Landlord Tenant disputes

• It is important for landlords to remember that just because a tenant is in receipt of Housing Benefit the Housing Benefit department has no liability to pay the tenant's rent.
• Your tenant has not been recommended by the Housing Benefit department and we have no responsibility as to the tenant's behaviour.
• The tenant is your tenant and it is your responsibility to collect your rent.

Dispute number 1 - Landlord does not agree with the date that the tenant has advised they have vacated the property

In this situation the Housing benefit department often finds itself 'piggy in the middle'. If we have received a signed declaration from your tenant confirming that they have moved on a specific date we are obliged to act on their instructions unless we have good reason not to do so. If your tenant has not cleared your property of their belongings we do not need to know. If you feel that your tenant owes you rent after the date they have declared to us or that they have moved, you should take action to recover your losses in the same way as you would when a tenant does not receive benefit. It is your tenant's responsibility to pay the outstanding rent. Data protection does not allow us to tell where your tenant has moved to.

Dispute number 2 - Tenant requests that the final payment of Housing Benefit due at old address is paid direct to them because the landlord will not return deposit

These cases are easier for the Housing Benefit department to mediate because the final payment has not yet been made. In these cases the procedure would be to suspend Housing Benefit payments until the situation is resolved between the landlord and tenant. We would write to the landlord and advise them of the situation. If the landlord and tenant cannot agree a decision each case would be considered individually.