LHA claims without Tenancy agreement?

Macro_3

nsroc wrote: »

please note- your SIL will apply for the 2nd adult rebabe as she has the council tax liability but you will need to provide your income details for this to be calculated - contact the benefits section they will give you more info on what you/you SIL need to do

The only problem being that 2AR is a benefit and as such will only be paid (if entitled) from the Monday following application, whereas the SPD would be removed back to when the OP moved in 2 years ago. Which would leave a council tax debt - I imagine the SIL would be none too pleased.

She could also have problems re any benefits she is claiming if she has not declared the rental income. I know you said she is working full time but it is perfectly possible to work full time and still receive means tested benefits. Any application for LHA by the OP would open the door to her circumstances being looked into.

All that said, if she's doing something she shouldn't then she deserves to be found out.

zzzLazyDaisy

Macro wrote: »

She could also have problems re any benefits she is claiming if she has not declared the rental income. I know you said she is working full time but it is perfectly possible to work full time and still receive means tested benefits. .

Good point. She may be in receipt of working tax credit, or top-up for council tax benefit, or top-up LHA for example, in which case she must declare all income.

Of course, depending on OP's contribution, she may not be making a profit at all depending on what he gets for his money (for example his contribution may only cover his food and the extra cost of increased use of water/electricity etc) but his existence in the household must still be declared for most means tested benefits.

999mph

I put in another 'indirect' request this time. Let's see how that goes.

My only other option is to find accommodation elsewhere. Do you think I'll get some assistance from the council on finding a place? The bottom line is if I can't pay the rent here or find means of claiming LHA, I just don't see the point of sticking around. Do you think the LHA will see a house move as awkward, even though it would be the only option I will have left in order to claim LHA and keep a roof over my head (this is going on the assumption that my SIL will turn down the second request as well)?

zzzLazyDaisy

If you are a single person you will be entitled to LHA for a one bedroomed flat/house if you are 25yrs or over (or a room in a shared house if you are under 25 yrs old). Presumably you know how much this is as you already have some information about LHA.

As a single person it is very unlikely that the council will help you find accommodation, although they may have a list of landlords that accept people on LHA. Your best bet is to go round the local estate agents and letting agents, and see what is available. Bear in mind that you will have to pay for heating/lighting/water on top of the rent as LHA doesn't include bills.

TBH I cannot understand why you are making indirect requests for a lodger's agreement. Why don't you explain that you need it to claim LHA so you can pay the rent you owe her?

Vader123

Why don't you explain that you need it to claim LHA so you can pay the rent you owe her?

Dare I say it again?

Its because we are not getting the full story (again).

There is no legit reason why the OPs SIL would not give a typed letter claiming rent details etc unless something was asmiss.

To what it is? No idea.

Vader

zzzLazyDaisy

I agree. There is obviously some reason why the SIL does not want to formalise this arrangement.

What I don't get is, given that she does not want to give him a written agreement, why OP is trying to persuade her to do this, so that he can go behind her back and claim LHA at her address, without her knowledge or consent.

It wouldn't be long before SIL found out (either when the council passes on the information to the relevant bodies, or when they start writing to him at her address with their details plastered all over the envelope). Either way he will be looking for somewhere else to live. So unless he is deliberately trying to get SIL into trouble for some reason, there doesn't seem to be much point to all the secrecy.

Unless I am missing something obvious, in which case I apologise in advance.

sue1953

From what I understand, the o/p lives in the same house as her sister in law. She moved in after the sister in law's husband died (the o/p brother). Surely the o/p cannot claim LHA/HB as she is living with a close relative. I know the o/p says she pays a commercial rent but this is irrelevant as she is living with a close relative. Does HB reg 7 apply in this case?

zzzLazyDaisy

Actually that is a good point. I don't know if your brother's widow counts as a close relative for these purposes, but I bet someone will!

EDIT - taken from Sevenoaks CTB claim form

*A close relative is a parent, step-parent, parent-in-law, brother, sister, son, son-in-law, daughter, daughter-in law, stepson,
step-daughter or partner of any of the above.

Since SIL is the former partner of OP's brother, there is an argument that she is not a close relative, as the distinction seems to be that there is a close enough relationship to reasonably expect that person to offer you a home rent free.

BUT in my view it is definitely close enough to need clarification - so if you are still reading OP, you will need to declare the relationship to the local authority, if you get as far as putting in a claim for LHA at your SIL's address.

999mph

I can only presume the reason why she doesn't want to formalise the whole thing is probably because me and my Brother were very close. And since I do help around the house from time to time and chip in generously during Christmas, I can only assume that it might perhaps feel a bit awkward for her to formalise it.

Many years back I stayed over (at their previous address) without paying a rent. I really wouldn't know if she's been upfront about her council tax payments but I do know (from the little I've seen) that she is extremely careful with the law. This isn't the whole story obviously but I think I have included everything that is relevant.

I have been as upfront as I could be with her initially. I just didn't see the point of pleading with her to issue me tenancy agreement or a letter confirming my tenancy payments after having asked her once already.

A few months ago I asked her for a tenancy agreement and she agreed to do one, but since I never followed through with it it, it never got done. They have had a few tenants here before me, that's something I just remembered. And I also recall my SIL mentioning that one of the previous tenants was a DSS (whatever that means). I am new to all this since I never had to claim benefits for any reason before.

zzzLazyDaisy

Well, we have established that:

1 you cannot pay your rent unless you can claim LHA

2 you need written confirmation from her to claim LHA

3 she is refusing to give you the written confirmation

4 you are not willing to tell her that you need it to claim LHA

5 you may not be entitled to LHA under the close relative rules

6 if you can't get LHA at your SIL's you will have to find somewhere else to live

I think that's probably covered all the bases? Sounds to me like you had better start looking.........