Housing Benefit and Family as Landlord

somethingidontno

My husband and I are both disabled (he is on High Rate Mobility and High Rate Care, I am on High Rate Mobility and Low Rate Care). We live in a 4-storey privately rented house and my father-in-law is our landlord. We are in receipt of Housing Benefit (paid direct to our landlord and Council Tax Benefit, and the council are aware that a family member is our landlord. Social Services OT have assessed me as only being able to cope physically with a maximum of one flight of stairs. We are on the council housing waiting list but noting suitable has come up as yet - we are in an area where you have to "bid" on suitable accommodation.
As we rent from my father-in-law, he has kindly agreed to sell this house and use the money to invest in another house, once which would be more suitable for our needs, with fewer or no stairs, for which we will still pay him rent (via HB).
But I am worried that we won't be able to claim HB and CTB when we move - there's no way we would manage to pay rent and council tax from our disability benefits and IS!
Also, actually making the move would be a problem as we have no funds for removal van/man and van etc. Would it be possible to claim a Disabled Relocation Grant?
The move would be within the same Local Authority as we are in now, by the way.
Sorry for all the questions, but the house is on the market already, plus I am having an operation on my spine next month so all this is really stressing me out!

bigjl

Why not get your father in law to pay for the removal costs, as he has a guaranteed tenant and surely wouldn't mind spending a bit to smooth things along, may even be able to offset the cost against his income tax bill.

I would assume that if you are moving into different accomodation to make living easier then the HB and CTB would continue.

Though i am no expert having never claimed benefits. Remember that if you house is being sold and you have to vacate then I believe you will get more housing points, or whatever it is called these days, as you are being made homeless through no fault of your own.

fluffymovie

When you rent from a family member, the council have to be sure that the tenancy is on a commercial basis and so for that reason, you should seek advice from the council you claim from.

Some of the questions that I ask when someone rents from a family member are;
Was the property bought specifically for you to move into?
Does the landlord have a mortgage on the property?
If the rent at a similar level to other properties of the same type?
What action would the landlord take if you could not pay the rent?

These questions only serve to give a picture of the claim and help to establish if the property is being rented as a commercial letting and the tenancy is "at arms length".

Also if your HB is being paid to your landord, this may mean that you have been on HB for some time (pre 2008) but you should be aware that if you move, you will move onto the LHA scheme which would mean that your benefit would be paid directy to you unless you approacj the LA and state that you have issues which mean that you cannot manage your financial affairs and they may choose to pay LHA to your landlord on your behalf for a period of time (I usually agree such requests for periods 13 - 26 weeks and then review)