Information for Landlords

The type of Housing Benefit a private tenant can claim is known as Local Housing Allowance (LHA).

Who can get Local Housing Allowance?

Tenants who live in the Leeds area and have a low income may be able to claim LHA. Tenants cannot claim if they have savings over £16,000, unless they receive the Guarantee Credit part of Pension Credit. There are also special rules for full time students and people who have lived abroad.

Full information regarding LHA, including details of the current rates and how LHA is calculated can be found on the Local Housing Allowance page.

We aim to process claims for Housing Benefit within 3 weeks of receipt. If you know that your tenant has submitted a claim for Housing Benefit and have not heard anything after 3 weeks, you may wish to consider contacting your tenant to check if they have received notification of their award or provided the information we need to process their claim.

Payments are made four weekly in arrears on a set payment date (PDF 13KB). We will not pay landlords fortnightly or weekly.

View your tenant’s payments Online

If you receive Housing Benefit payments direct you can view certain details about your tenant’s Housing Benefit claim online.

To register for online access you will need an email address and your landlord creditor reference (this can be found at the top of any notification letters).

Once registered, you will need to request a PIN number for this service. Once you request it online, this will automatically be posted to you at your address within 5 working days. If you have more than one creditor number, you will need to request a PIN for each number.

If you use a council self-serve machine at any of our Council One Stop Centres, a trained staff member will be able to issue the PIN as soon as you are set up. In addition, you can call 0113 2224404 and we will assist you with your online access.


View your account onlineExternal link

Online access has many benefits:

  • It’s free and easy to use
  • Instant access to information
  • Available 24/7
  • Ability to check individual claims including next payment due
  • Ability to check deductions due to overpayments
  • No delays in receiving payment schedules
  • Ability to download payment schedules into excel/CSV/XML
  • Ability to download overpayment information into excel/CSV/XML

View our registration guide (PDF 63KB) and navigation guide (PDF 283KB) for more information on how to to register and use the online service. You can also view our guidance video on Youtube.

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Does everyone get the full amount of rent?Does everyone get the full amount of rent?<div class="ExternalClass3B9A1EACB0F04D85AC755322BC59FD6B">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. <br><br> If your tenant receives more than £500 a week in benefits (£350 if they are single) your tenant's benefit may be reduced because of the benefit cap. <br><br> Tenants can use the Calculate your Housing Benefit on the Housing Benefit page to work out how much they can get. ​</div>
Can my tenant’s payments come directly to me?Can my tenant’s payments come directly to me?<div class="ExternalClassFA7BC0344CA949848FE9128229F38927"><p>​Payments will normally be made direct to the tenant.<br>Payments of local housing allowance can be made direct to a landlord if: </p> <ul><li>We consider that a tenant is unlikely to pay their rent, for example, they have a history of not paying their rent<br></li> <li>We think that a tenant cannot handle their own affairs, for example, due to a relevant medical condition<br></li> <li>A tenant is more than 8 weeks in arrears with their rent <br></li></ul> <p>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. <br><br>Payments to landlords can only be made four weekly in arrears. We are not able to pay landlords fortnightly.</p></div>
How is Local Housing Allowance paid?How is Local Housing Allowance paid?<div class="ExternalClass4DC5474694F04C98A8EDB2D44A934F11">​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. <br><br>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.<br><br>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.</div>
Reporting a change in your tenant's circumstances (direct payments only)Reporting a change in your tenant's circumstances (direct payments only)<div class="ExternalClassF0C165319817423A9E8F7614A3F1083C">​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.<br><br>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.<br><br>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. <br><br>Please call <strong>0113 222 4404</strong> to tell us of a tenant's change in circumstances. </div>
Universal CreditUniversal Credit<div class="ExternalClass3CBA3B841AEB41CB89A7BF17C4FF322B"><p>If your tenant is in receipt of Universal Credit, they cannot claim Housing Benefit. However, they can get help to pay their rent within their Universal Credit award which is paid direct to them. Universal Credit is not paid to your tenant by Leeds City Council.</p> <p>More information about Universal Credit can be found on our <a href="/residents/Pages/universal-credit.aspx"> Universal Credit page</a>. Our <a href="/docs/Landlords%20information%20CS6%20version%20FINAL%20Dec%2015.pdf">Universal Credit Information for Landlords booklet</a> is available.</p> ​​</div>
General Housing Benefit EnquiriesGeneral Housing Benefit Enquiries<div class="ExternalClassE71C3776212548038B2F4D52FD8DAD48"><p>​If you receive Housing Benefits payments on behalf of your tenant you can use the <a href="https://youraccount.leeds.gov.uk/publicaccesslive/selfservice/dashboard.htm"><strong>online service</strong></a> to view information regarding your tenant’s benefit claim.</p><p>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.</p><p>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.​</p><br></div>
What information can we share about your tenant’s Housing Benefit?What information can we share about your tenant’s Housing Benefit?<div class="ExternalClassEEA5395F76944D939625ED96BB29D728"><p>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.</p><p>If you receive Housing Benefits payments on behalf of your tenant you can use the <a href="https://youraccount.leeds.gov.uk/publicaccesslive/selfservice/dashboard.htm">online service</a> to view information regarding your tenant’s benefit claim. </p> <p>If your tenant has given written permission for us to discuss the claim with you we can provide the following information: </p><ul><li>If a claim for Housing Benefit has been made </li><li>If we have made a decision on the claim </li><li>When we have made a payment, payment dates and the value of the payment</li><li>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 e.g. income details needed. We will not provide information to you about your tenant's personal or financial circumstances</li></ul> ​​</div>
Disputes and appealsDisputes and appeals<div class="ExternalClass6BC546D2F66F4BDAA03CA8CDFE6176EE"> <p>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. </p><p>As a landlord you have the right to dispute or appeal against the following types of decisions regarding a tenant’s Housing Benefit:</p><p>1. Decision to make payments of Housing Benefit to the tenant rather than yourself</p><p>2. Decision to make an overpayment of Housing Benefit recoverable from you rather than the tenant.</p><p>The letter telling you about our decision will tell you if you can appeal or not.</p><p>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. </p><p>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. </p><p>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. </p><p>Welfare & Benefits Service<br> Selectapost 15<br> Leeds<br> LS2 8BA</p> ​​​​</div>

 

 

HB payment schedulehttps://www.leeds.gov.uk/docs/HB-payment-schedule.pdf9411pdf
Landlord online registration guidehttps://www.leeds.gov.uk/docs/Landlord-online-registration-guide.pdf60249pdf
Landlord online use pack https://www.leeds.gov.uk/docs/Landlord-online-use-pack.pdf285566pdf
Leeds LHA Rates 2017-2018https://www.leeds.gov.uk/docs/Leeds LHA Rates 2017-2018.pdf279768pdf
Bradford LHA Rates 2017-2018https://www.leeds.gov.uk/docs/Bradford LHA Rates 2017-2018.pdf283721pdf

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