No job + no guarantor = No Home and Crisis wonder why?

Hi, just reading through everyones' comments concerning housing benefit and thought I would let you know about my experience. I had a tenant who was with me for five years claiming housing benefit which was at the time paid direct to me. She never ever paid her top up of £25 per month despite numerous gentle reminders. I was not too bothered about not receiving the top up as quite honestly it was cheaper to let this go than to have a void and I was guaranteed the rent as i was being paid direct. Unfortunately my tenant's circumstances changed and her housing benefit was suspended until the local authority had the information they had requested - again I was not too bothered as I knew that when they had the information, I would be paid all monies owed. In the meantime I had cause to give my tenant Notice to Quit. I then realised that my tenant could go into the local authority offices and request that payment be made direct to her and so I telephoned them to point out that I was worried she would do this. I was assured that this would not happen and that any payments owed to me since the housing benefit had been suspended would be sent to me. I sat back and relaxed only to then receive a letter shortly thereafter informing me that they had reinstated the housing benefit and that all payments had been sent to my tenant! I telephoned the offices immediately and was informed that they could not discuss anything with me as my tenant had told them she didn't want them telling me anything and so they would not give me anymore information. After a battle and demanding to speak to someone in higher authority i managed to find out that my tenant had sent a letter from me stating that i was happy for her to have the housing benefit paid to her - a sum well over £2,000! This letter was obviously forged and it appeared that no information about my earlier phone call had been put on the system - a complete mess up by the local authority who then had the cheek to tell me that it wasn't their problem and i had to claim it back from my tenant. Needless to say I fought my case and although it took a few months, I got my money back - again another story why you should not let housing benefit tenants have your property.

Hi Rose

I think that actually you were VERY lucky indeed to get the money back. I heard a very similar story but in that case the money was never recovered. The tenant decided to spend it all on an overseas holiday before the case went to Court. The landlord did manage to get a CCJ against the tenant, which cost another few hundred pounds and a lot of time a grief. However, enforcement of the judgement, which took even more time and was even more stressful and problematic, resulted in the tenant having £8.63 per month deducted from benefits!

To my way of thinking the case should have been treated as fraud. The benefits were paid to pay for accommodation. Instead the funds were misappropriated and squandered on a holiday. The landlords property was repossessed and sold at a loss. The landlord is facing bankruptcy.

If only the landlord had taken a guarantee this may never have happened.

I have long conjectured the problem of bankruptcy facing LL who take on LHA tenants without the resources to cover mortgage payments if the tenant refuses to pay LHA and then is evicted.
I didn't appreciate you actually know of this happening.
I think a bit like Mary Latham always says that every tenant is a P45 away from being an LHA tenant; that this situation should concentrate LL minds to take out RGI if at al possible on existing or soon to be tenants of their's.
Every LL with an LHA tenant is at risk of bankruptcy if they don't have resources to cover those mortgage payments.
£99.00 is pretty cheap for the cover you can obtain.
I am a classic example of learning from my mistake and consequently am NOT facing bankruptcy as I have a RGI policy which has paid out £10000 so far on my wrongun tenant.
I thank whoever that I took out the RGI policy otherwise I could be facing the situation of the LL you have mentioned.
Perhaps an article from you concerning all the latest ways a LL may protect themselves from non-rent paying tenants.
There are quite a few products out there and I am sure LL would like to see a critique of all the relevant products to assist them tyo make a possible purchasing decision.
To think that UC will hand vast amounts of money to these LHA tenants just doesn't bear thinking about.
All those formerly direct payment receiving LL of LHA could face the issues of the LL you have mentioned.
Not a pleasant thought!!

Sounds like a nasty, vindictive, greedy and lazy attack on individuals. Criminalising is unlikely to be a deterrent, to non-payment and will just result in more people with criminal records. And huge public expense on handling these new criminal prosecutions.

I suspect your real motivation is simply to move a business cost (managing non-payment) from yourself to the taxpayer.

If landlords don't want to rent to under 35's on benefits, it is simply because the return does not match the risk. There is a perfectly reasonable and sensible mechanism for addressing this problem, and requires no change in law. Landlords simply need to let the authorities know what premium it would take for them to rent to under 35's on benefits. Job Done.

As a landlord your prying into a tenants business extends only to compliance with contract - and so risk associated with non-compliance.

For pretty obvious reasons housing/renting gets special treatment in law - if you don't like it, invest in something else, and sell your properties for others who can make it work.

I have got a tennant living in my house he has not payed any rent for 6 mounts and i can not get him out . He has beeten me up and is now on leagel aid and is suing me for harasment i am going bankrupt
we are up in court on 15th of November and i have no one to talk to and am going out of my mind i am 66 years old There should be a law to protect landlords but we are looked on as leaches if and when he leaves he can go and do this to some one elece and get away free There should be a law where he can go to prison for theft the same way as if he robed
any one elece
when we go to court the judge will say [ in the intresst of justist we will have to have a proper court case and that will take another 6 mounts to get a court date ] where is the Justis for me John Handley

Reply to the comment left by "john handley" at "03/10/2013 - 13:36":

Hi John

You really need to talk to Landlord Action - see >>> http://www.property118.com/tenant-eviction/39099/
.

Oh heavens John, I hope you sort this out! Did you speak to Landlord Action?