Rights and responsibilities

How is Local Housing Allowance better for tenants?

You will know before you find somewhere to live how much help you might get with your rent.  This means it is easier for you to decide what type of property you can afford.

You can choose how to spend your benefit in a similar way to tenants who are not getting benefits.  You will be able to choose whether to rent a larger property or spend less on housing and increase the how much money you have for other things.  If you rent a cheaper property the benefit you can keep will not affect any other benefits that you get.

If you are looking for somewhere to rent you can:

• Rent a property where the rent is the same as the Local Housing Allowance rate you are entitled to.
• Rent a property where the rent is more than the Local Housing Allowance rate you are entitled to.  You will need to pay the difference between your benefit and your rent.
• Rent a property that is cheaper than your Local Housing Allowance.  In this case we can pay up to a maximum of £15 per week more than your rent.   If your benefit is more than your rent you can use the difference for other things.

Leaflets are available to help you work out how much Local Housing Allowance you can get.

How is Local Housing Allowance paid?

Local Housing Allowance is usually paid to the tenant directly into their bank or building society account or by cheque.  The tenant will then need to pay their landlord.  The easiest way to do this is by setting up a standing order or direct debit to the landlord.

If you do not already have a bank or building society account, you may want to set one up.

We have leaflet giving general advice about basic bank accounts that are available or you can get advice about opening and running a bank account from any bank or building society.  You can also get advice from an independent agency such as the Citizens Advice Bureaux.

Paying the rent

Tenants are responsible for paying the rent to their landlords.  If the rent is not paid landlords can ask the local authority to pay benefit direct to them or take other action to recover their money.

It is important to pay the rent on time.  If a tenant is in arrears the landlord can apply to the courts to evict them from their home.

Eviction means:

• You will lose your home.
• Your benefit may not be paid to you in the future.
• You may have difficulty finding new accommodation.
• You will still have to pay your landlord the money you owe.
• You may have to pay court costs as well.
• An application for re-housing may be affected if it is considered you have made your self intentionally homeless.

This is same as the rules under the old housing benefit scheme.

If a tenant has difficulty in managing their financial affairs or are unlikely to pay their rent we can consider making payment direct to the landlord.

Page last reviewed 10 Mar 2008