Landlords

Advice and information

Before we speak to a landlord about any benefits we need the tenant’s permission. The tenant will need to fill in an authority to discuss form to give us permission. If the tenant gives us permission, we can tell the landlord about any aspect of their Housing Benefit claim. If they do not give us permission, we cannot tell the landlord anything.

If we pay the landlord Housing Benefit but no authority is given to discuss, we can tell the landlord:

The date benefit started and ended.
The weekly amount of benefit and how often we pay. If there is a shortfall, it is up to you to collect the rent your tenant owes you.
The amount we are taking direct from benefit to recover any overpayment.
If the tenant has asked for payments direct to the landlord but we cannot pay the claim because we do not have all the evidence required, we will not tell the landlord we cannot pay unless we have the tenant's written permission.

Direct payment

If your tenant is in arrears by eight weeks or more you can ask for the payments to be made direct to you. You will need to complete a payment to landlord request form and provide a rent statement proving the tenant is in arrears.

The money will be paid straight into your bank account every four weeks in arrears. If you have several tenants on benefit we will combine all the payments into one. You will be able to view a list of payment details for each tenant online.

Landlord Access

If you are receiving direct payment of Housing Benefit you can use Landlord Access to check the historical record of payments made to you.

You will need to complete a simple sign up process to ensure that the system is secure for both you and your tenants.

Please contact our Customer Services team if you have any problems using this service.