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main content Housing Benefit - Landlord's guide

What is Housing Benefit?

Housing Benefit is a Social Security benefit to help tenants pay their rent. Housing Benefit is administered by Bromley Benefits Service but has to be claimed by the tenant.

What are Pre-Tenancy determinations?

If someone is thinking about renting private accommodation and needs help to pay the rent, they can use a Pre-Tenancy determination to help them decide if they can afford the property before they take on the tenancy. It will tell them the amount of rent that we will consider as eligible for Housing Benefit for that household and that property.

Pre-Tenancy determinations are undertaken by a Rent Officer, an independent valuer, who determines the amount of eligible rent for Housing Benefit purposes.

A Pre-Tenancy determination form can be obtained by contacting the Council Tax and Housing Benefits department; the form is not available on-line. The form should be returned to us and we will forward it to the Rent Officer. A decision should be returned to the prospective tenant and landlord within 5 working days.

However, a Pre-Tenancy determination does not guarantee that the tenant will get Housing Benefit, or tell them how much they will receive if they do claim, as this dependant on their income.

How much rent is eligible for Housing Benefit?

For most claims from private tenants, the Rent Service decides the maximum rent we can use for Housing Benefit. Sometimes this is less than the rent being charged but we are bound to use this figure in our calculations. Housing Benefit cannot cover certain service charges.

For example:

• fuel;
• water rates; and
• meals.

If you do not identify relevant charges we may still make a deduction from your tenants benefit if we think it is part of the rent; for example, if tenants do not have their own gas or electric bills.

How does my tenant claim Housing Benefit?

Your tenant will need to complete a claim form provided by us. The claim form should be returned to us with evidence of their rent plus their income and capital. We will only accept original documents.

Claim forms can be obtained by contacting the Council Tax and Housing Benefits department.

What evidence of rent do I have to provide for my tenant?

You will need to provide a tenancy agreement and/or a rent book.

The tenancy agreement should show:

• the name and address of the tenant, landlord and any agent;
• the amount and frequency of rent;
• all service charges included in the rent; and
• the start date and length of tenancy.

The rent book should show:

• the name and address of the tenant, landlord and any agent;
• the amount and frequency of the rent;
• all service charges included in the rent; and
• amounts received, the date of receipt and any arrears.

When will payment start?

Any payment will normally be due from the first Monday after the claim is received by us i.e. the start date of the claim. If the tenant has a problem supplying all the evidence requested with the form, they should send the completed form in immediately and the outstanding evidence as soon as possible.

Can payment to be made direct to a Landlord?

When the tenant makes a claim he/she should indicate whether they wish their Housing Benefit to be paid direct to the landlord. The claim form has a section for you to complete if you are willing to accept direct payments.

Landlords accepting direct payments should be aware that:

• we will notify you of the amount of the award, the period of the award and how often the award will be paid (normally 4 weeks in arrears). Any changes to the claim will result in further notification letters being generated. The letters will not give you any details regarding your tenant’s individual circumstances;
• you have a duty to notify us of any changes that you are aware of that might affect the Housing Benefit payment e.g. if the tenant moves, changes their employment status or household;
• we can recover overpaid Housing Benefit directly from you, even if you are not aware that your tenant’s circumstances had changed;
• Housing Benefit is not normally payable for any period after the tenant has vacated. Housing Benefit cannot be paid because the tenant has failed to give the landlord notice, has not returned the keys or left some personal belongings in the property; and
• we are also entitled to recover overpayments which you have not repaid from Housing Benefit payments due for other tenants.

When can payments be made direct to a Landlord?

Housing Benefit can be made direct to you without the tenant’s consent when:

• the tenant is more than 8 weeks in arrears (you will need to supply evidence of this) and it would only continue until the tenant was no longer 8 weeks in arrears . This does not form a contract between the Landlord and us;
• the tenant has left the property and there are rent arrears for a period that Housing Benefit was outstanding; and
• we consider it is in the best interest of the tenant.

Can the payment method be changed?

The tenant can ask for the payment method to be changed at any time during their claim.

You must remember that it is the tenant’s housing benefit and we do not have any agreement to pay you rent.

We will normally advise you that the payment method will change from a future date.

Unless, you can provide evidence that the tenant is more than 8 weeks in arrears and you should therefore be receiving the payments this will then take place.

Any discussions over the amount of arrears should be between you and your tenant.

Housing Benefit - Landlord's guide (continued)

Housing Benefit - Landlord's guide (continued)