UK Landlord Forum / Life

I have just been informed by my management company that my rent from my tenant who receives housing benefit and is directly paid to the management company has been reduced.  The reason is they overpaid the tenant in a previous property. Can the council do this?  They are penalising me and it has nothing to do with me.

Quote from: isla on March 13, 2014, 05:44:14 PM
  They are penalising me and it has nothing to do with me.

Well, pretty much wrong on 2 points there.  They are not penalising you they are penalising the person they pay the housing benefit to i.e the tenant.  The fact that it's paid direct means nothing.  It has everything to do with you because now your tenant is underpaying you. It's not the local authority who's underpaying you.  Get the tenant to pay the short fall.  They've had their rent money in the past by the sound of it.  If it's not possible accept the reduced rent or issue a Section 21.

Councils can do anything they like!

Whilst I agree with Riptide, I would be irked by this as well.

It just supports the stock phrase "No DSS" in accommodation advertising, which in allot of ways I really feel is a bit unfair.

OPW!

I have had this issue also, originally I checked with housing benefits how much they would pay, so I knew the tenant was giving me the correct information, they verbally confirmed one amount, and that housing benefit is paid monthly in arrears.... Then I got the letter and the amount was different as they noted that the tenant had been overpaid housing benefits, so instead of tenant needing to pay 55 a month housing benefits paid only 321.42 a month, and tenant was supposed to pay the 128.00 odd to make it up to the agreed rent.

Of course I never received any of the top up, there was nothing I could do as stated above this is the tenants benefit, fairness does not come into it..  I did query this but didn't get very far, I've now issued a section 21, which i got from my solicitor at a cost of 234.00, i wanted to make sure i had the dates correct as i didnt want to get to court only to find i had to do it all again.. plus I sent a process server over to deliver it which cost me 75.00, and he gave her some advise saying she needed to leave now or I was taking her to court.

It seems to have worked though as she has a new place and has started moving stuff out today..

Good luck with your issue