How to get Council Benefit / and pay private rent.

JillyJolly_2

Okay thanks for the very kind help it's appreciated.

[Deleted User]

Mara69 wrote: »

Unless you are a joint tenant there is no official way of you paying rent. Responsibility for paying the rent falls entirely on your father. What you & he agree that you should pay him (and what he spends it on) is between you and your father. No, life is not simple and yes, living on benefits can be difficult. Maybe you should consider moving out if he is unhappy with you living with him.

OP has stated above Father has a mortgage on the property, I think the rent they refer to is what I would call board.

I am almost certain you can't claim Housing Benefit if living with a relative. Hopefully now the OP is in receipt of what they are entitled to the can get straight again, it's just going to mean cutting back and economising.

fluffymovie

You cannot claim HB if you rent from a close relative who lives in the property (Reg 9) and so HB cannot be paid in this case.

CTB cannot be claimed as your Dad owns the property and in the heirachy for Ctax, is the only person liable.

HOwever, if he would otherwise be entitled to a Single person discount, he can claim what is called 2nd Adult rebate which is a % reduction based on your income (7.5%, 15% 25%)

jazza77

As per post #6 above, it sounds like your father should be able to claim Second Adult Rebate (see http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/BenefitsTaxCreditsAndOtherSupport/On_a_low_income/DG_10018923
for more info). I am no expert, but my understanding is that if you are on income based JSA he should get 25% rebate.

Arguably he should have been receving this for the whole period you have lived with him, so there may be a chance that it could be substituted for the Single Person Discount he was claiming. In terms of timescales though the local authority may not be keen to backdate it, but certainly worth a try. I would think the best thing may be to get some advice from your local Citizens Advice Bureau.

hth

Arg

Dunroamin wrote: »

You should be paying most of your JSA/ESA to your father to cover your keep ( share of the bills, food, half council tax etc.) and you should also be paying the extra debt he incurred by your living there earlier.

Now you're claiming benefits, I can't see why this will be a problem, particularly as you seem to have received a large backdated payment recently.

He should spend his money how he pleases and the council should be great full as I'm sure housing benefit would cost more than whatever discount they gave which is also something to consider if it went to court.

Dunroamin

Arg wrote: »

He should spend his money how he pleases and the council should be great full as I'm sure housing benefit would cost more than whatever discount they gave which is also something to consider if it went to court.

I'm sure his father would also be grateful if he didn't have to support an adult child out of a low income while that child had a large sum of money and income available to him for spending money!