Housing Benefit Advice for Landlords To view the documents on this page, you will need Adobe Reader.
Housing benefit can help tenants on low income pay their rent. It is paid by the local council but based upon rules that have been set by the government. Major changes to the way housing benefit is calculated and paid to those in the private rented sector have been introduced from April 7 2008.
Housing benefit
- Is based upon the level of rent, income, savings and personal circumstances of the tenant and those living in the household
- It may be paid if the tenant is on a low income; they do not need to be in receipt of other benefits
- Is sometimes called rent rebate, rent allowance or Local Housing Allowance
- Does not cover day-to-day costs (for example if the rent includes food, water charges, heating or personal laundry then these will not be covered by housing benefit)
- Must be claimed by the tenant but must usually be paid to the tenant except in special circumstances. To find out more about this please see the Local Housing Allowance Safeguards Policy. In some cases we will also be able to discuss the claim directly with the landlord
We are limited as to the information we can disclose, if any, to you, about your tenant's claim for housing benefit. However, we do recognise that sharing information with you can help us deal with the claim more quickly and resolve any outstanding issues. For example, we may wish to confirm the tenancy start date.
Your tenant will need to provide authorisation to us if he/she would like details of their claim discussed with you. They can do this in one of the following ways
Once we have this we will be able to discuss the claim for housing benefit but we will not discuss their personal or financial circumstances.
For more information and advice in respect of Housing Benefit and the new Local Housing Allowance scheme, please download our landlord information booklet.
Please click here if you would like information on becoming an accredited landlord.
Contact us
By telephone
020 7525 1880 - housing and council tax benefit
020 7525 1850 - council tax
By post
Council Tax Section
London Borough Of Southwark
P.O. Box 782
Bromley
BR1 3YE
Please indicate which department your query is for.
In person
Bermondsey One Stop Shop
Spa Road
Bermondsey
SE16 3QN
Peckham One Stop Shop
Ground Floor
Peckham Library
122 Peckham Hill Street
SE15 5JR
Walworth One Stop Shop
151 Walworth Road
London
SE17 1RY
Dulwich Area Housing Office
41-43 East Dulwich Road
Dulwich
SE22 9BY
All one stop shops are open from Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. In addition, Peckham one stop shop is open on Saturday, 9am to 1pm.
By email
Housing/council tax benefit: souhousingbenefitsuk@liberata.com
Council tax: Soucounciltaxuk@Liberata.com |