LHA Housing Benefit entitlement

glvr

I'm looking for clarification on potential LHA Housing Benefit entitlement.

I'm currently a joint tenant with my adult (age 27) son in private rented accommodation.

We're each receiving the shared room rate in HB. From my understanding, this seems correct.

However, in considering a move to a different Local Authority area, the advice I've received from them is that we'd be entitled to more... specifically, that I'm entitled to the 2-bed rate, and my son the shared room rate of LHA - even though we'd be joint tenants. This is apparently because we're living as one household (sharing meals, household shopping etc).

As this directly contradicts advice from my current and another Local Authority, both of whom are firm on 'you each get shared room rate', I'm trying to find something which sufficiently reassures me of the increased entitlement.

The financial difference is significant (approx £350 month), and greatly affects whether we can genuinely find anywhere affordable.

Housing_Benefit_Officer

They have got thing wrong - you can only get the 2 bed rate if you were the tenant with your son as a non dep. Staff training need there me thinks.

glvr

Housing_Benefit_Officer wrote: »

They have got thing wrong - you can only get the 2 bed rate if you were the tenant with your son as a non dep. Staff training need there me thinks.

Thanks. Seems even more confusing now... I'd initially wondered about the 2-bed rate plus non-dep deduction - and how this was affected by or affects my son claiming (at presumably the shared room rate).

But, as my current and previous local authorities had both assessed entitlement as 'shared room rate for each of us' I'd assumed that to be so.

However, having yesterday received the differing advice from another local authority, I'm now unsure... and perhaps moreso having read the government-issued LHA guide which mentions:

---

Joint tenants within the same household.

You may have a joint tenant who is part of your household, but are not treated as members of your family for HB purposes.

For example you may have a non-dependant son or daughter who is a joint tenant, but they live as part of your household.

In these rarer cases, the LHA bedroom rate can be more than the shared accommodation rate.

---

lighting_up_the_chalice

glvr wrote: »

Thanks. Seems even more confusing now... I'd initially wondered about the 2-bed rate plus non-dep deduction - and how this was affected by or affects my son claiming (at presumably the shared room rate).

If you are claiming the 2 bed rate, with your son as a non-dep and subject to any non-dep deduction, he cannot also claim the shared room rate for himself, as his housing costs/rent liability are already being paid by you.

You either claim as one household - the 2 room rate - if you are living as one household. OR you both claim as individuals - the shared room rate - as you are both living independently in shared accommodation.

What effects what doesn't really matter. The claim should reflect the actual living arrangements.

glvr

lighting_up_the_chalice wrote: »

If you are claiming the 2 bed rate, with your son as a non-dep and subject to any non-dep deduction, he cannot also claim the shared room rate for himself, as his housing costs/rent liability are already being paid by you.

You either claim as one household - the 2 room rate - if you are living as one household. OR you both claim as individuals - the shared room rate - as you are both living independently in shared accommodation.

What effects what doesn't really matter. The claim should reflect the actual living arrangements.

Thanks.

That helps and partially clarifies things.

As I mentioned, my understanding of 'the correct situation' is that as joint tenants we each claim HB and receive the shared room rate (and that I couldn't instead claim the 2-bed rate and have a non-dep deduction for him).

However, the recent advice form another local authority and the '...you may have a non-dependant son or daughter who is a joint tenant, but they live as part of your household. In these rarer cases, the LHA bedroom rate can be more than the shared accommodation rate.' makes the situation less clear.

The 'the actual living arrangements' are that we do genuinely 'live as one household (sharing meals, household shopping etc)' just as we did when he was a child.

it seems that this then opens the possibility of higher payment than if, for example, 'I and a friend/stranger were simply joint tenants living independently in the same accommodation'.