If you are a private landlord or landlady and rent out a property to tenants, they may be entitled to some help from the council to pay you the rent. If your tenant makes a claim for housing benefit they may ask you some information about the tenancy.

Why register with us

If you register with us, you can now view your details online 24 hours a day. You will be able to see the payments you have received for your tenants and download your payment schedules.

What tenancy information is needed?
  • the names of the people included in the tenancy
  • the number of rooms in the property
  • the number of rooms for use by the tenant
  • the date the tenancy started
  • the date the tenants moved in
  • the amount of rent charged and when, e.g. weekly, monthly.
  • the name and address of the landlord.

The amount of benefit payable depends on the tenants circumstances. The number of people living in the property and the amount of income they have will affect the amount of benefit they receive.

Local housing allowance

The maximum we will be able to pay towards the rent will depend on the local housing allowance (LHA) rate applicable to the number of people in the household.

How we calculate the number of bedrooms required by a household

One bedroom is allowed for:

  • an adult couple
  • any other adult (aged over 16)
  • any two children of the same sex under 16
  • any two children under ten
  • or any other child
Rent arrears

Housing benefit is usually paid to the tenant in arrears by bank transfer (BACS). However, if your tenant falls eight weeks into arrears you can request for payments to be sent to you directly. To request this you must complete the arrears form and send it back to us.

Rent arrears form (51.38 KB)
Universal Credit

If your tenant claims Universal Credit they will be paid all of their benefits in one lump sum every month. They will then need to arrange to pay their rent to you directly. There are only very limited conditions where the housing element can be paid to you.

18 May 2021