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Housing Benefit Reassessment

Ingrid
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Advice, Union of brunel Students

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Total Posts: 2

Joined: 18 October 2017

Following HB reassessment Claimant’s rent was underpaid.  Claimant’s rent account was up-to-date during HB reassessment period and had a small credit surplus.  LA then credited Claimant’s rent account with HB reassessment payment directly to L/L.  Claimant asked for a refund from L/L as Claimant’s rent account now had a high level of credit in their rent account.

However, L/L has stated to the Claimant because it was a payment from a third party (LA) they would have to transfer the credit payment back to LA and then for Claimant to contact LA directly to get a refund.  LA’s HB reassessment letter states:  “If you have been paying the shortfall you might be due a refund from them.”

We are not in a UC full service area.

Is the process or response the Claimant has received from the L/L correct?  Can the Claimant request directly from LA the HB amount? 

Stainsby
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Welfare rights adviser - Plumstead Community Law Centre

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Joined: 17 June 2010

The landlord is talking absolute nonesense.

The principle was put beyond doubt many years ago in R vLB Haringey ex p Azad Ayub 13 April 1992 QBD CO/1402/91

Scheimann J held at [P3E]

“In principle , the person entitled to housing benefit is the tenant and not the landlord….!

And at [P17E-G]

When a Council is making a payment to a landlord under Regulation 93 or 94 of rent allowance to which the tenants B-Z are entitled it is in effect acting as the agent of those tenants and paying their rent for them.  Upon such a payment being made the tenant’s liability is pro tanto extinguished and the latter cannot sue for more payment of that rent or re-possess the property on the basis of non payment of that rent”

There is of course no reason why the tenant could not sue for restitution if he has effectively paid his rent twice over.

The tenant is of course free at any time to rescind his consent for the HB to be paid direct to the landlord and to withhold any future payments until the credit on the rent account is exhausted.

There is no obligation on the tenant ( in the sense that he could be prosecuted if he failed in that obligation cf the obligation to disclose a change of circumstances) to use housing benefit payments to discharge his rent liability to the landlord.  This was put beyond doubt in Director of Public Prosecutions V Huskinson 9 May 1988 152 JP 582, [1988] Crim LR 620

 

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