LHA rates

[meagain]

Hi everyone

I applied for LHA to be paid directly to me and my tenant agreed that I could discuss her benefit entitlement with HA. Tenant has children and is entitled to 2 bed accommodation, so I assumed that she would receive full LHA entitlement. I have received rent payment which is about £60 less per month on what the BRMA says it should be. I did telephone HA to be told that until there's a change in circumstances or until "benefit date anniversary" then rent would not change. So basically I have to wait till next year for the rent to match LHA rates? My questions are if the rates decrease from now until date of T's anniversary, will it go down? If so, why can't it go up?

Thanks

[Trenners]

Hi meagain,

The payment of Housing Benefit (including LHA) is means tested. The BRMA simply states the MAXIMUM LHA that the Benefit Office will pay for a 2 bedroom property in your post code region assuming your tenant is entitled to live in a 2 bed property.

However, as stated, the tenant needs to complete a HB application form and provide proof of income etc etc. If the benefit office are paying £60 per month below the published BRMA for your property then this is certainly because your tenant has other income (thereby meaning that she is only entitled to receive a percentage of the LHA entitlement).

So, what you do, is tell the tenant that THEY must pay the extra £60 per month from their other income ........ and if they refuse then you will evict. If the tenant claims that they don't have any other income then it is up to the TENANT to go back to the Council to provide this evidence / challenge this decision. In the meanwhile, as landlord, you are expecting the tenant to make up the shortfall - even if they have to borrow the money !

Finally, I am surprised that your local Council have agreed to pay you the LHA direct. The whole point of LHA was that the money was paid directly to the tenant .......

Good luck,

Mark

[meagain]

Thanks Mark, your answer makes a lot of sense. My T is not in receipt of any other income and to make up the shortfall, she has applied for the top-up payment from HB. The reason the rent is paid directly to me now is because she fell into arrears.

I'm not sure if you remember, but I inherited this property and tenant and I issued her with a new 6mth AST (as she was used to longer leases). I would have thought that a new landlord would have been "a change of circumstances" but it's not a change in Tenant's circumstances so it doesn't apply. Because the date of new Tenancy agreement was a couple of weeks after her "HB anniversary date" they have told me that I now have to wait until next year.

[Simon Dewsberry]

In the meanwhile, as landlord, you are expecting the tenant to make up the shortfall - even if they have to borrow the money !

Good luck,

Mark

Hmmmmmmmmm a problem that can only get bigger inmy experience ........and the person they "borrow" the money from .......enevitably ends up being ..............yep you guessed it ........the Landlord ..............................

Recipe for diaster ......IMHO ..........

and in my experience.

Dont misunderstand me, i have "social housing Tenants" ...30 asylum seekers and half a dozen others who have some element of HB/LHA ...but will not take on situations as above with out 110% fully A1 referenced G ...as discussed previously OR payment IN FULL direct from Loc Council ...( ihave several props on 3 yr leases to loc council)

The Rodent

[meagain]

The property is a 3 bed, but she has 2 children under the age of 10 so should receive full entitlement for 2 bed prop. She's a single mum, doesn't work and is dependant on benefits. When I issued new lease, I assumed that she would receive full entitlement and even visited the HB office and they confirmed that she should too. I'm just confused as to why I have to wait for the anniversary date? If tenant is entitled to full housing benefit, then why don't they grant it now? I don't hold out much hope of the top up payment being granted, so I will have to agree to the lower rent. Can this agreement be done verbally, or do I have to put it in writing?

Thanks

[Trenners]

Hi meagain,

I don't think we have got to the bottom of this yet ... and I certainly would not accept the ruling or reduce the rent at this stage.

The anniversary of the tenancy is totally irrelvant as you are NOT proposing to increase the rent. You have set the rent, I assume, equal to or above the BRMA for Local Housing Allowance. Your tenant has 2 children and, I agree, is entitled to LHA for a 2 bedroom property.

If she is not getting the full allowance then she has declared income (of some form) on her HB application and her LHA is being recuded accotdingly. Don't forget that income includes tax credits and child maintenance payments (from the absent father etc) .....

You need to get the tenant to arrange an appointment with the HB office and you need to attend with her. They need to explain why she is not receiving the full LHA to you.

I understand that the tenant might have applied for "discretionary benefit" (ie: extra benefit) to make up the shortfall but you should also be aware (even if she is succssful in getting this extra benefit - which is unlikely) that discretionary benefit is only paid for about 6 months.

In summary, if the tenant is entitled to the full LHA then you should get it ...... if she isn't entitled then she need to make up the difference or get evicted.

Let me know if you have any further questions ....

Mark

[Simon Dewsberry]

Hi Mark

Just had notification of a discretionary award to one of my T in the sum of £9.60 pr week ..spoke to LL liason team who tell me it has been awarded for 12 mths which i found strange as his review date is half way thru it ....

Dont know whether this is typical or not ?

The Rodent

[Trenners]

Hi Rodent,

Discretionary benefit is usually for only 6 months although it can be awarded for a 12 month period but ..... importantly ... is rarely renewed at the end of the discretionary term. At the end of the term the Council simply write to the tenant to tell them that the discretionary award has come to an end.

Very odd why they would make a 12 month award against a 6 month AST .......

Mark

[Simon Dewsberry]

More interesting than that ..............T is running on periodic and has been for 12 mths ..........as i refuse to issue new ast until arrears are under control ..............issued S21 in dec to get a toe up t backside ...which did produce a result..........

as he paid off some cash and sorted his HB i accpeted this accpeted S21 as cancelled......

he has case support officer and i think he has "Pushed " t to apply for this as i had a bt of fit on T a few weeks ago due to his dropping top up pymts to clear debt .........and threatened another S21........

T can stay until the day he dies ..no personal issues with him ..other than his complete inertia and inability to sort his own life out !!!!!!!

The Rodent

[meagain]

Quick update: Fortunately, tenant has informed me that her partner is moving in with her so that constitutes a "change of circumstances". I telephoned HB today to be told that the rate I was receiving was the old LHA rate which wouldn't have changed unless a change of tenants circumstances had occured that made a break in her claim, such as the above or having another child etc. So tenant now has to make a fresh claim and I should then receive up to date LHA, without the need for top-up payment.