Paying Housing Benefit directly to the landlord
Usually Housing Benefit is paid directly to the tenant. However we know that there are some cases where it is
- not in the tenant’s
- landlord’s interest
to have the benefit paid in this way.
If any of the following can be proved then we will consider paying Housing Benefit directly to the landlord until the tenant can take control of their finances again.
Vulnerable tenants
If the tenant is unable to manage their finances we could consider classing them as vulnerable. This could be because of:
- addictions
- medical conditions
- learning disabilities
- physical disabilities
Unlikely payer
For this to be considered there would have to be substantial proof showing that the claimant consistently does not pay their rent and uses their rent to fund other aspects of their lifestyle.
8 weeks arrears with rent
For this to be considered we would need to see documented proof of the 8 week arrears. We may look into the reason for the arrears.
Please see our Preventing Evictions page for more information about rent arrears and how we try to prevent it.
Reduction in rent to LHA rate
Since April 2011 the rules around direct payment of Local Housing Allowance (LHA) to landlords have expanded. This allows us to pay LHA directly to landlords if they reduce the rent to the LHA rate (appropriate to the size of the property).
Once the direct payments are being made under this rule it will continue until the rent becomes unaffordable.
Existing tenants will need to confirm that there has been a genuine reduction in the rent to that of the LHA rate to make it affordable.
New tenants will need to show that the rent has been reduced and is affordable or the letting would not have been made without direct payments.
How to get payment directly to the landlord?
There are many ways which can make us consider paying LHA directly to the landlord under safeguard rules. This could be:
- indicated on the claim form by the claimant
- flagged by Landlord
- identified by Customer Service Staff within the Council
- identified by support group that is or has been helping the claimant
For this to be considered the Application for Direct Payment of Local Housing Allowance online My Southend form needs to be filled out.