Pre-tenancy determination (PTD) give certain tenants who are thinking of renting their home from a private landlord an idea about how much rent will be used to work out their Housing Benefit (HB) entitlement.
You generally do not need to get a PTD if you are going to move into privately rented accommodation. Instead, we publish monthly Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates, so that you can work out the maximum rent level of rent we will use to work out your HB entitlement.
Tenancies that are not affected by the LHA rules
PTDs can be given for certain tenancies that do not fall within the LHA rules. Details of these tenancies are given in the Local Housing Allowance page.
They can also be provided if the landlord is going to increase the rent and a PTD was made more than 52 weeks ago. The new PTD will give us the maximum rent we can use if the rent is increased.
How to apply
Contact us preferably by telephone or by visiting us.
Alternatively you can download a pre-tenancy determination request form and the guidance notes below:
Pre-tenancy determination request form
Remember, you and your prospective landlord must sign it.
What happens next
We will check if the request form is properly completed and the property is in Merton. We will attempt to fax it to the Rent Service within 48 hours of receipt.
The Valuation Office Agency gives the result of the PTD in five working days to:
- you as the prospective tenant;
- your prospective landlord or agent; and
- Merton Benefit Service.
Contact us
For more details about our opening hours and how to contact us, go to Merton Benefits Service contact page.