Housing Benefit and letting to parents

bestpud

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

I agree with much of what you've posted but there was a thread recently where someone claiming HB for rent whch was partially paid by the father. Several very knowledgeable members were absolutely certain that these payments were voluntary and wouldn't be counted as income. I don't know which of you is right.

I don't know, but would it make a difference that the son actually owns this property?

I think the father in the other thread was just contributing to a commercial rent, wasn't he?

Oldernotwiser

bestpud wrote: »

I don't know, but would it make a difference that the son actually owns this property?

I think the father in the other thread was just contributing to a commercial rent, wasn't he?

Hmmm, how can the son contribute to the rent of a property he himself owns?

I thought that HGD was talking about rent for any future sheltered accommodation.

suelees1

I'm not sure if the HB forms asks if you've ever owned your own property but I have a feeling it does. They'll need to declare they owned it and when the LA query this they'll have to tell them they gave it to their son. Whether they'll now be entitled to HB will all depend on whether the LA consider they have deliberately deprived themselves of capital in order to claim/gain benefits.

From what you've said there hasn't been any such intention. They had no idea at the time they'd ever have to claim HB. This would be grounds to appeal any adverse decision.

Oldernotwiser

suelees1 wrote: »

From what you've said there hasn't been any such intention. They had no idea at the time they'd ever have to claim HB. This would be grounds to appeal any adverse decision.

I think that you've missed the fact that the parents were actually claiming HB for the property when they bought it.

DORA_THE_EXPLORER_2

hi thanks for all your replies. after further conversation with my bfriend. its seems that he wasnt guarantor for the mortgage but bought the property jointly with his parents.. does this make a difference?? Can i add to all of those people who have said that my boyfriend is a money grabber, that he had lived in this property with his parents for 35 years he thought that he would be there for the rest of his life and that to secure his and his parents future he bought his childhood home. Yes he maybe didnt think about the future complications....but that doesnt mean he was in it just for the money..

thank you

ianian99

DORA_THE_EXPLORER wrote: »

hi thanks for all your replies. after further conversation with my bfriend. its seems that he wasnt guarantor for the mortgage but bought the property jointly with his parents.. does this make a difference?? Can i add to all of those people who have said that my boyfriend is a money grabber, that he had lived in this property with his parents for 35 years he thought that he would be there for the rest of his life and that to secure his and his parents future he bought his childhood home. Yes he maybe didnt think about the future complications....but that doesnt mean he was in it just for the money..

thank you

But that doesnt explain why you want the council to pay for the house!!!

DORA_THE_EXPLORER_2

Haushinka green day mentioned ctb. Apparently my partner had to give payslips to the benefits office each year and they still received the benefit so the authorities were fully aware that he was there and earning a wage, could this be because his father had DLA? I have got to say this benefit thing is a mine field and i dont undestand any of it....

HaushinkaGreenDay

DORA_THE_EXPLORER wrote: »

I have got to say this benefit thing is a mine field and i dont undestand any of it....

LOL - Yes, the HB/CTB rules are rather complex, 6 months of training was given at my LA before we could fully 'fledge' onto processing claims independently, and there were still many instances that required intervention from those with more experience.

My advice is to apply for sheltered accommodation, then once it has been allocated, HB/CTB. You could also claim for their current circumstances. Just be completely honest on the form about your OH's parents owning the home previously, the date it was transferred to their son and any other circumstances required on the form and allow the Benefits Team to do their job.

Advice given on these forums can be very useful in order to be more prepared for what might come; however, when means-tested benefits are concerned, it's so complicated that the best action is to apply but be completely honest on the form.

Full details of the relevant legislation can be found here: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/housingbenefit/claims-processing/operational-manuals/hbgm/

Be warned, though - your brain might melt if you spend too much time trying to make sense of the rules!

Good luck,

Haushinka

HaushinkaGreenDay

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

I agree with much of what you've posted but there was a thread recently where someone claiming HB for rent whch was partially paid by the father. Several very knowledgeable members were absolutely certain that these payments were voluntary and wouldn't be counted as income. I don't know which of you is right.

It's difficult to comment on a case of which I don't know the full details, but having worked in HB/CTB within a large City Council I would say the best course of action is to declare everything the form asks for and allow the LA to decide what is classed as disregarded income.

In the OP's case, as the parents signed over the house to their son without any money changing hands and he, in turn, allowed them to live there rent-free, any possible future payments from him towards the rent on a different property is likely to be seen as 'payment in return' for something (ie ownership of the house), which isn't classed as a voluntary payment and would be taken into account for HB/CTB purposes (see http://www.dwp.gov.uk/housingbenefit/claims-processing/operational-manuals/hbgm/parts/ptbw_02c.asp#b_w2500, 'What are voluntary payments?').

Hope this helps,

Haushinka

DORA_THE_EXPLORER_2

Thanks very much HaushinkaGreenDay you have been a great help