Housing Benefit Entitlement

Taz_Uddin

My mother currently lives in a council house with my brother aged 19 and is currently claiming carers allowance for my mum (aged 71) . They would both like to move into my rental property because currently where they live is too far and inconvenient for shopping, visiting family and friends. I live in a separate house with my wife and the current tenant is due to leave in two months time.

If I rent this house to my mum and brother would they be entitled to housing benefit?

Jowo_2

Yes, a landlord can rent out a property to close relatives when they don't live in the same property together but it has to be a proper tenancy run on a commercial basis, not one set up to take advantage of the housing benefit system. Google 'contrived tenancy' to understand the regulations set up to prevent the abuse of the benefit system. Their application would be subject to scrutiny. At the very least, you need to provide a tenancy agreement and to charge them rent when they are in employment, not just when they are on benefits.

Personally, I strongly recommend that social housing tenants do not give up their security of tenure to move into the private sector. They should look into a mutual exchange. If you hit financial problems, they lose their home.

I also strongly recommend against landlords mixing personal relationships with business because tenancy disputes can easily escalate into family disputes. You have to be able to evict your own mother from the property if she gets into arrears. Have you got the stomach for this?

The other problem is that by setting a commercial rent, which you are obliged to do, you make it harder for your mother and brother to afford to live there compared to social housing when they are in employment. The cheaper rent in social housing should act as a springboard into employment whereas LHA can trap some tenants into worklessness in private accommodation.

Perhaps they are better off moving somewhere else but renting your property isn't actually the right solution to meet their needs.

Taz_Uddin

Thank for your reponse I will take this into consideration.