• abused that position 
• dishonestly 
• intending by that abuse to make a gain/cause a loss

The abuse may consist of an omission rather than an act.

elsien

Can we take a step back for a moment.
Did you or did you not get a letter from the HB or DWP  that the LHA was going up?  

greatcrested

I doubt there is value in this thread continuing.

All respondant's to your situation have agreed regarding liability and responsibility.

However you, biggysmaller, have clearly made up your mind regarding the landlord's liability. Simply repeating your assertion to counter the countrary opinions experessed here adds nothing.

You came here asking for advice/opinions, and have received that. Unfortunately it is not in line with your own belief or hope. Either accept it and move on, or ignore it and move on...

biggysmaller

No I was not inforned by the local authority of the increase. 

Fraud by abuse of position (Section 4)

The defendant: 

• occupies a position in which he was expected to safeguard, or not to act against, the financial interests of another person 
• abused that position 
• dishonestly 
• intending by that abuse to make a gain/cause a loss

The abuse may consist of an omission rather than an act.

There is a case to answer for with the above law. 

FreeBear

A_Lert said: If neither of these are the case then your landlord must repay you the overpaid rent but hasn't done anything wrong and has no further liability.

Morally, if he was in receipt of an increased LHA payment, one would hope that he would advise the tenant that any top up payments should be reduced. If he had been pestering the OP for the same amount of top up despite an increase of LHA rate, he should be brought to account.

ElephantBoy57

tealady said:

You could gain a Pyrrhic victory and lose your home.
Or your landlord could put your rent up.
It's your call 

He missed a trick not to increase the rent at the same time as the housing benefit allowance was increased; or maybe he did and the OP didnt read the letter.