Housing Benefit

dramaqueen1973

Hi guys

Can anyone give me some advice please... Im desperate!

My husband is self employed and out of work, I work full time 40 hours a week. We rent my parents house at £700 per month but its crippling us! I have always been led to believe that I cannot claim housing benefit as it is my parents house, but most of my salary goes on the rent!

Can anyone advise me please

Thank yooooooo

xxxxxx

BeenieCat

Why is the rent so expensive? Is it just down to the area or is it a house bigger than your needs?

HB would calculate it based on the size of property they say you need to be in, so if you're in a 3 bed house with no kids, they'd give you HB based on the rent for a 1 bed flat, in most cases.

Since you're working full time i doubt yuo'd get anything but i would definitely try, you have nothing to lose.

It depends entirely on your income and the house you live in

BeenieCat

It shouldn't matter that it's your parent's house as long as they act as a landlord and not as parents, you'd need a tenancy agreement drawn up.

TBH if your OH claims the HB on behalf of both of you i can't see why it would ever come up that your landlord is your parents?

Blackpool_Saver

BeenieCat wrote: »

It shouldn't matter that it's your parent's house as long as they act as a landlord and not as parents, you'd need a tenancy agreement drawn up.

TBH if your OH claims the HB on behalf of both of you i can't see why it would ever come up that your landlord is your parents?

It is asked on the forms if you are related to the landlord.

dramaqueen1973

Its 3 bedrooms, we have 2 children (teenagers!) its actually quite average price, we live in the south! Its a normal size not extravagent. My parents not rich just they rely on my rent as they have moved onto a canal boat now and make no proft from me, it just pays the mortgage.

Perhaps I will just apply and see what happens

Thank you guys it does help coming on here

xxxxxxxx

Caz3121

do you currently have a lease and is their mortgage a BTL or do they have permission from the lender to rent it out

1sue23

dramaqueen1973 wrote: »

Its 3 bedrooms, we have 2 children (teenagers!) its actually quite average price, we live in the south! Its a normal size not extravagent. My parents not rich just they rely on my rent as they have moved onto a canal boat now and make no proft from me, it just pays the mortgage.

Perhaps I will just apply and see what happens

Thank you guys it does help coming on here

xxxxxxxx

I do the same with my daughter I live on a boat and she rents my house ,we have a tenancy agreement and gas checks etc ,she works part time but claims housing benefit ,so it may be worth trying.

zzzLazyDaisy

You can certainly rent from your parents, you have to declare it on the form but provided it is a commercial arrangement and you have a tenancy agreement there shouldn't be a problem.

HB no longer covers the private rented sector, it is Local Housing Allowance (LHA). This is set by local area.

If you google LHA and your local authority, you will be able to find out how many bedrooms you are allowed to claim for (not sure if same sex teenagers are expected to share). You can then check what the allowable rent is for your circumstances. This is the maximum you can get.

Whether you actually qualify depends on your income. You may also be entitled to help with council tax. Try putting your details into entitledto.com

dramaqueen1973

Thanks for the replies guys!

Its a difficult one now as my parents came to me late last night and said they may well have to sell the house now as they are experiencing problems! So I may well have to look elsewhere for somewhere to live!!!

The trouble is where we have been in debt (Husband still out of work!) I dont think I can go through a letting agent as I wont pass the Credit Check!

God why cant life just be simple...... Im going to wory now, the Council is goingto be last resort, been there and done many years ago and it was a long hard journey, I got out of there bought a part ownership house, then usband lost his job and its all gone wrong from there really! When my parents decided to live on boat it seemed perfect and looked like we were safe, now this bombshell!

Going to see what I can do today and take it from there.

Thank you once again

xxxx

mealone

dramaqueen1973 wrote: »

Thanks for the replies guys!

Its a difficult one now as my parents came to me late last night and said they may well have to sell the house now as they are experiencing problems! So I may well have to look elsewhere for somewhere to live!!!

The trouble is where we have been in debt (Husband still out of work!) I dont think I can go through a letting agent as I wont pass the Credit Check!

God why cant life just be simple...... Im going to wory now, the Council is goingto be last resort, been there and done many years ago and it was a long hard journey, I got out of there bought a part ownership house, then usband lost his job and its all gone wrong from there really! When my parents decided to live on boat it seemed perfect and looked like we were safe, now this bombshell!

Going to see what I can do today and take it from there.

Thank you once again

xxxx

You part own the house?

zzzLazyDaisy

I understood OP to mean that they bought a house under a 'shared ownership' scheme but they got into financial difficulties and lost that house, and then moved into OP's parents' house, when the parents moved out to live on a boat.