Benefit advice if you are a landlord

Information we can give you about Housing Benefits

The details of any benefit claim made by your tenant/contract holder are confidential. If Housing Benefit is not being paid to you, we cannot even tell you if a benefit claim has been made unless we have your tenant/contract holder's consent to do so.

If Housing Benefit is payable to you, we will be able to tell you:

• the weekly entitlement (how much you will get paid)
• when the benefit starts and finishes
• when the entitlement changes

No other information about a claim can be given to landlords unless we have written consent from the tenant/contract holder to do so.

Can we pay your tenant/contract holder's Housing Benefit direct to you?

Usually, for most new tenants/contract holders, the answer to this question is no. New tenants/contract holders usually claim Housing benefit under the Local Housing Allowance rules and cannot simply choose to have any benefit paid directly to their landlord.

We may be able to make the payment direct to you in the following circumstances. We will need to be told that one or more of the criteria may apply and will need to see evidence supporting any statements made:

• if your tenant/contract holder has rent arrears of eight weeks or more please contact us as soon as possible. When we are satisfied that there is less than eight weeks owing we can start paying your tenant/contract holder again
• if your tenant/contract holder is vulnerable and unable to manage their affairs
• if your tenant/contract holder is unlikely to pay their rent
• if your tenant/contract holder is having deductions made from Income Support or Jobseeker's Allowance to pay off rent arrears

How to request Housing Benefit payments are made to a landlord

The best way to ask us for direct payments of a tenants/contract holders Housing Benefit is download and fill in the form below and then email to benefits@swansea.gov.uk.

Local Housing Allowance payment to landlord request form (PDF) [48KB]

This form is available in Welsh - click on 'Cymraeg' in the top right corner of your screen.

If your tenants/contract holders have been with you for some time (usually years) and their Housing Benefit claim does not come under the Local Housing Allowance rules, they can choose for payments to be made directly to you. However, please be aware that they can also ask us to stop paying you direct at any time.

If your tenant/contract holder receives Universal Credit

If your tenant/contract holder is receipt of Universal Credit all landlord queries or requests for payments are dealt with by the Department for Work and Pensions. You can find further information and advice on the Gov.uk website Universal Credit: information for landlords pages (opens new window).