Can i claim housing benefit without the landlord knowing?
December 14th, 2009 by admin
I have just signed a tenancy for a house in Scotland. The ad says that the landlord does not accept DSS/Housing benefit. But ive heard that you can apply for housing benefit and have the money paid directly into your own bank account…my question is…does the landlord have to know you are claiming housing benefit…if the money is paid directly tome then i can then pay the money to my landlord…correct? Or do they need to know?
thnx =]
but the form has a section the landlord can fill in but it also states that you can send a tenancy agreement/contract instead…so its not mandatory for the landlord to fill out any part of the form…
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nope as you need to fill in your landlords details when applying
normally housing benefit is paid directly to the landlord.this stops u being homeless my dear.
When you apply for Housing benefit you have to fill in one part of the form, and your landlord has to fill in the other part. So I am afraid you are out of luck.
Won’t the Benefit people want to check the rent, and who will they ask but the Landlord. They will want to check you are renting, as you could be living at home with your parents and trying it on.
The landlord will find out if they ask either for a work reference, or a bank reference, or both, which they usually do. This will show if you’re on DSS, so this would be the problem, rather than just having the housing benefit to pay to your landlord direct. This would only help you if they didn’t ask for a reference, or if you are working and just claiming a bit of top-up housing benefit, it’s called Local Housing Allowance now for private rentals btw.
The point of paying it direct to the tenant now is not so that the landlord doesn’t know if the person is getting it, but to get the tenant to be in a situation more similar to being in work where they have to manage their own budget. It can be paid direct to the landlord now if the tenant doesn’t pay for eight weeks.
you can do it, you have to make sure that your tenants agreement has all the details on it like your landlords full name address who is paying council tax and bills, when the rent is paid how often and how much your full name and the date u move in, then ur landlord doesnt have to know as all the info is in that and the money goes into your account.
The landlord would have to know as there is a section on the application form for housing benefit which has to be filled in and signed by your landlord.
You can choose to have the money paid to either yourself or directly to the landlord, but you can’t avoid having to get them to fill in the relevant section of the form….sorry!
Afraid not , the landlord will have to sign the form to verify that you are a legitimate claimant .In any case the he/she will receive the first months rent straight to them and thereafter the money will be paid directly to yourself .It’s a pain in the arse when you are refused tenancy because you are in receipt of DSS benefits… and the new method of payment makes it even more difficult as you are wholly responsible for making sure the landlord receives the rent money and this i’m pretty sure will deter a number of them from letting property to those who find themselves in your situation .I totally empathise with you and wish i could advise you more on how to beat the system but in this instance i can’t think of any way round it … i wish you well and hope you find a place to call home soon .. good luck .
YES YOU CAN!
BUT only IF certain conditions are there.
In my case, I was already 8 months IN to my tenancy.
I was told the landlord does NOT have to know IF: 1: your NOT in arrears and 2: you HAVE a tenancy agreement confirming the ammount of rent.
As long you as pay the rent ON time and pay the HB to the landlord and don’t get into problems, then he’ll never know.
Now I know everyone will disagree with this, BUT the idea that HB is to be paid directly to the tenant was because landlords were chucking people out the minute they found out about said tenant going onto HB.
To me if your already IN and paid your fees AND passed credit checks along with everything else they have asked for, then I don’t see the problem as long as you DO pay your rent.
With you, if you have already signed and gone through the credit checks then from what I was told, there is no need to tell the landlord now.
However I suggest you contact Shelter to confirm this is correct as things may differ in scotland and you also don’t want to find your self homeless!
P>S the landlord does not HAVE to sign the form, it can be done without him or her.
someone else has said well you could be living with your parents and claiming, yes this is WHY the DWP ask for utility letters AND tenancy agreements and TONS of paperwork before paying you HB!
worked full time since 16, went to uni as well.Worked as IT engineer for 4 years and a well known business school,before having a nervous breakdown 3 years ago.
Paid tax and paid £200 per month info company pension, before anyone starts having a go at benefit scroungers thankyou.
The only problem there may be is with providing work references (assuming you aren’t working). However if you have already signed the tenancy agreement then presumably you have already sorted all of this out. In answer to your question, yes, you can claim HB without the landlord knowing. You will need to take a copy of your tenancy agreement into your local HB office, or send it to them – this will confirm that you are the legal tenant and how much you pay per month, so there is no need for the landlord to fill in anything. I have claimed HB a couple of times for periods of a couple of months with different landlords – one right at the start of a tenancy, like you – and both times it was fine. The money is paid directly into your bank and they need never know. Moreover, if you are a good tenant, I really don’t think they would care even if they did find out. The reason a lot of landlords state no DSS is basically because the kind of person who is on benefits is viewed as more likely to default, more likely to wreck the house and more likely to cause problems. It isn’t the actual fact of claiming HB or any other benefit – after all, you will still be paying your rent on time, just like any other person with a full time job. If you are a good tenant they are hardly going to throw you out just because part or all of their rent comes from the state instead of an employer. Anyway, they are very unlikely to find out. So don’t worry!
you have to fill in landlords details on the form and they will contact him/her to verify your a tanant of the property.