housing benefit/lodger question

maya85

I have a question regarding housing benefits and having a lodger.

I currently do not have a job but have about 2k in savings. I am not on any benefits of any kind. I am stuck at my parents place in the middle of nowhere and I want to move to manchester to find a job and start a life. I am 27

The shared rate for LHA in manchester is 65/week but I remember reading somewhere that if i take a lodger, i could get the 2 bed rate of 114/week.

Am i right in thinking that if i rent a 2 bed flat in manchester for 750/month and then take a lodger and charge her 300 a month for the smaller room, i can get the 2 bed LHA rate?

would i get any assistance in council tax until i find a job?

i have a friend who is willing to be my lodger. she is self employed and makes around 20k/year. will that effect anything?

how will the council tax work for her?

any replies will be appreciated.

fluffymovie

Hi

So, if you move to Manchester and sign a tenancy in your own name, for a 2 bedroom property, you would normally only be entitled to the Shared Room Rate. However, you have stated that you would like a lodger to move in with you and as a result, you would be entitled to the 2 bed LHA rate.

What you then charge your tenant would affect your Housing benefit payment. We would allow some disregards but if she was paying you £300 per month, we would use some of this as income and so you would not receive all the rent.

As you would be the sole named tenant, you would be liable for the Council Tax and could claim a reduction (each council has it's own scheme so you would need to check with Manchester) Your lodger would not be liable for the Council Tax and would not be asked to pay anything, the bill is yours.

What i would say is 2 friends, who move from one area to another at the same time, into the same property, in a lodger landlord relationship may be subject to additional scrutiny to ensure that you are not infact a couple. Not suggesting this is the case but important to explain this may be an issue.

It;s also important to remind you that if your lodger moves out for any reason, you would be in a 2 bedroom property on your own and only receive the shared room rate.

Also, if you find a job in Manchester, and this may mean you cease to be eligible for any HB, you would have to find the rent yourself. There would also be additional expenses in the form of utilities etc which there is no benefit assistance for so you shoudl budget for that as well.

nannytone_2

you would still only get the shared accomodation rate .
at the age of 27 the only way you would get the 2 bed rate is if you had a child

maya85

thanks for your reply fluffymovie

nannytone wrote: »

you would still only get the shared accomodation rate .
at the age of 27 the only way you would get the 2 bed rate is if you had a child

Can anyone confirm or deny this? This seems to contradict what fluffymovie posted.


thanks

nannytone_2

you get benefit for the amount of rooms that YOUR household needs.
your household would mean people that you are related to either by blood or marriage. ( husband/wife/civil partner/someone you live with as if you are married/parent/sibling/child)
a lodger doesnt form part of your householld, but is counted as a seperate household that shares the same living space.
you cant claim benefit on their behalf.
would you be making a joint JSA claim with this lodger?
or expect them to support you if they are working and you are not?
of course not because they are not part of your household.

if the lodger was also claiming housing benefit then you would both make seperate claims for shared accomodation rate. you wouldnt claim the 2 bed rate on their behalf

fluffymovie

The lodger does count as part of the household nannytone. I do this for a living!!!

Housing benefit circular about under occupancy illustrates this nicely although if you still think I'm mistaken nannytone, I'll find the reg

Boarders and lodgers
44.When assessing the make up of the household for the purposes of determining how many rooms are required, any boarder or lodger will be taken into account. Therefore in a three bedroom house with a couple, their child and a lodger, the claimant would not be considered to be under- occupying and there would be no reduction in Housing Benefit due to under-occupancy.

Some info from a housing association too
http://www.lqgroup.org.uk/services-for-residents/your-home/lodgers-and-subtenants/

maya85

fluffymovie wrote: »

The lodger does count as part of the household nannytone. I do this for a living!!!

Housing benefit circular about under occupancy illustrates this nicely although if you still think I'm mistaken nannytone, I'll find the reg

Boarders and lodgers
44.When assessing the make up of the household for the purposes of determining how many rooms are required, any boarder or lodger will be taken into account. Therefore in a three bedroom house with a couple, their child and a lodger, the claimant would not be considered to be under- occupying and there would be no reduction in Housing Benefit due to under-occupancy.

Hi fluffymovie. Once again thanks for your reply.

You talked about the housing benefit people scrutinising two friends moving in together at the same time. What would they ask for. I live outside of London and my friend is in Manchester .

As pretty as she is, I don't swing that way lol. How would we convince them that we are not a same sex couple? Lol

paddedjohn

fluffymovie wrote: »

The lodger does count as part of the household nannytone. I do this for a living!!!

Housing benefit circular about under occupancy illustrates this nicely although if you still think I'm mistaken nannytone, I'll find the reg

Boarders and lodgers
44.When assessing the make up of the household for the purposes of determining how many rooms are required, any boarder or lodger will be taken into account. Therefore in a three bedroom house with a couple, their child and a lodger, the claimant would not be considered to be under- occupying and there would be no reduction in Housing Benefit due to under-occupancy.

Some info from a housing association too
http://www.lqgroup.org.uk/services-for-residents/your-home/lodgers-and-subtenants/

Your quote above refers to council tenants does it not? The OP is seeking to rent private so will be claiming LHA and will only be entitled to the shared house rate as pointed out by nannytone.

fluffymovie

Yes PJ, it does refer to under occupancy as I stated in the post but it demonstrated my point that a lodger is considered a part of the household for the purposes of determining number of rooms.

If OP was to become a J/ten then he would only be entitled to SRR but as he would be the liable party but need a room for the lodger, the lodgers room would be considered.

http://www.helpwithrent.org.uk/advice/lodgers/

Also check our the Local Housing Allowance Guidance Manual (dated April 2011) and section 2.030 which clearly states that a boarder, subtenant is an occupier.

As I say, I do do this job for a living and am fairly experienced having done it for over a decade but will leave it to the OP to confirm - OP, ring Manchester and ask them and they should confirm!

~Chameleon~

This is why you're better off phoning the council to ask them yourself. You get some people who think they know the rules, but clearly they don't, stating something is fact and contradicting an expert. Then other people claiming they're experts so you should believe them (not doubting you, btw) but on an internet forum you only have their word for it. Who are you to believe