Putting Name On Council Tenancy

blckbrd

Racml34 wrote: »

If he were to pass away you would need to have been living with him for 12 months to apply to succeed to the tenancy. However when considering your request the landlord would look at whether the property was suitable for your needs. As you would be a single person under occupying by 2 bedroom they would say it wasn't appropriate. They could however grant succession rights but offer an alternative property more suited to your needs. You would need to check your father's succession rights had not been used up when the property went from joint to sole previously. I'm not at work today and the rules on succession are quite complicated!

Do not confuse secure tenancies with assured. The rules of succession are not complicated. Statute says once but policy may say more.

While under-occupancy is material to the possibility of possession on ground 16, OP, this only relates to granting a successor tenancy and your dad has already succeeded. If he's to be evicted it would have to be for some other reason.

The best source of info on the possibility of buying with your dad would be a mortgage broker.

Racml34

blckbrd wrote: »

Do not confuse secure tenancies with assured. The rules of succession are not complicated. Statute says once but policy may say more.

While under-occupancy is material to the possibility of possession on ground 16, OP, this only relates to granting a successor tenancy and your dad has already succeeded. If he's to be evicted it would have to be for some other reason.

The best source of info on the possibility of buying with your dad would be a mortgage broker.

I did correct myself later in the thread! I did explain that the policy may say more than once but this is only ever in exceptional circumstances and from what I can see there are no exceptional circumstances.

duchy

I think you said you are 25 ...is that right ?

You really need to talk to your Dad and find out what he put on the new housing benefit claim after your Mum passed away. If he doesn't know or can't remember then you need to find out. The figures sound like he may have not put that you are living there/aren't earning and sooner or later it is going to catch up with him- at best he'll have to pay back the over payment - at worst he'll get charged with fraud. If the household income has increased (you said you are doing more overtime) then the housing benefit usually drops. If you weren't working when your Mum died and have started work since then did your Dad declare this ?

It's no good saying you don't know/don't understand - you're an adult and like every other adult you need to learn - otherwise you too could end up in the sort of mess your Dad may be in.

If you don't want to go straight to the council then make an appointment with Citizen's Advice for both you AND your Dad to go and find out if housing have the correct numbers by taking the latest claim letter and filling out a benefit's calculator with the advisor. If it does turn out you have been claiming incorrectly they will be able to tell you the best way to let the council know so it can be corrected.

Don't just ignore it and hope it'll all go away though-It won't -and the longer you leave it-the bigger the mess !

duchy

no1wf wrote: »

He stays a lot but not every night, only a couple times a week.

I'm not a troll but I'll admit I don't know a lot of about it at all, Mum was always in charge of the money and never spoke about what benefits we had or anything so I'm still learning at the moment.

I only work part time and my boyfriend left uni last year and has been on jobseekers for around 9 months, unable to find a job in his field or anything else for that matter. He's currently just started a 6 month temporary job 3 weeks ago but has to spend a lot on travel as he doesn't drive.

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Really -so which boyfriend are you talking about here- a different one or the same one ?

no1wf wrote: »

but my boyfriend has been staying here almost every night for the last 3 years and we've all lived together quite happily.

If it is "almost every night" do you not understand that housing benefit will regard the claim should be for three adults contributing to the rent and not one or two ?

If you were a single mum claiming your boyfriend lived apart from you but he stayed every night -you'd be considered a couple for housing benefit purposes and be in big trouble for claiming as single - the same principle applies if your Dad has "forgotten" to mention either you or your boyfriend on his housing benefit claim.

sammyjammy

squinty wrote: »

OP can you clarify this please? Is this the full rent or the amount you have to pay after some housing benefit.

If you dad does get some benefit I think you need to understand how this is worked out. For example if a tenant who recieves HB has a non-dependent living with them - there is a reduction in the benefit. (eg for a gross income of £180 to £234 this is £36.10 for last - the banding and the amounts change each year).

If your dad is having his benefit reduced because of a non-dependent deduction this is a direct result of you living there. You should therefore be paying him the full amount of the deduction, not 50%.

In addition to that if the boyfriend has lived there virtually every night for the last three years as she suggests then they should have two non-dependant deductions.

sammyjammy

duchy wrote: »

Really -so which boyfriend are you talking about here- a different one or the same one ?



If it is "almost every night" do you not understand that housing benefit will regard the claim should be for three adults contributing to the rent and not one or two ?

If you were a single mum claiming your boyfriend lived apart from you but he stayed every night -you'd be considered a couple for housing benefit purposes and be in big trouble for claiming as single - the same principle applies if your Dad has "forgotten" to mention either you or your boyfriend on his housing benefit claim.

Whoops missed your post!

blckbrd

Racml34 wrote: »

I did correct myself later in the thread! I did explain that the policy may say more than once but this is only ever in exceptional circumstances and from what I can see there are no exceptional circumstances.

You're abolutely right - you did.

What you have failed to grasp is that I advised not to confuse assured and secure tenancies. There is a world of difference.

duchy

Really though the OP's Dad should be fine. He has two employed adults living with him who can afford to contribute so even if they help pay the arrears they have caused it won't be too bad as they are both working.

OP I know you didn't come here for this info but it's great that you now know so you don't have to worry about right to buy and as the concerned daughter you are can make sure you do right by your Dad financially and make sure your boyfriend does the same.

no1wf

Yorkie1 wrote: »

You are still missing the point.

You will not be allowed to apply with your Dad. Only the person on the tenancy is legally allowed to apply for the RTB. You are not on the tenancy and therefore cannot apply for the RTB.

The names on the mortgage and the RTB must match, so you cannot apply for a mortgage without being on the RTB.

Therefore ONLY YOUR FATHER can apply for the RTB and, thus, for the mortgage. Sorry to 'shout' but you really aren't getting the message.

Even if this was not a problem, the mortgage will be limited by your father's age. Lenders will only lend until retirement age - often 65 or longer if there is evidence of decent pension / working income. If your Dad is, say, 62 years old, then you may be limited to a mortgage of only 3 years.

Overall, your plan is a complete non-starter and you must look at what Plan B will be.

I know the mortgage lend is a struggle I've said that, but I'm pretty sure if my Dad applied for RTB I'm allowed to apply with him, it says so on the form itself

Mojisola wrote: »

Relying on what your Mother might have told the council and the DWP is not good enough. They have to be informed when changes happen - your Dad must have applied as a single person after her death. If they don't know you are working, they may be paying too much and that will be claimed back at some point. Your Dad could even be accused of fraud so check it out!

I've been working for over 4 years, so when Mum was alive, I doubt she wouldn't have told them that she wasn't like that but I'll check it out.

Racml34 wrote: »

I'm sorry but it does seem you are not really listening or taking responsibility for anything by saying that you've never had to do things before or dealt with forms etc. you really need to make sure that housing benefit are aware that you are working as not doing so could result in an overpayment which old lead to rent arrears. You are also still mentioning your dad being evicted and I have explained previously that if there are no rent arrears or other breaches of tenancy then legally he cannot be evicted on a secure tenancy.

If you are genuinely concerned about leaving your father on his own get some advice from your housing officer. You could ask to be referred for some housing related support to help you and your father look at all available options. There will not be the opportunity for you to buy it as there is absolutely no chance of you being added to the tenancy at this point.

Sheltered housing is excellent now and each unit has an alarm and most have on site staff for at least part of the time. Most have an excellent sense of community with residents living independently but lots of opportunity to socialise. You could go and have a look at a few schemes with your dad and see what he thinks? I took one of my residents who was adamant she didn't want sheltered to look at a scheme and she loved it. sheltered is usually from age 55+ now so it's not all old people! If you're concerned about the property being too big you could also suggest a mutual exchange to our father to a smaller property.

How do I find out if we have a secure tenancy. If I do move out and I know he won't be forced to move then I don't think we need to think about sheltered housing or anything. If he won't be made to move I don't want to make him move anyway if you understand.

I don't even know where the nearest sheltered housing places are around here, I don't want to get a place as near to him as possible and then sheltered housing turns out to be 20 miles away

blckbrd wrote: »

Do not confuse secure tenancies with assured. The rules of succession are not complicated. Statute says once but policy may say more.

While under-occupancy is material to the possibility of possession on ground 16, OP, this only relates to granting a successor tenancy and your dad has already succeeded. If he's to be evicted it would have to be for some other reason.

The best source of info on the possibility of buying with your dad would be a mortgage broker.

I know if I was really going to do this I would need to see a broker but I would need more contracted hours at work first, I don't think I earn anywhere near enough for them to seriously consider us.

duchy wrote: »

Really -so which boyfriend are you talking about here- a different one or the same one ?



If it is "almost every night" do you not understand that housing benefit will regard the claim should be for three adults contributing to the rent and not one or two ?

If you were a single mum claiming your boyfriend lived apart from you but he stayed every night -you'd be considered a couple for housing benefit purposes and be in big trouble for claiming as single - the same principle applies if your Dad has "forgotten" to mention either you or your boyfriend on his housing benefit claim.

The same one. When I say 'living together quite happily' I meant he stays over sometimes and we have a routine and it's comfortable. If he asks me to pick something up with the shopping he'll give us money for it. He has his own toothbrush here that kind of thing. But he LIVES in his own house with his Dad

duchy wrote: »

Really though the OP's Dad should be fine. He has two employed adults living with him who can afford to contribute so even if they help pay the arrears they have caused it won't be too bad as they are both working.

OP I know you didn't come here for this info but it's great that you now know so you don't have to worry about right to buy and as the concerned daughter you are can make sure you do right by your Dad financially and make sure your boyfriend does the same.

I really don't think we have caused any arrears. We had a woman help us out when Mum was sick telling us what help we could get and she helped Dad out afterwards so I don't think she would have let it slip by her. But like I said I'll check.

Racml34

It will be on his tenancy agreement whether it is secure or assured. In either case unless he has rent arrears or any other breaches of tenancy there are no grounds for possession. Therefore you really have no need to worry if you do leave as long as he can afford the rent. The only thing you need to remember though is that when you leave he will be under occupying by 2 rooms instead of one and his housing benefit will be reduced by 25% until he reaches pensionable age. If this makes it unaffordable then he would need to consider moving to a smaller property