Housing Benefit are requesting my bank statements on behalf of my flatmates benefit claim

Emgem89

My flatmate has been on housing benefit- now there are discrepancies between the them and my flatmate.. They are requesting my bank statements (I presume because I paid the rent to our landlord and my flatmate would deposit money into my account) 
I'm hesitant to give them my statements to be honest- it feels like an intrusion on my own private information for something that does not involve me. 
Am I within my rights to decline? Will this cause my flatmate problems? If I do give them my bank statements am I within my right to blank out all information, leaving only the date/year etc + proof of monthly rent payment & proof that my flatmate was depositing his half to me. 
Thanks in advance for any advice! 

Grumpy_chap

Are you truly flatmates, or are you actually a couple?
Do you have a formal rental agreement between you and the flatmate (lodger)? 
OR, do you and the flatmate have a rental agreement with the landlord that has both your names?

Emgem89

Hello! Thank you for replying. We are truly just flatmates (friends now also, but not in any way a couple) seems to be the only way to be able to afford living in cities! We have a rental agreement with both our names on. We found a private landlord together- if I remember correctly his mum was a guarantor for him as well (not sure if this matters) 
I want to help him but I'm just disturbed by HB asking for this info. 
I had a steady job and reliable pay so I always paid for everything on a dd (flatmate would deposit rent + bills to me) I like to make sure everything was up to date and paid so it seemed like the best way to ensure this was being done.

Grumpy_chap

I cannot comment on benefits, but it sounds like they are treating you as a couple.
For two separate and independent individuals, there would be an issue under GDPR if one were forced to share bank statements with the other.
Your arrangement for paying the rent seems practical but, going forwards, would it help the situation if you both paid your half of the rent separately to the landlord?  It may not make any difference, or it may do, I don't really know.
Otherwise, the highly redacted version of statements you suggested seems the only way.  Not sure whether benefits will accept that.

Emgem89

It did seem a bit off to me, if this was the other way around, I'd be loathed to even ask my flatmate's wage, let alone for their bank statements. 
I will have to ask him to push for for a redacted version, as you say, which in my eyes is already going above and beyond. 
We don't actually live together anymore, this is a back dated issue between the two parties. It's a dear shame that logic can't prevail in these situations. Life could be so easy! Thank you for the replies. I'll get him to speak with them to clarify. 

calcotti

Emgem89 said: We have a rental agreement with both our names on. We found a private landlord together- if I remember correctly his mum was a guarantor for him as well (not sure if this matters) 

I think that if you are reluctant to provide the information requested you may need to speak to Housing Benefit yourself to ask why they want it. As the claim is no t yours you may need your friend to be on the call too.

if the tenancy is in joint names I would expect that he would simply be treated as liable for half the rent and Housing Benefit calculated accordingly and your income etc would be irrelevant.

Whether they pay the rent direct to landlord or pay it via you should be irrelevant as entitlement to Housing Benefit is based on liability to pay,  not on actual payments made.

Emgem89

Yes Calcotti, I thought all of this too & would gladly speak to them myself but I also don't want to be unnecessarily difficult for the sake of my FM, when everyone knows how ruthless and illogical gov office officials are (in any capacity) 

They are indirectly requesting my bank statements as they are asking him for proof of payment to our landlord. As this went via me and my bank, they want to see the proof of this happening! The more I think about it the more annoyed I am at them, for his sake and mine. 

Reality is, I have nothing to hide anyway, I just object to having people privy to my private spending etc. I don't even have loyalty cards because of this reason!

TELLIT01

It's not 'being difficult' asking why information about your finances is required in respect of a claim to which you are not party.

Emgem89

TELLIT01 said:

It's not 'being difficult' asking why information about your finances is required in respect of a claim to which you are not party.

I agree. I just feel like I have little choice. Out of decency it looks like I will have to give them my statements, I will just be sure to blank out any information not concerning them. Pain in the backside but whatever! 

calcotti

Emgem89 said:... they are asking him for proof of payment to our landlord. 

That’s what I don’t understand. A claimant is entitled to Housing Benefit if they have a liability to pay rent. If they are named on the tenancy they have that liability. Whether or not people use their Housing Benefit to pay the rent does not, as I understand it, affect their entitlement.

I guess you could blank out everything except the transactions that show the incoming payments from your flat mate and the outgoing payments to the landlord.

It can’t be unusual for a flatmate to pay money to a co-tenant so that only one payment goes to the landlord.

Pok3mon

If your not claiming benefits you don't have to give them anything it is none of their business.