Council Tenancy Question

dead_cell

Hi All

I've moved in with my parents a couple of weeks ago and my father has notified the Council. They now want to see my payslips and bank statements.

My only concern is that I have quite a bit of money sitting in my current account, will the council increase the amount of rent I have to pay based on the amount I have in my bank account?

Many thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

Regards

Bailey101

Why do they want to see them? If you or your folks are getting housing benefit then that may be reduced but if the full rents being paid then they can't raise it if you've got a bit of cash.

Werdnal

Are you being added to the tenancy as a named tenant?

Do your parents receive any help paying rent - benefits etc?

Are you paying rent to the council at the moment, or any rent to your parents?


Is this the same property your parents/you wanted the buy here:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4111599=

dead_cell

Thanks to you both for your reply.

Bailey, not sure why but I guess what you say makes sense. My father is on a low income so he does get some help but only a little.

Werdnal, yes that's correct, I am being added to the tenancy as a named tenant.

Yes my parents do receive some help towards the rent but only a little for the reason mentioned above.

Yes, good observation. This is the same property which me and my father want to buy but couldn't as I wasn't a tenant.

Thanks

Werdnal

Then thats your answer - probably ...

If your parents are getting help with rent, and your earnings are now contributing to that rent, the benefits will be cut or cease, and you will be paying the difference. They won't actually increase the total rent, but with your contribution, your parents will lose their entitlement to help paying it.

They will also want to check you are able to afford to become a tenant - as any efficient landlord would, either in private sector or HA/Council. With you added as a tenant, you will be jointly and severally liable for the whole rent if your parents defaulted for any reason, so they want to check you can pay it before they take you onto the tenancy.

Bailey101

It sounds like they're checking the household income so they can reduce the housing benefit that your dad gets. They'll be looking at the entire household income, and once you're on the tenancy you're wages would be included.

dead_cell

That's understandable but must they see my bank statements? Surely my payslips will provide all the details they need.

I'll report back once I've heard back.

Thanks once again for taking the time to reply to my thread.

Best regards

cos_2

Savings are taken into account for benefit calculations, along with earnings and other income. I guess the council is asking for ALL your bank account info (not just your current account), plus investments, shares and so on.

I'm wondering if they have a concern that you are not eligible to become a tenant of a social landlord. In other words, you earn too much or have too high savings to get a subsidised house.

Social housing is meant for those who struggle to rent or buy.

teeni

if it is the tenancy management department wanting these docs it will be to verify who you are to put you on the tenancy.

If it is the hb dept they will want to verify the income of a non dependant at this time if you are not yet on the tenancy agreement. once you are then your parents will be able to claim benefit for their share of the rent and you will just have to pay your share.

from your post i presume it is the hb dept and they will be applying a non dept deduction which is based on your income, not savings but your bank account will show any income that you have not declared, it is called the verification process, you can refuse to show them and then the full highest non dependant deduction will be made to their claim as they will assume you are in the highest income bracket which is not less than £401 and the deduction is £87.75

carefullycautious

amazed if they allow you onto a tenancy if you have x amount of savings etc.

They may say that you are able to privately rent.

The alternative is to say that you are going to pay the full rent and dad will come off all benefits, however, they may wish to prove this.

Racml

Hi I work as a housing officer. If I am understanding you correctly you are not creating a joint tenancy as this would be classed as an inter generational tenancy which is rare and only granted in very exceptional circumstances. It sounds as if you are actually becoming a household member.

Your income would impact how much housing benefit your arenas could be awarded and this is why housing benefit would have requested it. They will ask to see statements as they need to satisfy themselves that you do not have a large amount of savings.

Any savings you do have would not affect whether you can live at the property and in fact I have never refused an applicant for a Housing Association tenancy with large savings. I'm sure Housing Associations differ in their allocation policy but if somebody has been given priority by the local authority when applying to their waiting list then savings shouldn't really come into it. The reason we ask for income details on interview is to check that the applicant will either qualify for housing benefit or can afford the rent themselves.