Renting from a family member

deemafaye

My mother has a flat available to rent, and I want to rent it from her. I put a claim through for housing benefit but I was refused on the basis that I am not allowed to rent from a family member and they have assumed that the property was originally purchased for us to live in and for a commercial basis. The flat has been rented on two separate occasions previously and now it's empty. My current landlord has given me notice to leave my flat, and renting my mum's flat seems ideal.

Can anyone advice me as what to do, do they have the right to refuse me HB, and if I appeal will the decision be reversed.

popadom

From the goverments point of veiw- youre giving the money to a realitive. They assume as your realitive-you should be rent free.. unless you pay, i doubt theyll help.

Caz3121

You are allowed to rent from a family member as long as they do not live in the property with you

They should be checking that it is not a contrived tenancy

Is the rent the same as the property was previously rented out for - if this is higher than your benefits will you be paying the difference?
Will you be paying the same rent even if you were not in receipt of benefits?
Would your mother evict you if you did not pay rent?

It would be a battle for this and may be simpler for your mother to get another tenant and you to find another property

dave030445

Caz3121 wrote: »

You are allowed to rent from a family member as long as they do not live in the property with you

They should be checking that it is not a contrived tenancy

Is the rent the same as the property was previously rented out for - if this is higher than your benefits will you be paying the difference?
Will you be paying the same rent even if you were not in receipt of benefits?
Would your mother evict you if you did not pay rent?

It would be a battle for this and may be simpler for your mother to get another tenant and you to find another property

if that the case it should be easy for you to show them that you are not living there with your mum

maddipops

i know someone who rents his house out to his brother. I questioned this to him directly and he swears its all above board and the council are aware of it

Robbie64

maddipops wrote: »

i know someone who rents his house out to his brother. I questioned this to him directly and he swears its all above board and the council are aware of it

It is allowed so long as the relative does not live on the premises and it is a legitimate, commercial, tenancy and not one contrived to take advantage of the Housing Benefit scheme.

Some councils seem to take a harder line on their interpretation of the law on contrived tenancies, sometimes this is done by staff who seem to have a misunderstanding of the rules and seem to believe that if you are related to the landlord you can't get HB, regardless of what the law actually says.

Robbie64

deemafaye wrote: »

My mother has a flat available to rent, and I want to rent it from her. I put a claim through for housing benefit but I was refused on the basis that I am not allowed to rent from a family member and they have assumed that the property was originally purchased for us to live in and for a commercial basis. The flat has been rented on two separate occasions previously and now it's empty. My current landlord has given me notice to leave my flat, and renting my mum's flat seems ideal.

Can anyone advice me as what to do, do they have the right to refuse me HB, and if I appeal will the decision be reversed.

Do you have a tenancy agreement? I assume you have if you claimed Housing Benefit. Have you been refused Housing Benefit and given a decision in writing?

If yes to both I'd advise you contact a welfare rights organisation such as the Citizens Advice Bureau or the welfare rights section of your local council (most councils have them) and get help. You have the right of appeal.

It is wrong for the council to say you cannot rent from a relative. However you may have to prove that the tenancy isn't contrived for Housing Benefit purposes - a history of the flat being rented out is a good start, a comparison of rents charged by your mum to previous tenants to what she is charging you would help, if you know what was previously charged (the rent has to be commercial, so if she charges you too little it is as bad as her charging you too much). Also, is she prepared to enforce the tenancy, for example would she seek repossession if you failed to meet your rent obligations. If she wouldn't then this could / would count against you.

clb776

I also know someone who rents a flat from her parents, she used to pay the rent herself, but is now a single mother so gets housing benefit, I don't think she ha a problem, appeal it and prove that all is above board!

Robbie64

^

Paying the rent for a period prior to claiming HB would show that it was a genuine commercial tenancy.

Mojisola

Robbie64 wrote: »

Paying the rent for a period prior to claiming HB would show that it was a genuine commercial tenancy.

I don't think this would make any difference. What counts is that the relative would treat you just like any other tenant - charge you the same rent and evict you if you didn't pay up.

Robbie64

Mojisola wrote: »

I don't think this would make any difference. What counts is that the relative would treat you just like any other tenant - charge you the same rent and evict you if you didn't pay up.

perhaps I should have said it would help show it was a genuine commercial tenancy.