Rent Officers and Lettings Information
~Help us to help you, and your tenants~
Hopefully many landlords in the area will
have already had some contact with Rent Officers. As part of
the Government’s wider Welfare Reform agenda Rent Officers were
heavily involved in the implementation of the Local Housing
Allowance (LHA) which took effect for new claimants in April 2008.
It applies to private sector tenants who make a new claim for
benefit and for existing customers on Housing Benefit who change
address or move into private sector accommodation.
Local Housing Allowance is based on rents
achieved in the local Private Rented Sector (PRS). It is not
dependent on the opinion of Rent Officers. LHA is calculated from a
list of rents gathered across a geographic area known as a Broad
Rental Market Area (BRMA). Local Authorities apply the allowance
according to the number of bedrooms a claimant is entitled
to.
To ensure the LHA follows the market we
continually gather lettings information from all available sources.
As landlords you can make an impact by providing examples
of properties let on the form provided. The more
comprehensive the list of rents the more accurately the LHA will
track the market so tenants receive an appropriate level of
benefit.
There are three ways in which you can send
information to us:
Lettings Information Form:
By clicking
here and completing and returning the proforma with details of
the property or properties you currently let or rent. Which
you can fax to: 0191 220 7010
Or send to: Mr Stephen Bertram, Valuation
Office Agency, Wycliffe House, Green Lane, Durham, DH1 3UW.
Further copies available on request and from
our new parent website www.voa.gov.uk
You can also email us at: nsohelpdesk@voa.gsi.gov.uk
Telephone/Email:
Contact Stephen Bertram on 0781 801 6034 or by
e-mail at George.S.Bertram@voa.gsi.gov.uk. We
are happy to receive information over the phone, arrange a visit or
attend local landlord forums.
Bulk Data Transfer:
We can accept larger amounts of information
electronically.
Please call: 0845 0264 696 to discuss this
option further.
The Valuation Office Agency (Rent Officer
Functions) ensures the collection, storage, use and disposal of any
lettings information is strictly controlled to comply completely
with the Data Protection Act (DPA) 1998. Rent Officers do not share
this information with anyone else.
~ Thank you for helping us to help you, and your tenants ~
