FOI request (FOI-65905123)

I am writing to request the names of the 25 individual or corporate landlords, excluding housing associations, who have received the largest amounts of housing benefit over the last three financial years (ie. between 1/4/14 and 31/3/17).

In each case, please include housing benefit payments made directly to the landlords and, if possible, payments made to tenants which you are able to link to landlords.

I would like to draw your attention to an ICO ruling on the use of the Section 40 exemption in this context. It ruled in favour of the disclosure of the names of individual landlords: https://ico.org.uk/media/action-weve-taken/decision-notices/2015/1043296/fs_50547446.pdf