Local Housing Allowance Safeguard Policy
Under the Local Housing Allowance
(LHA) the emphasis will be on making payments to tenants. This
means that those tenants coming under the scheme as new claimants
will in most cases receive payment directly. Under LHA a tenant
cannot simply request that their payments are made to their
landlord. To protect vulnerable tenants the council will apply a
discretion to pay the landlord. This policy sets out the guidelines
by which officers will make decisions.
The primary objective is to ensure
that tenants "keep a roof over their heads" therefore officers will
apply the policy appropriately to minimise the risk of tenants
falling into arrears with their landlord.
Payment can still be made to the landlord if a tenant is eight
or more weeks in arrears. This is a statutory safeguard that is not
included in the Vulnerability Policy.
If the LHA is greater than the contractual rent, any excess will
be paid to the tenant. If the tenant is in arrears, and the
decision has been made to pay the landlord, the LHA may include the
excess to help clear the arrears.
The Department for Works and Pensions have provided guidance on
when direct payments to the landlord may be appropriate, where a
tenant can pay or wont pay. These are expanded below:
)a) If the tenant is likely to have difficulty managing their
own affairs.
For example, if a tenant is known to have a learning disability
or their drug/alcohol misuse would mean they are likely to have
difficulty handling a budget.
b) If it is improbable that the claimant will pay their rent.
For example,
if the authority is aware that the tenant has consistently
failed to pay rent on past occasions without good reason.
Under the LHA rules a tenant cannot simply request that payment
is made to a landlord to cover their rent. Benefits officers will
consider evidence and make a decision as to whether it is in a
tenant's best interest to make payments of LHA directly to the
landlord. In many cases it will be a temporary situation until, for
example, the rent arrears are cleared.
Aims and Objectives of the Local Policy
- to provide a safeguard for the most
vulnerable tenants and reassure them that the benefit and rent will
be paid
- to help prevent rent arrears and tenants
being put at risk of eviction
- to help sustain tenancies for vulnerable
tenants
- to reassure landlords that their rent will
be paid if they have vulnerable tenants or are approached by
vulnerable tenants
- to help put tenants in touch with other
agencies where necessary and give people the opportunity and
support to manage their own financial affairs
- to ensure council officers make
reasonable, fair and consistent decisions
- to promote a transparent and simple
process that is understood widely
- to treat each case individually and not
make assumptions about people's situations
The policy is not designed to:
- supersede support that is being received
by tenants to help them be responsible for their own income and
expenditure
- be a blanket policy for agencies providing
support to private tenants
- be used by landlords to circumvent the
aims of the LHA
Procedure
In most cases it will involve the
completion of a standard form with evidence and signed by the
tenant. The information given in the form will allow officers to
make a decision, based on the evidence given.
1. Alerting the council of potential
vulnerability
The tenant or their representative
makes the council aware that they would prefer their LHA to be paid
to the landlord. The request needs to be supported by written
evidence from a third party, but can initially made by:
- a letter/ e mail;
- a phone call; or
- the application form.
2. Gathering information and evidence
Officers will consider the information that has been received
and whether there is enough evidence to make a decision. Evidence
can be provided by:
- GP
- Adult Social Care teams
- Support or advisory services like the CAB
or Age Concern
- A tenant's family or friends
Evidence from a landlord must be
supported by additional evidence from another source. For example,
if a landlord requests direct LHA payments because the tenant has a
drug or alcohol problem and is unable to manage their finances, it
will need to be supported by additional information from either the
tenant's GP, Social Services or a support provider.
3. Making a decision
One of two decisions will be made:
- the tenant is considered to be vulnerable
and payment of LHA will be made to the landlord.
- the tenant is considered to be not
vulnerable and payment of LHA will be made to the
tenant.
4. Notifying affected parties
The tenant and/or their representative will be written to and
advised of the following:
- the decision
- if and when the decision will be
reviewed
- their appeal rights
- contact details of advice agencies,
voluntary or statutory organisations that may help them
- contact details of the CAB Money Advice
Service if they don't have a bank account and will be receiving
excess LHA themselves
The landlord will also be written to and advised:
- if the tenant has been found vulnerable and the Council will
pay them LHA up to the contractual rent
- if and when the decision will be reviewed
- request bank details if not previously received
- if their tenant has been found not to be vulnerable, the
landlord appeal rights against this decision
Examples of vulnerability
Reasons for paying the landlord instead of the tenant might be
because the tenant:
- has a medical condition (affecting their mental or physical
health)
- has a learning disability or physical disability
- does not speak English as their first language
- is going through some changes that means the tenant needs some
extra support
- is dealing with an addiction (to alcohol or drugs)
- has severe debt problems, for example, CCJs, bankruptcy or a
bad credit rating preventing them from opening a bank account
In all cases, evidence will be sought to support requests to pay
LHA direct to landlords.
Please see link below for our information leaflet on the
Local Housing Allowance Safeguard Policy
LHA Safeguard
Policy