Housing Benefit information for landlords

Landlord Direct is an online service that provides landlords with access to the following:

A list of your current and past tenants that have claimed Housing Benefit
A summary of details relating to your tenants claim
Next payment details for each of your tenants
Previous payment details for each of your tenants
Details of any invoices for each of your tenants

FAQs by landlords about Housing Benefit

A list of questions which we are regularly asked by landlords about Housing Benefit claims and payments.

If your question is not listed below then please feel free to contact us for more information on 0208 356 3399 or by email to landlords@hackney.gov.uk

Why is Housing Benefit paid in arrears?
Why is Housing Benefit paid 4 weekly in arrears instead of in line with tenancy agreements?
Why are claimants paid two weekly instead of monthly?
Why aren't tenants penalised for arrears?
In LHA cases, when would the Council pay the landlord?
Why do payments sometimes return to the claimant?
Can direct payments assist the customer in securing or retaining a tenancy?
If my tenant has received Housing Benefit and does not pay his rent, can Housing Benefit be paid again to me?
If a child spends an equal amount of time with separated parents, who will get the room for the child under LHA rules?
When do claims usually start?
What is an intention to claim?
What information can the Council share with landlords?
Can you tell me if my tenant has had arrears at a previous address?
Can you find out from other Council's if my prospective tenant previously had rent arrears?
When can a landlord appeal against a Housing Benefit decision?
Where can I find out more information about Hackney's Landlord Accreditation Scheme?
How can landlords contact the Benefit Service?

Why is Housing Benefit paid in arrears?

The Council has to pay Housing Benefit in arrears to landlords because the Housing Benefit regulations tell it to. There is no discretion in this area.

Under the Housing Benefit regulations all claims which have been made after October 1996, which are being paid to the landlord or agent must be paid in arrears. (Housing Benefits Regulation 92(3).

Why is Housing Benefit paid 4 weekly in arrears instead of in line with tenancy agreements?

The Council has to pay Housing Benefit in arrears to landlords because the Housing Benefit regulations tell it to. There is no discretion in this area.

The Housing Benefit regulations state all payments to landlords must be made 4 weekly in arrears.

There are no appeal rights against the payment frequency.

Why are claimants paid two weekly instead of monthly?

The Council has to pay Housing Benefit two weekly to claimants because the Housing Benefit regulations tell it to.

Claimant's who are claiming Housing Benefit and are being paid direct have the right under the Regulations to insist on 2 weekly payments. If a claimant asks to be paid every two weeks - then the Council has to pay at this frequency.

Where the claimant does not request 2 weekly Payments the regulations allow the Council to pay 2 weekly, 4 weekly or calendar monthly in arrears.

In order to reduce claimant hardship and rent arrears the Council automatically releases payments on a 2 weekly in arrears basis unless the claimant requests otherwise.

There are no appeal rights against the payment frequency.

Why aren't tenants penalised for arrears?

To qualify for Housing Benefit there are certain conditions that the claimant must satisfy. If they make a claim for benefit and satisfy these conditions then Housing Benefit must be paid. There is no scope within the regulations to stop benefit if a tenant does not pay their rent, although once a tenant is in eight or more weeks arrears of rent, benefit will be paid to the landlord unless it is in the claimant's best interest not to do so.

In LHA cases, when would the Council pay the landlord?

Payment to landlord - 8 weeks rent arrears

Under Local Housing Allowance (LHA) regulations, benefit must be paid direct to the tenant, and there is no legal obligation for the claimant to use their Housing Benefit to pay their rent.

There is a provision to pay the landlord where the tenant has built up rent arrears, but this only applies where the tenant has rent arrears of 8 weeks or more. Housing Benefit Regulations 2006 Reg 95(1)b.

If the claimant is in less than 8 weeks rent arrears the Council has no ability to pay the landlord under rent arrears grounds, however it could consider a request under its Safeguard Policy on the grounds that it is improbable that the claimant would pay their rent (see section below).

The duty to pay the landlord only arises if the landlord or agent inform the Council that the claimant is in 8 weeks rent arrears. It is not up to the Council to find this out for itself.

Even where the tenant is in 8 weeks rent arrears the Council has the discretion to still pay the claimant, where it is in the overriding interest of the claimant not to pay the landlord or agent.

It is the tenant's responsibility to pay their rent for the eight weeks they are paid direct.

Payment to landlord - Claimant likely to have difficulty managing their affairs

Under the Council's Safeguard Policy it may pay the landlord if the claimant is likely to have difficulty managing their affairs.

In the past the Council has taken into account factors such as learning disabilities, medical conditions (e.g mental illness), or addictions (drug, alcohol or gambling problems) which limit their ability to be able to pay their rent each month.

However guidance makes clear that the Council can never make a decision simply because a customer has a particular problem or matches a particular indicator, but must consider what is in their best interest overall having considered all the factors.

For example, a person recovering from a gambling addiction may have difficulty in managing their financial affairs but attempting to do so may be an important part of their rehabilitation process, and it may therefore be in their best interest to receive payments direct.

In each case the Council would need to see supporting evidence to establish that they genuinely can not manage their affairs. Evidence could include letters from Social Workers, support workers, GP's and other qualified medical practitioners, welfare organisations, ethnic minority link groups, support organisations for people with addictions, probation services, Supporting People teams, and women's refuges. Note the above are just examples and are not a definitive list of the evidence the Council will accept. Any evidence will be judged on its merits.

All decisions will be made on a case by case basis. The Council can never make blanket decisions such as all young care leavers will have difficulty managing their affairs, as there are some care leavers who have no issues in paying their rent every month.

The Council must assume that claimants are able to manage their affairs unless there is evidence to the contrary.

Payment to landlord - It is improbable that the claimant will pay their rent

The Council has the power to pay the landlord if it is improbable that the claimant will pay their rent. This applies where they are not yet in 8 weeks rent arrears.

The Council will always assume that a tenant will pay rent to their landlord unless there is significant evidence which suggests otherwise.

One of the Government's main aims of LHA is to encourage personal responsibility. By paying the allowance to the tenant directly it encourages them to take responsibility for budgeting and paying their rent themselves.

In order to encourage personal responsibility, unless the Council has good reasons for believing that the tenant will be unable to manage their affairs and is unlikely to pay their rent, it will not make payments to landlords.

When considering whether a tenant is an unlikely payer, the Council will request and consider evidence including but not limited to:

Rent arrears from the current or previous landlord(s)
Arrears of utility charges.
Unpaid standing orders/direct debits.
Arrears of priority debts (i.e. rent, mortgage, Council Tax, water rates, gas, electric).
Severe debt problems/recent County Court Judgements (CCJ) or Bankruptcy.

The Council will distinguish between tenants who are genuinely unlikely to pay their rent and those who may claim that they are not likely to pay their rent because they would prefer not to take responsibility of paying it themselves or because the landlord has told them they want payment direct.

Any decision will always be based on the evidence available to us.

Some landlords have told the Council that some of their tenants fail to pay their rent around the Christmas period. If this is the only time that they fail to pay their rent and the Council is paying the customer direct, there is no provision to switch the payment to the landlord for this period unless the claimant falls into rent arrears of eight weeks or more. To be able to pay under the unlikely to pay provisions evidence must show a sustained period of non-payment.

Why do payments sometimes return to the claimant?

Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) guidance makes clear that where the Council decide to make direct payments, the case has to be reviewed on an ongoing basis.

How often the direct payments are reviewed is up to the the Council but if is a long term condition the guidance suggests that a review should be made annually.

The reason for review is that the customers circumstances may change, and they may be more able to manage their affairs.

For example the DWP advise that a "customer who has received effective advice on handling money and everyday expenses may remove or reduce the need for direct payments to be made, even where failure to pay is deliberate".

If the Council are paying the claimant because they are in over 8 weeks rent arrears, it has to check that the arrears have not been cleared by the customer.

When reviewing cases the Council will always write to both parties (customer and landlord) for evidence to support continuing payments.

Can direct payments assist the customer in securing or retaining a tenancy?

From 1 April 2011 the Council's LHA Safeguard Policy includes a new landlord direct provision which allows the Council to make payments direct to the landlord where it considers that it will assist the customer in securing or retaining a tenancy. For a tenancy to be secured or retained it is implicit that the rent is affordable to the tenant.

It has been made clear that this additional discretion is a temporary provision and has been introduced to reduce rents to offset the affect of the reduction in LHA rates.

The Council will accept that the customer is able to retain or secure a tenancy (and make direct payments) if the rent is at a level it considers they can reasonably afford when on Housing Benefit.

The Council will usually accept that a person can reasonably afford their rent if it is the same or lower than the LHA rate that applies to the customer. It may be higher, if the customer decides that they can pay slightly more that the LHA rate if they have other resources. However, the Council must be satisfied that the rent is affordable to the customer.

Before a decision is made the Council needs proof that the rent has been reduced. In the case of a new tenancy the Council needs to be satisfied that the rent has been reduced and is affordable or, if the property has not been let before, that the rent charged is affordable and the letting would not have been made without direct payments.

The Council may ask for proof that a tenancy at the address has previously been agreed at a higher rent.

Once direct payments are being made under the new safeguard they will continue unless the rent becomes unaffordable or the provision is withdrawn.

Decisions will be reviewed if the customer reports:

An increase in their rent
A change in circumstance that results in a change in the category of dwelling.

Application for direct payments under this provision should normally be made by the claimant, but can also be made by:

The landlord
Housing advice officers or the homelessness prevention team
Welfare advice organisations, including money advisors

As with all direct payment provisions, if the customer is against direct payments, it is for the Council to make a decision that is in the best interests of the claimant.

If my tenant has received Housing Benefit and does not pay his rent, can Housing Benefit be paid again to me?

Once Housing Benefit has been lawfully paid the Council cannot pay it for the same period again. This means that if it has paid the claimant, it cannot pay Housing Benefit for the same period to the landlord if the tenant does not pass the money on. This is in accordance with the law. If the tenant is eight weeks in arrears you as a landlord should notify the Landlord Liaison Team immediately so the claim can be suspended.

Landords can send an email direct to landlords@hackney.gov.uk

Emails about a tenant being eight weeks in arrears with their rent, should have the following clearly marked in the subject line:

"URGENT 8 WEEKS IN ARREARS".

If a child spends an equal amount of time with separated parents, who will get the room for the child under LHA rules?

My tenant is separated and has a shared custody arrangement, where the children spend equal amounts of time with both parents. How would this arrangement affect my tenant's Housing Benefit claim?

A person cannot be a member of more than one household at once.

For LHA purposes, the size criteria are worked out based on the number of people in the claimant's household. As a person can only be a member of one household, if a couple are separated and a child/children spends equal amounts of time with both parents a decision has to made as to which household they belong to for benefit purposes.

In these circumstances the Council would treat the child as normally living with the person who gets the Child Benefit and they will be treated as part of that person's household.

If no-one gets Child Benefit, the child or young person would be considered the responsibility (and part of the household) of the person who

Has claimed Child Benefit
The person who is considered by the Council to have primary responsibility if more than one person has made a claim for Child Benefit or no one has

When do claims usually start?

In most cases Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit starts on the Monday following the customer's 'date of claim'.

However if a customer claims in the same benefit week as they move in, the claim will be paid from the day their liability for rent or Council Tax begins.

A benefit week always runs from Monday to Sunday.

Scenario one

A working person moves into a property on Tuesday the 1 February, and their tenancy starts on that day. They submit their claim for benefit on Friday the 4 February. Their claim would be assessed from Tuesday the 1^st of February, as they claimed in the same benefit week as their liability started.

Scenario Two

A working person moved into a property on Tuesday the 1 February, and their tenancy started on that day. They submit their claim for benefit on Monday the 7 February. As the claim has been made in a separate benefit week, the claim will be paid from the 14 February - the Monday after they claimed.

What is an intention to claim?

If a person tells the Benefits Service or the DWP of their intention to claim, this is treated as their date of claim and their claim will be paid from the Monday following, as long as a claim form is received within one month of the date it was sent out, following the intention being received. A person can notify the Council of their intention to claim in writing, in person, by telephone or by email.

Scenario one

Customer tells the Benefits Service of their intention to claim on the 1 November 2010. A form is issued to the customer on the 3 November 2010. The application form will be stamped with an intention to claim stamp.

This will show when the intention to claim was received and the date the form must be returned by. This will be 1 month from the date the form was issued, so in this case by the 2 December 2010.

If the form is received by this date the date of claim will be the 1 November 2010 and the claim will start (assuming the customer provides supporting information) from the following Monday, 8 November 2010. This is the case even if the date of claim is a Monday.

If the customer above returns the form after 2 December, the claim date will be the date the form is received, and the claim will start from the following Monday.

If the customer does not return the form, the Council would not have received a claim from them and no decision needs to be made.

Backdating

In the scenario above, if the customer returns the form by 2 December but wants the claim to start before the 8 November they would have to request backdating. Backdating is only awarded if the customer can show continuous good cause for their failure to make a claim. Benefit cannot be backdated more than 6 months before the date that the Council receives the written request for backdating.

For customers of pension age, a claim covers any period in the three months before the day the claim is actually received, but only back to the day that the person reached pension age, or the day that they become liable for rent or Council Tax, if this is later. This is automatic; however the Council cannot go back any further, even if they have good cause.

Prior to April 2010, pension age was 60, however due to the equalisation of State Pension age for women; this depends on the customer's date of birth. This process will end in April 2020 when the pension age for men and women will be equalised at 66.

What information can the Council share with landlords?

If the claimant signs the claim form to share information with the landlord

The Council will tell the landlord:

If a claim has been received
If the Council has written to a customer for further information and what that information is in broad terms (eg proof of rent, proof of income, proof of savings)
If the customer has responded to a request for information, and the claim is awaiting assessment
That a claim has been assessed or refused
The dates the claim started and ended
The weekly amount of benefit the claimant was entitled to while the landlord was being paid
The amounts of benefit paid to the landlord and the dates the payments were issued
That the entitlement has changed together with a general explanation about why a benefit entitlement has changed such as your tenants income has increased, your tenant has moved out, or a new rate of LHA has been applied
That entitlement has ended because of a change of address or change in circumstance together with a general explanation of the change
That the claim is suspended, and the reason why
That an overpayment has been created which will be recoverable from the landlord
That there is an overpayment outstanding, the reasons for the overpayment and how much is being deducted from weekly benefit because of it

The Council will not tell the landlord:

Any personal or household circumstances or a tenant's financial circumstances. For example:
Details on who the customer works for, how much they earn, or how much savings they have or who they bank with
How many people are residing in the property with the claimant or what their names / sex are
Personal details such as a claimant's National Insurance number or date of birth, or sexual orientation
A claimant's forwarding address

Under the Data Protection Act 1989 the Council is not allowed to tell landlord/agents any details regarding the personal circumstances of a claimant. Personal information held by the Benefits Service such as details of family, income, etc cannot by law be given to a landlord/agent as this maybe a breach of the Data Protection Act.

Please be aware that the customers have a right to keep information from their landlord and that they can withdraw permission at any time and without reason.

The Council can only accept authorisation from a claimant in writing and not over the phone.

In all cases before sharing any information the Council needs to be satisfied that it is actually speaking to the landlord.

This could mean checking the landlord's name and address against information held on Council records. Asking the landlord to verify details on a claim such as a claim number, rent charge, or tenancy start date, or phoning back on a known number.

If the Council are not happy that the person on the end of the line is the landlord it will not release information.

If the claimant does not give us permission to share information with landlords and the landlord is being paid direct, even if the council has no authorisation to share information we can tell the landlord:

That a claim has been assessed
The dates the claim started and ended
The weekly amount of benefit the claimant was entitled to while the landlord was being paid
The amounts of benefit paid to the landlord and the dates the payments were issued
That entitlement has ended because of a change of address or change in circumstance (But no details as to what that change in circumstance is)
That the claim is suspended, but not the reasons for the suspension
That an overpayment has been created which will be recoverable from the landlord
That the Council has decided to cease payment to the landlord and from when

Where a claimant is being paid direct, and the Council has no authorisation to share information with the landlord: it is not able to share any information with the landlord in any circumstance. This is because under the Data Protection Act 1998 the Council is required to protect claimant confidentiality.

Can you tell me if my tenant has had arrears at a previous address?

Unfortunately under Data Protection law the Council cannot release any information about prospective tenants to a third party such as a potential landlord.

Telling a landlord that a particular individual has a history of not paying their rent would breach Data Protection legislation, and is a criminal offence.

In doing so the Council employee who gave out the information would be subject to being prosecuted under the Data Protection Act and could get a criminal record.

Can you find out from other Council's if my prospective tenant previously had rent arrears?

The Council can share information with other Council's and Government Departments but only to prevent and detect crime, or to protect public funds.

As there is no obligation in law for a claimant to spend their Housing Benefit on paying their rent it is not a criminal offence. Therefore another Council can not tell Hackney Council whether a tenant had outstanding rent arrears, without the claimant giving that Council their express permission to share this data with Hackney for this purpose.

The Council cannot force the claimant to provide this authorisation.

When can a landlord appeal against a Housing Benefit decision?

Under the benefit regulations all appeals against Housing Benefit decisions must be made in writing.

Appeals can only be made by the "person affected by the decision". In most situations the landlord or agent are not the person affected by the decision so do not have a right of appeal.

Landlord or agents only have a right of appeal in two very limited circumstances. These are:

Landlords have a right of appeal against a decision not to make direct payments to themselves
Landlords have a right of appeal against a benefit overpayment which the Council has decided is recoverable from them

In all other cases landlords and agents do not have a right of appeal, and the appeal should come from the claimant.

Any appeal received from a landlord about a decision not to pay benefit, the amount of benefit awarded, or an overpayment which is recoverable from the tenant will be deemed out of jurisdiction and will be struck out by the appeals service. These appeals must come from the claimant.

Where can I find out more information about Hackney's Landlord Accreditation Scheme?

To find out more information about its Landlord Accreditation Scheme or working in partnership with Hackney Council to let your property please visit the Landords page.

How can landlords contact the Benefit Service?

Landlords can send an email direct to landlords@hackney.gov.uk

General emails are answered within 10 working days.

If your email is about a tenant being eight weeks in arrears with their rent, please make sure that the following is clearly marked in the subject line:

"URGENT 8 WEEKS IN ARREARS".

The Benefits Service aims to look at these emails within 24 hours.

You may wish to utilise the Council's 'Landlord Direct Service' where landlords are able to view:

A list of your current and past tenants that have claimed Housing Benefit
A summary of details relating to your tenant's claim
Next payment details for each of your tenants
Previous payment details for each of your tenants
Details of any invoices for each of your tenants

To register for the Landlord Direct Service and arrange for training and access to be set up, please call 020 8356 3737

You can contact the Benefit Service by phoning the Benefits Call Centre on 0208 356 3399 or by visiting the Hackney Service Centre, 1 Hillman Street, Hackney, London, E8 1DY from Monday to Friday (9am to 5pm)

Page updated: 20 Oct 2011