advice regarding refused housing benefit claim

daveskey69

hi there. i really hope some kind soul can offer some advice.
here's the deal

2 years ago, my wife and I started renting from someone I know. we have a tenancy agreement.
the important thing you must know is that my landlord owns a house, and a few years ago he built a 1 bedroom annexe flat which is attached to the main house.
This is where we live. It has a seperate entrance and can only be entered from the outside.
When we moved in, he said we dont need to pay council tax as he pays it for the whole building.

2 months ago we put a claim in for housing benefit. first of all, they said they didnt even have record of this annexe flat, which is kind of understandable as it is attached to the main house.
Someone came round and visited us and actually told us that contrary to what my landlord said, the council will view where we live as a separate property, and thus liable for council tax.

Today i got a letter saying that my housing benefit cliam has been refused because there is no liability for council tax.
I have been paying almost £600 rent for 2 years, and I have shown that to them by way of tenancy agreement and bank statements, payslips etc.
I am not asking for any help with council tax.
All i wanted was housing benefit.
Can anyone maybe elaborate on why it was refused.?
Do you have to be paying council tax to receive housing benefit.
Please understand that we have not tried to avoid paying council tax, and are happy to pay it now. He just assured us that we did not need to pay it.
I am !!!!ed off at my landlord for not doing things properly on his part, but what can I do next?
I know I can appeal, but what do you think the outcome will be.
Thanks in advance for any help/advice...my wife and I are really stressing over this.
Regards
Dave

Ross01

You cant claim Housing Benefit if you reside in the same dwelling as your landlord. However if you have a completely seperate annex with your own lounge and kitchen (and do not share facilities) then there is no reason why you can not claim. The council are wrong in refusing you Housing Benefit, and you should appeal. They have probably assumed that as the property set up as one building for council tax purposes then you must share facilities with your landlord.

The bad news is that the property has never been registered for council tax.
If the annex is a seperate dwelling then it should be seperately billed for council tax purposes. An inspector would need to visit the property, and band it for council tax. The council would then hold you as the tenant liable for council tax from the time when you moved in. As it is a seperate property then there is not a resident owner so the tenant (yourself) is liable to pay.

So yes you are entitled for Housing Benefit, but only if the property is independant from your landlords address - and that means a seperate bill for council tax from when you moved in.

daveskey69

Thanks so much for the quick reply, Ross01. I just wanted to clarify that someone from the council HAD come to our property to assess it as a separate residence. We even received a letter regarding the payments we would now need to pay - it hasn't yet been banded, but is in the process of being banded and we're going to be paying back payments for the two years we've been here. So, I don't understand why - with all of that - we've been refused housing benefit. We applied two months ago, there was the confusion with the council tax, someone from the council tax office came over and made her report, we've called the housing benefit office to ensure we'd done everything properly, and then we got a letter saying we were ineligible due to FREAKING COUNCIL TAX!!! Ugh...I suppose our best option is just to appeal the decision. It says that appeals should be put writing, but is a visit a better option?
Thanks for all the help!

real1314

Ross01 wrote: »

You cant claim Housing Benefit if you reside in the same dwelling as your landlord. However if you have a completely seperate annex with your own lounge and kitchen (and do not share facilities) then there is no reason why you can not claim. The council are wrong in refusing you Housing Benefit, and you should appeal. They have probably assumed that as the property set up as one building for council tax purposes then you must share facilities with your landlord.

Not true, only applies if the Landlord is a close relative. There are a number of other reasons why HB may be refused, none of which is based on liability for council tax. You should either:

1. Clarify on here exactly on what the grounds the council have refused HB

or

2. Write to the council asking them to quote the relevant regulations which state that libility for Council Tax is a condition of HB, you could also ask them for a paragraph number from "Zebedee Ward and Lister's Guide to Housing Benefit and CTB" which should be in your local library or WH Smith (about £20+)

chirpy007

Also see if your council has a Welfare Rights dept and/or visit the CAB. I cant see how they can refuse you based on the accommodation issue.

daveskey69

thanks for the reply guys.
just to clarify..in the letter it just said
"REASON : Claim ineligible. There is no liability for council tax"

I don't think it's a case of where we live. I think this does come down to the fact that they say that where we live is not considered part of the whole house as my landlord originally thought, and therefore council tax should have been paid on it.
I just can't understand why they can't approve our housing benefit and they clarify the council tax issue.
A woman from the council tax office came to where we live so she could see for herself exactly how our accomodation is set up.
This kinda boils down to our landlord not finding out exactly what his responsibilities as a landlord are. And I am paying because of this.
It seems to me that they are saying that housing benefit and council tax payments go hand in hand.
It's just so frustrating.
Thanks again guys...anyone else feel free to offer advice.
Dave

Scarlett1

I would imagine both properties would be considered as being 1 whole house, I have relatives who have an annexe, it has a seperate front door and its own kitchen, bathroom, living room and bedroom, they both share the same house number and its considered to be 1 dwelling by the council for council tax purposes, even the utility bills and tv license consider it to be 1 dwelling.

CIS

An annexe can be considered as part of the main property for Council Tax Purposes and then again it may not , it all depends on whether the VO determine it is a seperate property that should be banded accordingly or just part of the main property.

This link may help - http://www.voa.gov.uk/publications/public_fact_sheets/self-contained-units.html

real1314

Appeal.

The grounds they have refused on are not valid. HB can be paid for lodgers using a single room (single room rent), people sharing a property having a room each (e.g houses of multiple occupation aka HMO), and a few other circumstances.

Ask them to quote the actual regulations that they think exclude you due to having no council tax liability. Ask them what happems with single room rents and HMOs neither of which have liability for C tax resting with the tenant.


It could cause a problem for your landlord though - might need to comply with some HMO regs?

daveskey69

well, i went down to the benefits office, and believ it or not...they said that the letter stating i had been refused was SENT IN ERROR!!!
lol...so my benefit is all sorted and has been backdated to the original claim 2 months ago!!
thanks so much for all the advice.
DAVE

real1314

Excellent. :rotfl: