Housing Benefit declined

frisbee

Hi, 9 years ago my house was reposed and a guy I worked with had just bought a reposed house which he planned to do up and sell. It was a hovel but he said i was welcome to stay there until it was ready to sell, he had never lived in the house, me and my daughter moved in, it was better for him to have somebody in the house rather than having it stood empty and brill for me because he didnt want any rent. He ending up changing jobs and it took longer than he expected to finish the house. It was very livalbe but not to the standard he wanted for resale. He recently told me that he was ready to put the house on the market but if i was willing to pay rent he would sort out a tenancy agreement with a letting agency. I signed a lease for 6 months, I work 16 hours a week in a supermarket and assumed i would be able to take some overtime to cover the rent but because of cutbacks at work i cannot get any extra hours, I applied for housing benefit and was awarded it but today i have recieved a letter from the council saying i am not entitled as they dont see it to be a commercial tenancy. I now have 4 month left on the lease and not enough money to pay my rent, is it worth asking them to look at the decision again? if i dont pay my rent how long will it take for the letting agency to evict me and will this affect any future rentals. thanks for any advice you can offer.

PasturesNew

First of all, you can't be evicted in the first 6 months.

The reason your claim was declined is because they have decided it is a "contrived tenancy" and that he didn't need rent from you before, so why suddenly now. They view it that as you have been living there rent free for years, you have only put in a claim to get money (for your landlord), so it must therefore probably be fraudulent/contrived.

I don't know more than that.... others will do.

Other points for answering:
1] Did he take a deposit from you? I'm guessing not, but, if so, is it in a scheme?
2] Is there gas at the property? Have you got a current gas certificate (new one needed each year)
3] Has he had an EPC done/have you seen it? He needs one to rent the house or to sell it.

lynzpower

Seems from your post that you have gone through a letting agency, are they ARLA registered? This might offer some weight to the fact that isnt a contrived tenancy.

You can appeal this decision and you might want to take advice from your local housing advice/law centre.

frisbee

PasturesNew wrote: »

First of all, you can't be evicted in the first 6 months.

The reason your claim was declined is because they have decided it is a "contrived tenancy" and that he didn't need rent from you before, so why suddenly now. They view it that as you have been living there rent free for years, you have only put in a claim to get money (for your landlord), so it must therefore probably be fraudulent/contrived.

I don't know more than that.... others will do.

Other points for answering:
1] Did he take a deposit from you? I'm guessing not, but, if so, is it in a scheme? no
2] Is there gas at the property? Have you got a current gas certificate (new one needed each year) letting agency has not sent anybody out to do this yet
3] Has he had an EPC done/have you seen it? He needs one to rent the house or to sell it. Dont know what this is.

To be honest I Don't think he was expecting me to say I would stay in the house and rent it.

frisbee

lynzpower wrote: »

Seems from your post that you have gone through a letting agency, are they ARLA registered? This might offer some weight to the fact that isnt a contrived tenancy.

You can appeal this decision and you might want to take advice from your local housing advice/law centre.

I Dont know if they are registered or not?

lynzpower

It should be on their website if they are?

Fang_3

The council might be wondering why you didn't save any money in the nine years that you paid no rent?

maria6259

Fang wrote: »

The council might be wondering why you didn't save any money in the nine years that you paid no rent?

perhaps because OP worked 16 hours per week and had a child to support.

sandraroffey

citizens advice or maybe shelter will help you sort this out.

MissMoneypenny

maria6259 wrote: »

perhaps because OP worked 16 hours per week and had a child to support.

The state would have been supporting the child if the OP claimed welfare payments such as child tax credits and child benefit. From reading the benefits board, 16 hours seems to be the minimum a single parent has to work to be given maximum working tax credits also.

OP if you post a thread on the benefits board, they will give you help about how to make your housing claim a claim that will satisfy your council. However, just in case your friend who has been letting you and your daughter stay in the house rent free for the last 9 years, is a boyfriend, that will affect your claim.

You also need to be aware that in April, the LHA rates will be dropping from the 50th percentile they are paid at now, to the 30th percentile. So if your friend has fixed his rent at the LHA rates now, you will not be given as much as that for rent from April next year.

If your friend has a mortgage on the property, you might also want to check that his mortgage lender has given him permission to rent out the property.

clutton_2

""First of all, you can't be evicted in the first 6 months.""

this is not true.. if any tenant gets more than 8 weeks in arrears at ANY time, the LL can apply to the court for possession of the property - and as long as the arrears are more than 8 weeks on the date of the court hearing the judge will grant possession to the LL