Excess Benefit up to a maximum capped rate of £15 per week can be paid to claimants. So for example, if your rent is £60 per week, and the LHA is £80 for your household, you will receive £75 LHA, providing you qualify for maximum benefit. The excess benefit is yours to spend as you want.
How is the Local Housing Allowance paid?
Usually you will have your Local Housing Allowance paid directly to you either by crossed cheque or straight into your bank account. It is up to you to pay your rent to your landlord.
If you (or your partner) do not have a bank account, you should be able to open one, either at a bank, building society or credit union. The Financial Services Authority have a leaflet that explains something called a ‘basic bank account’, which is an account that lets you have money paid in or paid out, and also a debit card so that you can withdraw money from the ‘hole in the wall’ machines. Credit unions also have accounts that allow you to pay money in or out. This type of account also allows you to save, and in some instances allows you to borrow at competitive rates of interest. The Financial Services Authority have a leaflet that explains how credit unions work. You will also need to prove your identity to open an account. The Financial Services Authority produce a leaflet about the types of documents that the banks might accept for proving your identity.
Please follow the links below to take you the Financial Services authority leaflets, or alternatively call at one of the Councils Customer Services Centres in Rotherham, Swinton or Dinnington for more information and to pick up a copy.
http://www.moneymadeclear.fsa.gov.uk/pdfs/bank_accounts.pdf
http://www.moneymadeclear.fsa.gov.uk/pdfs/proving_your_identity.pdf
http://www.moneymadeclear.fsa.gov.uk/pdfs/credit_unions.pdf
http://www.moneymadeclear.fsa.gov.uk/
Will you pay my Local Housing Allowance to my Landlord if I request it?
We cannot normally pay your housing benefit to your landlord unless there are special reasons why you are unable to manage your rent payments yourself. These reasons include the fact that;-
- You are unable to open a bank account because of undischarged bankruptcy or financial fraud.
- You have an addiction to drugs, alcohol or gambling.
- You have certain medical reasons.
- You have learning difficulties.
- You cannot read or write, or cannot speak English.
- You are fleeing domestic violence, leaving care or prison.
- You have rent arrears of 8 weeks or more.
From April 2008, there will be an application form available for you to complete, giving the reasons why you would like us to pay your LHA to your landlord. If you cannot complete this yourself, you can ask a friend, relative, advice worker or someone else who is helping you, to complete it for you. You will also need to support the request with written proof. This could, for example be a letter from the bank, your doctor or landlord (if you are in arrears).
If we agree to pay your landlord on your behalf, we will only pay him / her up to your contractual rent. Any excess LHA will be paid to you, unless you are in rent arrears, when we may pay any excess to your landlord until the arrears are cleared.
Recovery of overpaid benefit.
The rules on the recovery of overpayments are not being changed. Currently the rules are;
- Benefit overpaid to a landlord can be recovered either from the landlord, or from you, the claimant. We decide who is responsible for paying back the overpaid benefit, depending on the reasons why the overpayment has occurred.
- Benefit overpaid to you, the claimant, can only be recovered from you.
As most claimants will receive their benefit themselves under the LHA rules, most overpayments will be recovered from the customer.
However, we can still recover part from a landlord and part from the claimant, where both have been paid over a period of time.
Appeal rights
You can appeal against any decision we make about your claim. For example, you can appeal against the decision to pay your landlord, if you disagree with the decision. This includes decisions about a claimant’s vulnerability.
However, you cannot appeal against the level of LHA or the BRMA, unless the Rent Officer has, for example, made an arithmetical error.
The information below gives details of what you should do if you are unhappy with the decision made about your claim.
1 Within one calendar month of the date on the decision notice tell the Benefits Office if you do not agree with this decision. Tell them why you think their decision is wrong.
2 The Benefit Office will look at the claim and the reasons why you think their decision is wrong. They may contact you to discuss the claim further or to give you additional information and advice.
3 The Benefit Office will write to you and your tenant (as appropriate) and tell you whether they have been able to change their original decision or not. They will tell you and your tenant the reasons for their decision.
4 If you still do not agree with the decision made, you can appeal for the case to be heard by an independent tribunal administered by the Department for Constitutional Affairs Tribunal Service. You will need to write within one calendar month of the date of the Benefits Office letter and you must tell them why you still do not agree with their decision.
5 The Benefits Office will keep you informed of what to do next. You may wish to seek independent advice from an Advice Centre such as the Citizens Advice Bureau (0870 121 2034)
Where can I find out more about the Local Housing Allowance?
From April 2008, you will be able to get more information about the Local Housing Allowance from the Customer Service Centre’s at;
Civic Building, Walker Place, Rotherham
Station Street, Swinton
New Street, Dinnington
Opening hours are Monday to Friday 8:30a.m to 5:30p.m; -
or by telephoning Rotherham Connect on 01709 336006.
Opening hours are Monday to Friday 8:30a.m to 5:30p.m
The Benefits Service also runs enquiry sessions at most of the District Housing Offices Please contact Rotherham Connect for opening times, or ask at your local office.
More information will be posted to this web site.
You can also contact us by e-mail at;
benefits@rotherham.gov.uk
Information is also available on the Department for Works and Pensions (DWP) website, at the following link;
www.dwp.gov.uk/housingbenefit/lha
The DWP also produce a number of leaflets, which can be found on the website.
Additionally, there are 18 Local Authorities in the Country that have already run a pilot scheme for the LHA, where you can check out their websites for information. These include;
- Blackpool
- Lewisham
- Coventry
- Teignbridge
- Brighton
- Conwy
- Edinburgh
- Leeds
- NE Lincs
- Wandsorth
- East Riding of Yorkshire
- St Helens
- Argyll and Bute
- South Norfolk
- Norwich
- Pembrokeshire
- Guildford
- Salford
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