Landlords

Overview

The Benefit Service holds the following forums:

a quarterly private landlord forum. If you are interested in participating, please contact Kate McKivett on

Email:Kate.McKivett@birmingham.gov.uk
Telephone: 0121 464 3581

If you are a Landlord who is not receiving payments of rent from your tenant you should ensure that, before contacting the Benefit Service, you have spoken to your tenant and agreed repayment terms. If the tenant is experiencing financial difficulties they should be advised to contact the Benefit Service direct.

Payment dates can be found in the essential information below.

Changes to the way we deal with calls from Landlords

From 1 January 2013, the way our Customer Contact Centre deals with queries from landlords will change.

From that date, contact centre advisors will only be able to deal with two queries per call. If you require further advice and information, you will need to make another call.

If you are a Registered Social Landlord and you receive monthly reports from the Benefit Service, contact centre advisors will not be able to answer any queries regarding the status of your tenants' claims.

Important changes to housing benefit

Essential Information

Do you have a tenant who is in receipt of or has claimed Housing Benefit or Local Housing Allowance and is in arrears with their rent? If so, please contact the Benefit Service immediately using one of the methods below:

By email: ptmailbox@birmingham.gov.uk

Please note that this email address cannot accept email with attachments - if you need to provide further information, please copy and paste it into the body of your email.

By writing to:

Benefit Service

Birmingham City Council

PO Box 8267

Birmingham

B4 7XF

It would help if when you contact us you quote the following:
- Your landlord code
- Your full name and address
- Your tenant's full name and address
- Weekly rent payable
- Amount of arrears and date court action started
- Preferred method of reply - telephone/letter/email, and appropriate contact details
Please visit the Local Housing Allowance page for more details. Alternatively, you can find the LHA - Information for Landlords document attached at the bottom of this page.
The Benefit Service recognises that in certain circumstances it will be in everyone's best interest that the landlord receives the Local Housing Allowance entitlement of their tenant. We are eager to get this right so that it works effectively. To this end, we have produced a Safeguard Policy, which can be found in the attachments section below.

From April 2011, extra provision to pay Local Housing Allowance direct to landlord was created. Details of this can be read in Additional Landlord Direct Provision from April 2011, which can be found in the attachment section below.

If you have any general enquires regarding Local Housing Allowance, or housing benefit in general, please contact Kate McKivett:

By email: Kate.McKivett@birmingham.gov.uk
By telephone: 0121 464 3581

More information can be found on the DirectGov website
The Accommodate Newsletter is produced by the City Council for Private Landlords in Birmingham.

Please see below the Housing Benefit payment dates for the period January 2013 to April 2013.

Please be aware that where there is any underpayment of benefit for claims processed outside of these dates, payment will be made direct to the landlord . Subsequent payments will then follow the payment run dates as follows:

Week Number	Payment run date	Schedule 2012/13	Payment start date	Payment end date
41	07/01/2013	Landlord 4 weeks in arrears	17/12/2012	13/01/2013
		Landlord and tenants 2 weeks in arrears	31/12/2012	13/01/2013
42	14/01/2013	Immediate payments only
43	21/01/2013	Landlord and tenants 2 weeks in arrears	14/01/2013	27/01/2013
		Tenants 2 weeks in advance	28/01/2013	10/02/2013
44	28/01/2013	Immediate payments only
45	04/02/2013	Landlord 4 weeks in arrears	14/01/2013	10/02/2013
		Landlord and tenants 2 weeks in arrears	28/01/2013	10/02/2013
		Tenants 2 weeks in advance	11/02/2013	24/02/2013
46	11/02/2013	Immediate payments only
47	18/02/2013	Landlord and tenants 2 weeks in arrears	11/02/2013	24/02/2013
		Tenants 2 weeks in advance	25/02/2013	10/03/2013
48	25/02/2013	Immediate payments only
49	04/03/2013	Landlord 4 weeks in arrears	11/02/2013	10/03/2013
		Landlord and tenants 2 weeks in arrears	25/02/2013	10/03/2012
		Tenants 2 weeks in advance	11/03/2013	24/03/2013
50	11/03/2013	Immediate payments only
51	18/03/2013	Landlord and tenants 2 weeks in arrears	11/03/2013	24/03/2013
		Tenants 2 weeks in advance	25/03/2013	07/04/2013
52	25/03/2013	Immediate payments only
53	01/04/2013	Landlord 4 weeks in arrears	11/03/2013	07/04/2013
		Landlord and tenants 2 weeks in arrears	25/03/2013	07/04/2013
		Tenants 2 weeks in advance	08/04/2013	21/04/2013

Frequently Asked Questions

- If you are not receiving payments from your tenant then you should first of all speak to them and see if you can arrange a mutually agreed repayment schedule.
  
  If you determine that your tenant is experiencing financial difficulties then you should direct them to contact us urgently.
  
  If the tenant is more than 8 weeks in arrears then please contact us to consider direct payments on:
  
  ptmailbox@birmingham.gov.uk
- Please email us at ptmailbox@birmingham.gov.uk, giving details of the letter you require.
  
  Please note that this email address cannot accept email with attachments - if you need to provide further information, please copy and paste it into the body of your email.
- Housing Benefit (including Local Housing Allowance) is a means tested benefit and your tenant may not be entitled to benefit covering the full contractual weekly or monthly rent. If the rent level stated on the benefit notification letter does not match the contractual rent you charge, you can make further enquiries by emailing us at ptmailbox@birmingham.gov.uk.
- Please note that it can take up to 5 working days from the date the payment is issued to when it is credited to your account. If you have still not received the payment at this time please contact us at ptmailbox@birmingham.gov.uk.
- Please either write to us at:
  
  Benefit Service
  Birmingham City Council
  PO Box 8267
  Birmingham
  
  or email us at ptmailbox@birmingham.gov, giving full details.
  
  Please note that this email address cannot accept email with attachments - if you need to provide further information, please copy and paste it into the body of your email.
- The decision has been made on your tenant's claim, so as a landlord you are unable to appeal. However, you may ask for the claim to be looked at again.
  
  Please either write to us at:
  
  Benefit Service
  Birmingham City Council
  PO Box 8267
  Birmingham
  B4 7XF
  
  or email us at ptmailbox@birmingham.gov, giving full details.
  
  Please note that this email address cannot accept email with attachments - if you need to provide further information, please copy and paste it into the body of your email.
- Please either write to us at:
  
  Benefit Service
  Birmingham City Council
  PO Box 8267
  Birmingham
  B4 7XF
  
  or email us at ptmailbox@birmingham.gov, giving full details.
  
  Please note that this email address cannot accept email with attachments - if you need to provide further information, please copy and paste it into the body of your email.
- Yes, as long as the claimant has either
  
  • Signed Part 16 of the housing benefit claim form; or
  • Completed Section 11 of an electronic benefit claim form; or
  • Written to us giving us permission to allow you access to their benefit claim.
  
  Also, as the landlord you must be able to provide us with the following information when contacting us about your tenant's claim:
  
  • Your name and/or company name;
  • Your address and/or company address;
  • Your tenant's name and address;
  • Your landlord code, if you have one.
  
  You can find more detailed information on the Landlord Advice pages.
- Please call us on 0121 464 8248 to make a suitable payment arrangement.
- Please visit www.birmingham.gov.uk/lha and view the attachments at the bottom of the page.