Housing Benefit question

b2lnewbie

I am hoping to buy a buy to let and maybe rent it to a retired relative who is currently claiming pension credit on top of his state pension. Can he claim housing benefit, if he is renting (at market rent) from a relative?

He is currently renting from the council and claiming housing benefit but wishes to move out of the area.

Any advice would be greatly appreciate and pointers to any appropritate websites.

suelees1

As long as it's a commercial tenancy and not a contrived tenancy

http://www.ownershipoptions.org.uk/pdf/Buying%20to%20let%20to%20a%20relative.pdf

They will only pay whatever the local housing allowance is in the area so your relative might have a shortfall depending on how much you are charging

Oldernotwiser

As long as this is a genuine, commercial let there is no problem with renting to a relative. As this is a private let he will claim LHA rather than HB; you can find the applicable rates here.

https://lha-direct.voa.gov.uk/Secure/LHASearchIntro.aspx