Information for private landlords about housing benefit and council tax

For tenants renting from private landlords the Benefits Service has to decide if the rent being charged is a fair one. For claims made before April 2008 and which are still in payment this decision is made on a case by case basis by the Valuation Office Agency

Claims made after April 2008 are paid under the local housing allowance scheme. This was designed to make the benefits system simpler, by removing the need to value the rent of each claim on an individual basis. Instead the maximum amount of benefit is based on the size of the tenant's household. Find out more about local housing allowance.

Can my tenant claim housing benefit?

Housing benefit is intended to help people on low incomes. This income can be from any source and tenants who are working but receiving a low wage can still claim housing benefit.

There are some circumstances which prevent your tenant from receiving housing benefit. These include situations where the tenant:

• lives with, and pays rent to a landlord who is a close relative;

• used to live with the landlord as a family member, relative or friend, and now pays that person rent;

• rents a former joint home from their ex-partner;

• is responsible for a child of their landlord;

• used to own the property which they now rent.

How much will my tenant be entitled to?

The local housing allowance scheme allows you to see at a glance the maximum amount of benefit your tenant will be entitled to. Sometimes this figure will be less if they have a higher income.

The local housing allowance rates depend on the number of people in the tenant's household not the size of your property. Therefore if your tenant's household only needs two bedrooms, we will only pay the two room rate even if your property has 3 bedrooms.

Tenants aged under 35 who live alone are usually entitled to lowest rate of local housing allowance.

How to claim

It is your tenant's responsibility to make their claim for housing benefit.

We will ask your tenant to provide us with evidence relating to their income, capital and identity. We will also need to see proof of the rent they are being charged. Usually this is the tenancy agreement you have with your tenant.

If we get a claim in the same week as the tenancy starts, we will normally pay benefit from the start of the tenancy unless we have paid at a previous address. Therefore it is important that your tenant makes their claim as soon as possible to ensure their benefit is paid from the start of their tenancy.

Otherwise we will pay benefit from the Monday after the date the tenant first contacts us.

How is housing benefit paid?

Payments are usually made every four weeks, in arrears. Please see our housing benefit payment calendar for details of this year's payment dates.

Normally local housing allowance is paid to the tenant. There are some cases where we can consider making direct payments to the landlord.

We do not assume any of the tenant's responsibilities by agreeing to pay housing benefit direct.

What can you discuss with me?

We can only tell you certain things about your tenant's claim if they have given us permission to do so. We cannot give you information about their income or household circumstances.

If we pay your tenant's benefit to you directly we can talk to you about

• the date benefit started and ended;

• the weekly amount of benefit and how often we pay it;

• any amounts we are taking direct from the benefit to get back an overpayment; and

• details of any cheque or BACS payment made to you.

If we start or stop paying you direct, we will write to you to tell you.

If you receive payments of housing benefit direct from us, you can use our Open Access system to view your payments on line.

Who must pay council tax?

Usually your tenant will be responsible for paying the council tax.

If you rent out your property to more than one tenant, but they only have one tenancy agreement between them then they will be responsible for paying the council tax.

Exceptions to this are houses in multiple occupation. This is where a landlord rents out their property to two or more tenants who

• have separate tenancy agreements and

• share some facilities, such as a kitchen or a bathroom.

In these cases the landlord will be responsible for paying the council tax

If you rent your property to students they may be exempt from the council tax during term time.

What if my tenant's circumstances change?

We need to know straightaway if a tenant's circumstances change because this may affect the amount of benefit they are entitled to.

There is a form in the related links section on the right hand side of this page which you can use to report changes in circumstances.

If your tenant moves to a new address their benefit will normally stop at the end of the week they left your property.

We also need to know if a tenant changes rooms in a house in multiple occupation or in board and lodging accommodation.

What if you have overpaid benefit?

If we find we have paid too much benefit, we can ask you or your tenant to pay it back. We will only ask a landlord to pay back an overpayment if the benefit was paid direct to them.

If you do not repay overpayments when we ask you to, we can take the money out of benefit we are going to pay you for other tenants.

If you think your tenant has made a false claim for benefit, please tell us straight away. We would not normally expect you to pay back the overpayment.

Can a landlord appeal against a housing benefit decision?

As a landlord, you have fewer appeal rights than a tenant. Landlords can only appeal against our decision if we:

• refuse to pay benefit direct to them; or

• decide they should repay an overpayment.

It would be the tenant's responsibility to appeal against the amount of benefit or dates benefit is paid for.

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