26/09/2010 
LRS_memberHaving just read this annoying madness, I too have been a victim of this insanity, may I say first that I have signed your petition and forwarded it on to at least two other Landlords I know. Now moving to my experiences with LHA tenants and direct payment to them via the council.
I have in the last two weeks spent time and effort writing and posting to Birmingham city council 5 requests for direct payment to myself, as I have not received my rent from 5 tenants, who are all now more than 8 weeks in arrears, is this not telling local and main government something? idiots!. One tenant who now owes me £538.36 in rent, had his LHA paid to him self direct into his bank account and spent it on going back home to Albania for a couple of weeks, another one has not paid me any rent for more than 8 weeks now, because he is unhappy with the standard of cleaning that my cleaner carries out once a week (HMO), and so it goes on, so I think at the end of it all, I will loose, about £1,500, and have lost more in the past, thanks to idiots who sit in the houses of Parliament, and do not live in the real world.
Regards
Philip Savva
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yes i know how you are feeling i have been having the same problem, my tenants are in £3000 rent arrears despite my best efforts and endless letters to birmingham city council the tenants are still receiving the payments and not me. the counicl department will not discuss anything with me because the tenant hasn’t given authority.the system makes mockery out of landlords and work for the tenant. i have to deal with not just a rogue tenant but the rogue bureacratic system too.
Our local council in Lincolnshire is now working with landlords in the private rental sector to try to prevent the problems you have encountered. I have just let two properties to LHA tenants on condition the rent is paid directly to me. Obviously the tenant has to be in agreement with this arrangement, but having been stung so many time in the past by LHA tenants I will now only let them have the tenancy if I get the rent direct. I put this in writing to the benefits office saying we are both in agreement with this arrangement and they do the rest. Our council also runs landlord forums, it might be worth finding out if your council has anything like this or would consider doing something like this in the future. This does not protect you from tenants that do a runner but at least you know you will get the rent until their benefits are stopped.