Housing Benefit and Universal Credit: Landlords
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the verification of the accuracy of service costs covered by both Housing Benefit and Universal Credit when paid directly to a landlord.
Answered by Sir Stephen Timms
Housing costs support is available in Housing Benefit or Universal Credit to those who have a liability to pay rent and eligible service charges for the home they live in.
The verification process is designed to establish the costs that the claimant has a liability for. The role of the Department is to determine the level of the liability as set out in the tenancy agreement, and to meet those costs in accordance with the Housing Benefit Regulations 2006 and the Universal Credit Regulations 2013.
The Department does not collect data about payments made for services that were either not provided or were billed above the actual cost incurred by the landlord.
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