home owner (no mortgage) renting to family ?

soweezy

hi all, we're in a bit of a muddle re buildings insurance, as in we don't know what type to take out.
we own the house, no mortgage but remortgaged to buy/refurbish it.
our son now lives in the house and is paying the remortgage costs (not sure if that's classed as renting).
as we're not living there or a lanlord as such, we're finding it hard to find buildings insurance that's suited to our situation.
as we live at another address do we get landlords insurance or do we take the insurance out in my son's name, as he's permanently living there, or is there another type of insurance that we can take out ?

thanks

Yorkie1

If you own the house and you are receiving money from your son to live there, my inclination is that you are his LL and he is your T. So you should get LL's insurance and he his own contents insurance.

Others may disagree though.

By the way, you say there is no mortgage but that you remortgaged and your son is paying the remortgage. Is there any lending in force in respect of the property or not?

poppysarah

Who owns the house?

Whose name is the mortgage in?

soweezy

Yorkie1 wrote: »

By the way, you say there is no mortgage but that you remortgaged and your son is paying the remortgage. Is there any lending in force in respect of the property or not?

we remortgaged our home to buy the 2nd house for our son to live in, figured it was a good investmant as he was renting privately and the rent around here is at least 25% more than the remortgage payments.

mjdh1957

I agree with Yorkie1. You are a landlord and your son is your tenant.

Jeffrey_Shaw

mjdh1957 wrote: »

I agree with Yorkie1. You are a landlord and your son is your tenant.

But this might screw-up any HB/LHA claim by your son, as it has all the hallmarks of a 'contrived tenancy'.

Werdnal

As others have already said, anyone who OWNS a house, but does not LIVE there themselves, and LETS to someone else is a LANDLORD. Its a bit like being pregnant - you are or you aren't, there is no middle ground, whether the tenant is a relative or complete stranger.

You are also receiving payment, albeit to cover the mortgage costs, but this is a regular rental income, and as such, should be declared for tax purposes. You can offset costs of maintaining and running your let against this tax. However, only mortgage interest is claimable, and as you have re-mortgaged your own property to cover the cost of the 2nd property (ie there is no actual mortgage on the 2nd property), I am not sure how this works - others here may be able to advise.

You also need to ensure you have an annual gas safety certificate for any gas appliances in the property.

However, I can confirm you need LL buildings insurance, and your son/tenant can take insurance to cover your contents if you require it, or you can take full LL cover which will do both.