Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council

Rent Arrears

If you believe your tenant is claiming Housing Benefit and has rent arrears you should get in touch straightaway. We may not be able to discuss their claim with you, but;

• if the rent arrears are equivalent to 8 weeks or more we may be able to pay benefit directly to you even without your tenant's consent.
• if the rent arrears are less than 8 weeks we may suspend payments of benefit to your tenant. We will contact them to discuss the situation. We cannot automatically pay benefit to you.

When you contact us you will need to confirm;

• how much the rent is,
• how much the rent arrears are, and at what date,
• when the tenant last made a payment and how much, and
• if you have discussed the arrears with your tenant.

You can call us on (01642) 393829, visit your local Customer Services Centre or write to us at 16 Church Road, Stockton, TS18 1TX.

Obtaining rent arrears from your tenants state benefits
If your tenant is in rent arrears, usually of 4 weeks rent or more, you can make a request to deduct an amount from the benefit they are receiving to help cover the rent arrears. The amount that can be recovered each week is set by the Department for Work and Pensions and is referred to as third party deductions. 

To request third party deductions you need to contact the local Benefit Delivery Centre. For the Stockton area you can call; 

• Jobcentre Plus on 0845 600 1651.
• The Pension Service on 0845 606 0265

You will need to set up a creditors account with them and make an application for each tenant in rent arrears.

If your tenant is struggling financially further information can be found in our Money Matters pages.