We would like to introduce London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham’s Direct Lettings to you.
Direct Lettings is a rent deposit guarantee scheme that was launched in April 2003 and has ensured that over seven hundred households have entered into Private Sector tenancies.
Our aim is to assist families who are deemed capable of maintaining a Private Sector Tenancy by providing an rent deposit guarantee and in-borough housing benefit ‘fast-tracking’.
We have been working hard in partnership with private landlords and lettings agents but due to the increased popularity of the scheme we have a growing number of applicants which are currently outnumbering our portfolio of available properties.
This is where you come in.
(*This is offered subject to you giving us nomination rights for the property for 12 months)
We have a wide range of applicants looking for a variety of self-contained units ranging from 1 to 4 bedroom properties. There is currently a great demand for 2 bedroom properties but we should be able to make use of all properties up to 4 bedrooms.
Housing Benefits are a key stakeholder in the Direct Lettings process. We are fully aware that agents and landlords may have anxieties about letting to low income tenants due to uncertainties about the running and administration of the HB scheme.
To allay those anxieties, we have put in place a working agreement with our Housing Benefit Service to fast track in-borough claims made under the Direct Lettings Scheme. We also have a close working relationship with Ealing Borough Council.
Many of the major players in the lettings market are now welcoming HB applicants as they recognise that they are able to vastly increase their pool of ready-to-move tenants. We hope you will join them.
Rents are agreed in line with local reference rents. We will therefore ask you to sign a Pre-Tenancy Determination (PTD) form to enable us to find out the local reference/market rent for the property from the rent officer. We can then negotiate the rental level with this firmly in mind.
The balance that we have to achieve is an acceptable standard that does not compromise on tenants’ safety but does not act to deter you as landlords from letting through the scheme.
The properties we accept must be in a good condition. We require a Corgi- registered gas certificate and prefer to have an electrical safety certificate and smoke detector.
You as the Landlord (or your Managing Agent) will take care of the day-to-day management of your property. However, at your request we will provide you with free advice on how to manage your property.
No, we will not. We do not ask you for exclusive nomination rights to your properties and have no problem with you simultaneously looking for applicants in the private sector. We only ask for the opportunity to find you a potential tenant and to be kept updated with availability.
If you are, we would like to establish a business relationship with you.
For an informal chat please call:
Lindsay Davidson 0208 753 4182 or
Peter Gale 0208 753 1205
We look forward to doing business with you.
Dear Landlord,
Housing Benefit Payments to Landlords/Agents
The Council understands that trying to make housing benefit payments reconcile with a contractual rent can be difficult. This letter will explain the way we make payments and why.
Housing benefit is paid directly to you by Bank Automated Credit System (BACS). Therefore we require you to provide your chosen account number, account name and sort code.
All new claims for housing benefit are paid four-weekly (lunar monthly) in arrears to landlords/agents. We have no discretion over this. So this letter concentrates on working out when you’ll get regular payments and what period they will cover.
Firstly, we will pass the benefit application to our dedicated Housing Benefits Officer, who’s only responsibility is Direct Lettings Claims. The Council aim to make a payment of benefit within 14 days of receiving a complete benefit form. This means that you will receive a small payment to start and then a second payment shortly afterwards (these are known as “payments on account”). The purpose of these interim payments is to get things moving on the application, but the full benefit from the start of the tenancy soon follows in a lump sum. Regular set payments ensue and the Council always send you a statement every time a payment is produced.
If you decide to express the rent as a calendar-monthly figure on your agreement, please note the formula used for converting calendar-monthly rents into four-weekly payments:
For example, on a calendar monthly rent of £1000:
Full annual rent due: £1000 multiplied by 12 months = £12,000 £12,000 divided by 365 days, multiplied by 7 = £230.14 per week £230.14 multiplied by 4 = £920.56 every 4 weeks.
Consequently you will receive the equivalent of 13 “four-weekly” instalments instead of 12 calendar-monthly instalments over the course of a year’s tenancy agreement.
We can provide a fast-tracked benefit service for properties within our borough. However, if the property is outside of our borough, we cannot give such an undertaking.
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