Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint from a landlord about his tenant’s housing benefit. This is because he cannot achieve the outcome the complainant would like.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Mr X, says the Council owes him housing benefit.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if we believe we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
3. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone can appeal to a tribunal. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to appeal. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
4. The Social Entitlement Chamber (also known as the Social Security Appeal Tribunal) is a tribunal that considers housing benefit appeals. (The Social Entitlement Chamber of the First Tier Tribunal)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I read the complaint and the Council’s responses. I invited Mr X to comment on a draft of this decision.

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What I found

Housing benefit and tenants

6. Tenants can claim housing benefit to help pay their rent. Housing Benefit is being replaced by Universal Credit which is administered by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Universal Credit incorporates a range of benefits including housing benefit. It is the tenant’s responsibility to claim benefit and take action if they disagree with a benefit decision. It is the tenant’s responsibility to pay their rent regardless of whether they receive benefit.
7. A landlord cannot claim benefit on behalf of a tenant and has no right to receive benefit. A landlord has the right to receive rent from their tenant and can take action against the tenant if the tenant does not pay their rent.

What happened

8. Mr X rented a property to a tenant from 30 November 2018. The tenant claimed housing benefit from 5 December. He did not ask for backdating. The Council awarded housing benefit from 10 December. The tenant had asked the Council to pay the housing benefit to Mr X. The Council paid £284 to Mr X. This was benefit from 10 to 30 December.
9. Mr X says the tenant applied for Universal Credit on 17 December. The tenant received his first payment of Universal Credit in January.
10. The Council realised it should not have awarded housing benefit to the tenant because he was required to apply for Universal Credit. The Council cancelled the housing benefit and told the tenant he needed to apply for Universal Credit. The Council told the tenant it should not have awarded the £284. It decided that neither the tenant, nor Mr X, needed to repay the £284. This means Mr X can keep £284 that the tenant was not entitled to (through no fault of the tenant or Mr X). The Council explained it cannot pay any housing benefit to the tenant because he is required to claim help with his rent through Universal Credit.
11. Mr X says he has been scammed out of the rent he should have received from housing benefit. He wants the Council to pay him the outstanding benefit.

Assessment

12. Mr X has no entitlement to housing benefit because he is not a tenant. He can receive payments of housing benefit but only as they reflect the tenant’s entitlement. Mr X has a right to receive rent, from the tenant, as stated in the tenancy agreement. Mr X can take action against the tenant if he has rent arrears.
13. The tenant could have used his appeal rights if he disagreed with any of the housing benefit decisions. This could include, for example, if the tenant disagreed that he was required to claim Universal Credit or disagreed with the start date of a claim. It is reasonable to expect the tenant to use his appeal rights because that is the appropriate way to deal with benefit disputes. It is for the tenant, not the landlord, to challenge benefit decisions he thinks are wrong.
14. The Council cannot pay housing benefit to the tenant because he lives in an area where people are required to claim help with their rent through Universal Credit. I cannot change this and could not ask the Council to pay any money to Mr X.

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Final decision

15. I will not start an investigation because Mr X has no entitlement to benefit, his tenant could have used his appeal rights, and I cannot achieve the outcome Mr X would like.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman