Renting to a family member & housing benefit

BurnleyBob

ninab wrote: »

Update : Daughter has called and been told NO! Looks like its not an option for her, BB accommodation until a house from LA becomes avail which will be paid by HB!

I believe she would have to be in situ to make a Housing Benefit/LHA claim. The LA could reject that claim but provided she appealed a tribunal can trump the LA.

Maybe if you asked a specialist in the field then they could give you a better insight about her chances of success.

I understand from reading this and similar forums that many front desk staff at LAs mistakenly believe that renting from close relatives when seeking HB/LHA is impossible when it most definitely isn't providing all the proverbial hoops are jumped through.

lighting_up_the_chalice

ninab wrote: »

Update : Daughter has called and been told NO! Looks like its not an option for her, BB accommodation until a house from LA becomes avail which will be paid by HB!

The maximum stay in B+B should be no more than 6 weeks.

nannytone_2

should be ......

when i lived in london a friends relatives ( a couple with 2 kiddies) had been in a B&B for 8 months

pmlindyloo

ninab wrote: »

I've read quite a few conflicting posts on this subject so still no clearer, can anybody please clarify:

My husband and I will be purchasing a property within the next few months on a buy to let which we were going to rent out, we have been planning this for some time and have been saving for a deposit. My daughter who is now pregnant and on her own has had very little help from the local council they have only offered her BB accommodation, shes homeless.

Is there a possibility she could live in our BTL property and claim housing benefit?

Let's go back to your daughter's circumstances. You say she is homeless and on her own. So where is she living and under what circumstances has she become homeless?

I'm not being nosy just that the local authority have strict criteria about how they deal with homelessness.

I will try and find a link to explain the way they should deal with homelessness.

Maybe the reason your daughter has been told 'no' to living in your Buy to Let property is because of the way she framed the question. e.g. I am pregnant, on my own, homeless, can my parents buy a house for me to rent and will I get HB? - instead of, I am homeless, my parents have a house which they rent out, could I rent it and get HB?

Also agree that some frontline staff do not know all the rules and regulations.

Having said that, have you checked out the Buy to Let mortgage yet about renting to family and have you checked whether you could afford to let your daughter live there?

Edit:

A useful link:

http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/homelessness/help_from_the_council_when_homeless/priority_need

ninab_2

I would rather not go into the reasons why she's homeless on here for fear of being judged, she's not with the father and at 20 and pregnant I'm very upset about the situation she's found herself in. The LA have now mentioned a possibility of a facility for young mums with onsite support, own front door from 30 wks onwards until she can prove she can run a tenancy and manage adequately, in the meantime they've asked if she can reside with us until this becomes avail instead of the BB option. Unfortunately she can't stay with us on permanent basis.

pmlindyoo - Yes that's exactly how she worded it to them!! She should of worded it differently.

xylophone

my parents have a house which they rent out,

But they don't yet? And has the prospective BTL mortgagee been consulted about letting to family? This question has now been asked and not answered several times?

ninab_2

If you read my very first post it does state it something we are looking to do within the next few months, so bearing this in mind we will ensure the BTL mortgage we go for will allow family members, thanks for the heads up.

heartbreak_star

Why can't she stay with you if the situation is so dire? I note above it's an option instead of a B&B, but a temporary option?

Hopefully she can move into the young mums' facility, fingers crossed for her.

HBS x

Brodiebobs

We rent a house to a family member, not daughter but they have same surname, she was our first tenant, but we didn't buy the house to let just found our new house and there wasn't chance to sell our current home.
No questions were asked when she applied for HB, we charge her slightly less than market rate, so her top up isn't as much as it otherwise be.

She explained we were related, had to supply my contact details in case they wanted to speak to me but no-one ever contacted me i just got a letter advising her application had been accepted a week or so later. She did however have to show them a signed tenancy agreement which we had already done.

Johnandabby

I've been looking for a buy-to-let mortgage provider who will allow you to rent to a family member, but it's explicitly prohibited on all mainstream lenders that I have approached so far.

Has anyone found a provider who will do this? I wonder how many people don't check or tell their mortgage provider, but I want to do it legitimately.