When Housing Benefit starts

We normally pay Housing Benefit from the Monday after we receive the claim.

If a new tenant needs to apply for Housing Benefit, they should apply within the same week as they move in. If an existing tenant needs to apply for Housing Benefit, they should apply as soon as they need help with their rent.

When Housing Benefit ends

When a tenant moves out, Housing Benefit normally ends on the day they last occupied the property, even if they still have a liability to pay rent to you. If a tenant moves out before their period of notice is up, we may be able to pay up to 4 weeks extra Housing Benefit, but this depends on the tenant's circumstances. If your tenant moves out, please contact us.

While a tenant is staying in the same property, we’ll continue to pay Housing Benefit until they stop qualifying for it.

Your duties as a landlord

If we pay Housing Benefit to you, you have a legal duty to tell us about changes that may affect the tenant's entitlement or how we pay you.

Examples of changes you should tell us about are:

• your tenant moves out
• your tenant changes accommodation (including changing rooms or flats within the same building)
• there's a change in the rent you charge them
• somebody else moves in
• your own circumstances change (for example, you change your address or bank details, if we are making the payments directly into your bank account)
• something changes that you might reasonably be expected to know could affect the tenant’s Housing Benefit

You’re committing a criminal offence if, deliberately or without a reasonable excuse, you do not report a change of circumstances which is included in the regulations.

We do not expect any landlord to interfere with their tenant's affairs, only to report changes they become aware of.

Paying Housing Benefit

We normally pay Housing Benefit by bank transfer to the claimant, but we may pay you in certain circumstances.

New Housing Benefit claims are paid in arrears. If we make payments direct to you, we’ll pay you every 4 weeks in arrears.

Please refer to the Dorset Authorities Safeguards for tenants and landlords guidance if your tenant:

• has a history of arrears
• is incurring rent arrears
• could be considered vulnerable
• is unable to manage their rent payments

What to do if your tenant is in arrears

In most circumstances, we would only be able to pay you directly if the tenant is 8 weeks in arrears. 

When your tenant is in arrears, it means that their rental payments are outstanding. As a landlord you may take whatever legal action you wish, as it’s your tenant.

Overpayments

When we pay Housing Benefit direct to a landlord and the tenant's entitlement to Housing Benefit changes, it could result in an overpayment.

If your tenant has been overpaid Housing Benefit and it’s decided they must repay it, we may make deductions from their Housing Benefit payments until this is repaid. This means that if you are paid directly, your tenant will need to increase the top up they pay you to cover the difference between the Housing Benefit payments you receive and the rent they are liable to pay you.

We may ask you to repay the money which has been overpaid. Each case is decided on its own merits and if we decide that it is appropriate to recover the money from the landlord, we will invoice you.

The invoice will show the:

• period in which the overpayment occurred
• name of the tenant and the amount of overpayment

If you have difficulty repaying the money, we may be able to negotiate repayment by instalments.

If you fail to make repayments of overpaid Housing Benefit, we can recover outstanding payments from any future payments of Housing Benefit due to be paid to the you. We’d prefer not to recover overpayment debts in this way but occasionally we have no alternative.

If we do this, it means that for each tenant we pay Housing Benefit to, the amount of their entitlement will be offset against the overpayment.

In these cases, you must reduce the tenant's rent liability by the full value of their Housing Benefit entitlement. You are not entitled to seek to recover the monies from your tenant.

Disagreeing with a decision

Only a person affected by a decision about Housing Benefit can appeal.

The claimant will always be a 'person affected'. A landlord can also be a 'person affected' if

• we've decided to make direct payments to you
• we've decided not to make payments direct to you
• when we plan to take back the money we overpaid you

Information about tenants

We cannot give you any personal information about your tenant due to privacy laws.

Where the law allows it or the tenant has given their permission to do so, we can let you know if we are waiting for information from the tenant regarding Housing Benefit entitlement or payment.