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Thinking of renting private accommodation?
Likely to need help with the rent?
Before you take on a tenancy and claim Housing Benefit, apply for a Pre-Tenancy Determination.
If you are thinking of renting accommodation from a private landlord (not the Council) and you are likely to need help from Housing Benefit to pay your rent, you can now find out how much of that rent will be used to work out your Housing Benefit before you decide to rent the property.
A Pre-Tenancy Determination is a rental valuation by the independent Rent Officer Service. This valuation gives you the rent figure which will be used by the Council to work out your Housing Benefit.
Remember that when your Housing Benefit is worked out it will take account of your income and other circumstances. The Pre-Tenancy Determination does not guarantee that you will get Housing Benefit or tell you the amount you will get.
Fill in and sign the attached form, which asks you for details about the property you are thinking of renting. You will need information from the landlord to fill in the form and they must sign the form as well. Once the form is filled in and signed, send it or take it to the Council at the address on the next page.
The Housing Benefit office will ask the Rent Officer Service to value the property and decide how much rent it would be reasonable to pay for it. You will normally get your decision within seven working days. If they have made a valuation on that property on the same tenancy terms within the last 12 months that valuation will still stand and the Council will send you a copy of this decision. See the section below the Rent Officers Decision and your housing benefit which explains the Rent Officer's decision and how it will affect your Housing Benefit.
Keep this part of the leaflet in a safe place and read it again when you get the Rent Officer's decision.
The Rent Officer will send you, the landlord, and the Council copies of this decision. The information he gives you will help you decide whether you can afford the rent that is being asked. If you decide to take the accommodation you should claim Housing Benefit at once. Go the the Benefits Home page to download and print a Housing Benefit and Council Tax claim form.
The Council will send your application for a Pre- Tenancy Determination to the Rent Officer. You will normally get your decision within seven working days. The Rent Officer may need to look at the property you are thinking of renting, and if so, will make arrangements with the landlord to visit it.
The Rent Officer will consider such things as the rent charged, and what services are included in the rent, the number of rooms in the property, the size of your household, the length and terms of the tenancy and the general level of rents of property in the area.
From this information the Rent Officer will decide how much the property is worth in the rental market and how much is generally paid in the area for a property of a suitable size for you and members of your family who live with you.
If you are single and under 25 years of age the Rent Officer will make another decision. This will be based on the cost of a non self contained room (where you have shared use of Kitchen and toilet facilities) in the same area, as the property for which you are seeking the Pre-Tenancy determination. This will be known as the single room rent. These decisions will stand for 12 months from the date they were made.
The decision notice that the Rent Officer sends you will tell you the maximum rent figure that will generally be used in working out your Housing Benefit. Generally, the maximum rent figure is arrived at by using two figures worked out by the rent officer. The first is the figure that the rent officer thinks is a reasonable rent for the property or one of a suitable size for you and your family. The second figure is the rent officer's average rent based on properties of the same size in the area.
If the notice is for someone who is single and is under 25 years of age it will state the single room rent. This is the maximum rent which will be used to work out your Housing Benefit.
It will also give you other information including details of any services (such as laundry or room cleaning) paid for in your rent which Housing Benefit cannot help with. The maximum rent figure will go down if your rent includes charges for other items. The maximum rent figure can be further reduced by the Housing Benefit office when they come to work out your benefit if the figure seems to them to be unreasonably high for your particular accommodation needs.
The Rent Officer's decision does not guarantee that you will get Housing Benefit or tell you the amount you will get. This will be worked out by the Council and will depend on your income and other circumstances. You may be able to get some additional help with your rent if your circumstances are exceptional. If you get Housing Benefit it will be paid from the date of your Housing Benefit claim and not the date of your Pre-Tenancy Determination application.
If you want to claim Housing Benefit or need further information contact the Benefits Services and they will tell you what to do next.
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