Were looing to offer a house share for a single mother and her daughter

blue_monkey_2

TOBRUK wrote: »

I agree with you blue_monkey, and it would be interesting to know how much they are charging each student, is it for the room or per person?!

The mind boggles - at least they get fed though!! Thank god, I was getting worried for a minute then.

Oldernotwiser

terryw wrote: »

It is very common for close blood- relatives, never mind a godparent,to receive HB(LHA) and this is not perceived as a contrived tenancy provided that there is a written agreement in force.

It is perfectly possible to rent a separte property from a relative (if on commercial terms) but it is definitely not allowed to claim benefits when that relative actually lives in the same property.

I appreciate that this young mothe risn't a relative but your above post is misleading within this context.

hippy-chicy

terryw wrote: »

I very much doubt that any LA would see this as non-commercial for the reasons that you have given. It is very common for close blood- relatives, never mind a godparent,to receive HB(LHA) and this is not perceived as a contrived tenancy provided that there is a written agreement in force.

That maybe the case in some situations but it cretainly wont be the case when they live with the 'close blood relative' as they will be ineligible to claim HB.

There is more to it than having a written agreement in place. That can easily be disregarded if both parties are in agreement.

Its about the relationship between the tenant and the landlord and how the landlord would treat this particular tenant in comparison to another tenant in which there was no previous history. The LA will need to satisfy themselves that this is the case.

I can assure you that an LA's will make the decision that a tenancy is contrived for the reasons I have given if they are not satisfied that the relationship is that of a tenant and landlord who do not know each other. I have made decisons myself on this basis and the OP needs to be aware that this will be looked at.

Badger_Lady

Terry, your logic is fab but this is about playing by LHA rules... which aren't always so logical.

If the LHA percieves that the OP cares about this lodger personally, they will also percieve that she would be allowed to stay with or without rent. If they believe the OP has no intention of evicting his lodger, then they won't pay out.

PasturesNew

blue_monkey wrote: »

3 STUDENTS!!!! In the one spare room??!! Seriously??

Even the biggest double room would not be suitable for 3 students, surely?? Aren't there are laws against that??

It depends what sort of foreign students. I was a host organiser for a foreign language school and the rules were you couldn't put more than 3 students in a room. These were short-term foreign/visiting students who were out all day at organised events.

The host family would provide a room, up to 3 students, students in any one house had to be of the same sex. Meals provided would be: breakfast, packed lunch, hot evening meal. There were minimum rules too as to what each meal should consist of, so a packed lunch would be a sandwich/roll, pack of crisps, piece of fruit, drink and a biscuit. Evening meal would be hot, with a hot drink and a dessert. It is also the family's responsibility to get the student to the point of departure each day and collect them each early evening. For this you're paid a "per night" amount, per student, which in my area at the time would have been about £12-14/night.

As for the size of the room, in many areas, where there are large Victorian houses, there are what are known in the B&B trade as "family rooms", containing a double and a single, or a single and some bunk beds. Either of these rooms would be deemed suitable for 3 sharing. Many of my host families were B&Bs, they'd take the students in "out of season".

GEORGYPORGY

OH, MY GOODNESS, you guys are seriously missing the point, (well several are, not all of you), we have a young 21 year old girl with a daughter of 2 1/2, she is about to come to the end of her current housing situation due to her current landlord not continuing with her tenancy,
as my Mrs is the young ladies God parent, we thought it would be a nice gesture to offer her the comfort of a spare room that we currently rent to foreign students (up to 3 children and always under the age of 17, and yes both myself and the Mrs have the relevant C.R.B checks as required by law).
we have made the offer to the girl due to the girls immediate needs being , i a week or two she will need somewhere to live, is she a lazy good for nothing? no she is a very pleasant young lady, with a job as a teaching assistant, (although its very part time and low income), does she want to subject her current landlord to squatting etc etc? no! she is a proud young lady who would like the chance to move forward and pay her own way in life,
this means that she needs to be somewhere that wont punish every penny she either works for or receives from the state to save enough to rent her own home with with her child.
quite frankly im appalled at some of the comments that have been suggested or written, there are to many young girls around in the country who find themselves at the mercy of unscrupulous land lords and end up dragging up their children and who end up creating more of a mess for the tax payer than need be, some of you people should be bloody ashamed of yourselves, i'm of the old school and strongly believe that if some who is vulnerable needs some help and i can give it then im duty bound, i do not sit in an ivory tower, pumping the letters on my keyboard, sermonising about the out-dated and most times bureaucratic housing benefit laws that this country pro-ports to as assistance for the needy.
Quite frankly, this girl and her daughter currently need some help, myself and my lady are in a position to assist her, can we do it for nothing, no we cannot, we have outgoings like everyone else, did i originally as you guys for help with the paperwork and advice on the matter? yes i did!, however, several of you people have indeed proved to me that we live in a cynical world with cynical people. For the couple of people that offered help and advise, thank you, for the rest of you, you seriously need to sit down and self appraise.

Caz3121

GEORGYPORGY wrote: »

this means that she needs to be somewhere that wont punish every penny she either works for or receives from the state to save enough to rent her own home with with her child.

the suggestions others have made were to assist in the young lady getting social housing with lower rent, as has been said when she moves in with you she will be housed so when time comes to move out her options will be to private letting which will be higher rental.

I am assuming that for her current accomodation she receives benefits for her rent and council tax and uses her wages and other benefits for food and bills - this will not change so her 'savings' will only be the fact that her bills are now shared and may be smaller.

I don't know enough about shared accomodation but would guess if you agree a rent that is inclusive of food and bills, they will assess the non-rent part and deduct that from the payment as this is payable by the individual and not benefits

GEORGYPORGY

caz3121 wrote: »

the suggestions others have made were to assist in the young lady getting social housing with lower rent, as has been said when she moves in with you she will be housed so when time comes to move out her options will be to private letting which will be higher rental.

I am assuming that for her current accomodation she receives benefits for her rent and council tax and uses her wages and other benefits for food and bills - this will not change so her 'savings' will only be the fact that her bills are now shared and may be smaller.

I don't know enough about shared accomodation but would guess if you agree a rent that is inclusive of food and bills, they will assess the non-rent part and deduct that from the payment as this is payable by the individual and not benefits

she only gets £11.00 per week as it is.

blue_monkey_2

Actually Georgy YOU are missing the point. This young lady is going to be stuck in your house forever.

She will not be squatting at all and what we have suggested is perfectly legal and is the right way to go about things. It is her home until the judge decides otherwise. If she even bothers going to the HA then they will advise her on what to do. As will Shelter. As will the CAB. You'll find it on their respective websites.

You are preaching to everyone else about not having her interests at heart but your actions will mean that she will never get a chance at having a house FOR LIFE instead of uprooting her whenever her landlord says so. She cannot stay with you forever and this might be her only chance. She needs to take it - regardless of your selfish attitude. Because, this is what it is. Selfish. Whatever you think. Get her to CAB/Shelter/HA and they will advise her on the correct routes to go down.

And having met a young lady aged 7 who had moved 8 times in her little life I can tell you that children need roots, they need to know where home is. And your 'spare room' is not itas she cannot share a room with her mother forever, regardless of what you think. And once she is too old the only option available will be private renting.

Regardless of what you think I think you are throughly selfish not to tell this young girl of her options and help her get a secure HOME for her and her daughter.

Unless of course there is something you are not telling us of course.

Caz3121

GEORGYPORGY wrote: »

she only gets £11.00 per week as it is.

she has £11 + her wages (+ child benefit + child tax credits)

My daughter is a young mum with a child of similar age - she works part time also.
If the girl can increase her hours to 16 per week (even doing Avon or something) she can come off IS and get working tax credits instead which would increase her tax credits from an approx £55 per week to approx £125 per week (without accounting for any childcare costs/help)
I cannot imagine my daughter and son's belongings from her 2 bed flat fitting into one bedroom and wonder how long this arrangement would be sustainable.
I can hear that you want to help but as others have pointed out you (and she) need to think ahead