Housing & Council Tax BenefitsLandlord InformationHousing Benefit is a national welfare benefit administered by local Councils on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). The purpose of the scheme is to help people who have low income and very little capital pay their rent. Housing Benefit, when added to a claimant’s other income, will normally ensure that your tenant has sufficient income to pay their rent. When To Claim Your tenants must apply for benefit as soon as they believe that help is needed. New tenants should claim within the first benefit week of their move in your property or if they move in over a weekend on the Friday before their move. Existing Tenants should claim as soon as they need help eg if they have a change in their income such as a job loss, inability to work through sickness or retirement. Tenants in houses of multi-occupation must complete a new claim form if they move from one room to another. It would be helpful if the room number could be clearly marked on the form. How To Claim The tenant or their partner must complete a Benefit Application Form ( Documentation asked for in the application should be included, such as:
The tenant should not delay in returning the form. If any of the supporting documentation is not available, this can always be submitted later. It is sometimes necessary that Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar, Benefits write to your tenant for further information in support of their claim. This may cause a delay in the initial processing of that claim. It may be helpful for you to keep in touch with your tenant if you think a claim has been made. Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar, Benefit Section cannot give you any information on your tenants claim unless the tenant has given written approval for this. When Does Entitlement Start? Benefit normally starts the Monday after the application is received. The exception is this is when the application form is received on the office in the week that the rental liability actually begins. In this case benefit can be paid from the Monday of that week that your tenant moved into the property, or in the case of a monthly tenancy on the start date of the tenancy. When Does Entitlement End? When a claimant starts to receive benefit, he/she is given this for a specified period, known as the benefit period. Six weeks before the end of this benefit period a claimant is invited to re-apply for benefit. This is known as a Renewal or Review Claim. Where a claimant fails to complete either a renewal form or a reminder form, then benefit entitlement will cease. The length of a benefit period can vary from one claimant to another, but within Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar the majority of claimants who a self-employed or seasoned work will have a benefit period of 26 weeks. Other Changes That May Stop Benefit Benefit may stop before the end of the benefit period in a number of circumstances e.g. This list is not exhaustive, but demonstrates some common areas in the ending of benefit entitlement. What Is Eligible Rent? Eligible rent is the amount of rent that Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar, Benefit Section will base its benefit calculation on after deductions have been made for any ineligible services included in the rent and any unreasonable rent deduction made.
Which are not paid directly by the tenants themselves. Counselling or personal care that is not related to the provision of accommodation. There may also be further deductions if the tenant has a non-dependent living in the household. What Is Unreasonable Rent Deduction? An unreasonable rent deduction is an amount by which Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar, Benefit Section will the rent where it is known that the rent charged for the accommodation within the area, or if the accommodation is too large for the tenants needs. There are certain categories of tenants who will attract an unreasonable rent deduction only if there is suitable alternative accommodation available (this applies to tenants who claimed benefit prior to 2 January 1996). These are:
Tenants who claimed Rent Allowance on or after 2 January 1996 are subject to the following rules:
How Is Benefit Calculated? People on Income Support will receive 100% of their eligible rent, less any non-dependent deduction. How The Benefit Will Be Paid Benefit is paid one week in advance for tenancy prior to 7 October 1996, one week in arrears if direct to tenant and four weeks in arrears if paid direct to Landlord for tenancies from 7 October 1996. All payments will be by a crossed cheque. The Rent Officer A local Authority must refer most of their Rent Allowance claims to the Rent Officer for market rents and maximum rents to be determined. The market and the maximum rent are the figures on which the Council receives its subsidy for the payment of benefit. The Rent Officer Service is an independent body and is not a Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar Council Department. The market rent figure given by the Rent Officer is not the level of rent that the Council must base its final benefit determination upon, but the opinion of the rent officer can be used along with other factors on deciding the eligible rent for benefit purposes. As explained previously, Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar, Benefit Section has little discretion to pay above the maximum rent figure for those tenants who claim benefit on or after 2 January 1996. Confidentiality Personal information the Council has on a claimant is protected by legislation.
Where payment is not made direct to the landlord, the tenants written authority must be given to Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar, Benefit Section before any information can be disclosed. Periodically Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar, Benefit Section may ask you for details of your tenants accommodation and details as to the number of tenants/claimants you currently have at a given address. It is good practice for landlords to keep up to date records of tenants arrivals and departures, rents charged and received, room numbers etc. What is an overpayment of Housing Benefit? When a claimant has been paid any Housing Benefit to which s/he was not entitled then an overpayment will have occurred. Most overpayments are recoverable. Benefit paid direct to a landlord Where Benefit is paid direct to a landlord, any recoverable overpayment that might arise can be recovered from that landlord. It must be noted that an overpayment can be recovered from a landlord even when the landlord was unaware of the change in the tenants circumstances that gave rise to the overpayment eg a tenants income increases and there is a delay in the tenant informing the Benefit Section of that increase. When the benefit claim is reassessed from the date of receipt of the new income, the resulting overpayment is recoverable, and if benefit is paid direct to the landlord the overpayment can be recovered from the landlord. It is prudent for a landlord to advise Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar, Benefits of any change in their tenants circumstances immediately the change is known to them, which will help keep any over payment to a minimum. What If A Tenant Has Been Overpaid At Their Previous Address? When a landlord is receiving benefit direct and an overpayment occurs, Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar, Benefit Section will send a notice informing a landlord of:-
Are All Overpayments Recoverable? The majority of overpayments are recoverable and can be recovered from the person to whom the benefit was paid. Recovery of an overpayment can therefore be sought from a landlord who was unaware of any change in their tenants circumstances. It must be noted that Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar, Benefit Section does not have a contractual obligation to pay rent. The liability for rent payments lies with the tenant. Overpayments are caused by official error may not be recovered, however, the rules are complex and each case is looked at individually. Can A Landlord Object To An Overpayment Being Recovered From Them? When a landlord feels that the recovery of an overpayment from them is unfair or unjust, s/he can ask Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar, Benefits to review their decision. S/he must do this in writing within 6 weeks of the date of postmark of the notice of overpayment. Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar, Benefits must then review their decision and write to the landlord of this outcome within 14 days of receipt of the review request. If the landlord disagrees with the outcome of this internal review s/he may ask for a review board hearing. This must be made in writing within 4 weeks from the date of postmark of the internal review reply, and sent to:-
Where the landlord does not want a review but would like more information on the recovery of the overpayment s/he can write to Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar, Benefit Section to request a ‘statement of reason’ asking them to explain any particular issues. How Can A Landlord Repay The Money? A landlord will be sent an invoice for the amount of the overpayment, with instructions on how and where to pay. If a landlord cannot afford to repay the full amount of the overpayment s/he must contact Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar, Finance Department as soon as s/he receives the overpayment invoice, where arrangements may be made to allow for repayment by instalments.
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PDF) and return it to Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar, Benefit Section, Housing Department, Sandwick Road, Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, HS1 2BW.