Local Housing Allowance

No, the maximum that is paid is the LHA rate, but if the rent is less than the LHA, the maximum we will pay will be the rent charged. For example if the LHA was £100.00 and the rent was £80 the most that would be paid would be £80. The household income is also taken into account.                 

Tenants can use the benfits calculator to find out how much you can get. external link.             

The first payment on a new claim is normally made by cheque payable to the landlord and sent to the tenant’s address. This encourages the tenant to present the cheque to the landlord preventing any arrears.             

If a tenant is already getting LHA and changes their address, and the first payment covers only the usual four weekly payment, then it will normally be sent to the tenant. However, if the payment is for an amount greater than four weeks we may pay the first payment to the landlord.                 

Tenants must arrange with you how they will pay their rent. Most people find that the best way is for us to pay the LHA directly into their bank or building society account or credit union account. They can then set up a standing order or direct debit to pay you every four weeks.                 

If you receive Housing Benefit on behalf of your tenant you have a duty to tell us of any changes in your tenant's circumstances that you become aware of which may affect the amount of Housing Benefit your tenant is entitled to.                 

Some examples of changes you need to tell us about include the amount of rent that you charge your tenant or if your tenant gives you notice to terminate their tenancy or leaves your property.                 

If you are not sure if the change will affect the amount of Housing Benefit, tell us anyway and we will make the decision. Should a change in your tenant's circumstances result in an overpayment of Housing Benefit, the overpayment may be recoverable from you because you received the payments.                 

​Payments will normally be made direct to the tenant.                 

Payments of local housing allowance can be made direct to a landlord if:                 

• we consider that a tenant is unlikely to pay their rent, for example, they have a history of not paying their rent
• we think that a tenant cannot handle their own affairs, for example, due to a relevant medical condition
• a tenant is more than 8 weeks in arrears with their rent

If any of these apply you must provide a written statement detailing how the arrears have built up or explaining why you believe your tenant will not pay their rent.                 

Payments to landlords can only be made four weekly in arrears. We are not able to pay landlords fortnightly.                 

​If you receive Housing Benefits payments on behalf of your tenant you can use My Services external link to view information regarding your tenant’s benefit claim.                 

If payments of LHA have stopped or been suspended then you need to speak to your tenant about this, as it maybe they are no longer entitled to Housing Benefit or need to provide us with further information.                 

If your tenant is receiving payments of LHA then you need to contact them for arrangements of rent payments. If you are having problems obtaining payments of rent then please refer to the information about requesting direct payments of LHA.​                 

If you do not receive housing benefit payments on behalf of your tenant or your tenant has not provided their written permission to discuss the claim we will not be able to provide you with any information about the tenants claim and/or claimant. Please liaise with your tenant directly to resolve any enquiries.                 

​If you receive housing benefits payments on behalf of your tenant you can use My Services external link to view information regarding your tenant’s benefit claim.                 

If your tenant has given written permission for us to discuss the claim with you we can provide the following information:                 

• If a claim for housing benefit has been made
• If we have made a decision on the claim
• When we have made a payment, payment dates and the value of the payment
  
• If your tenant needs to provide us with more information to make a decision on their claim and what information is needed. We will only tell you general details, such as income details needed. We will not provide information to you about your tenant's personal or financial circumstances

If you think our decision about your tenant’s Housing Benefit is wrong, you can ask for the decision to be explained. You can also ask us to look at our decision again.                  

As a landlord you have the right to dispute or appeal against the following types of decisions regarding a tenant’s Housing Benefit:                 

1. Decision to make payments of housing benefit to the tenant rather than yourself                 

2. Decision to make an overpayment of housing benefit recoverable from you rather than the tenant.                 

The letter telling you about our decision will tell you if you can appeal or not.                 

If you are not happy with the decision we have made regarding your tenant’s housing benefit claim you can ask us to look at it again and review it. You need to write to us stating why you do not agree with the decision that has been made.                 

You must provide full details of the reason why you disagreed with the decision, in the case of an overpayment please confirm the amount and the invoice number. You should also include name and address for yourself and your tenant and your tenants claim number if known.                 

If you want to appeal against a decision affecting housing benefit, you have the right to a hearing at an independent tribunal. If you want a tribunal hearing, please write to the address below giving full reasons why you think the decision is wrong. Any appeal to tribunal must be signed.