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Advice sought: Family cash buying flat to rent to son
Unsure1000
Posts: 1 Newbie
Hi all, firstly i have been reading similar threads to this that i have created.
However my circumstance is slightly different, in the fact that i have privately rented for the last 16 years (partly using HB when unemployed and paid full rent when i wasn't). All addresses i have lived aside my current were rooms and as such i've never been in arrears anywhere. For the last 15 months however i have been renting a flat since i have surpassed the age in which i classify for a flat on LHA, This flat too (studio flat) despite being more than the LHA maximum of £500 pcm in my location (Southampton) also remains to be paid in full every month, the rent is £540 pcm.
Whilst this next bit may be irrelevant to the advice i'm seeking, i'm just eager to explain why i exist in the flat that i do: 3 years ago i lived in a room in a 3 bed house with a friend whom i met 5 years prior (in a mandated JSA course). The rent was higher than i was used to being £80 per week (the LHA at the time was approx £64 a week and JSA £65 approx). The friend was the manager for the house, given that the landlord had appointed him to be the mediator and manager of the house. Despite it being a 3 bed house, it was only me and this manager/friend. Of course the landlord claimed to live there also (for the tax dodge), but never did! When i moved in i was working so the transition from my previous abode was relatively seemless, the manager of the new home even helped with transportation. Now in order for the new home to be viable only 2 of the 3 rooms needed to be occupied according to both the landlord and the manager. For the next 6 months we lived in harmony, seemingly cementing a friendship bourne from our mutual interests. Then another friend moved in (unknown to me, but known to both landlord and manager). We all lived happily for a further 6 months. Then i lose my job, get straight on to JSA (unknowingly due to unfair dismisal, as most if not all other scenarios constitute a wait of 6 weeks to get JSA when sacekd from a job). HB gets paid 3 days after making the claim, albeit 3 months after i presented the stuation to the landlord who claimed that due to her living there i was a lodger (whom just happened to have a lock on their room, with keys like the other 2 bedrooms had!). Of course this was a bit silly on her part to insist that the previous tenant used her lodger agreement successfully, given he most likely forged a different one. Her lodger agreement was basically her name, her bank details, and what the rent paid for, all neatly presented on a single sheet of A4, no signatures, no tenant name - basically worthless, and as such HB would not pay on such a flimsy contract. I suspect those who read this would think i defaulted for the entire time i was waiting for HB, however this again was not the case, my job which i had lost allowed to the pay for 3 months of rent, which incidentally is how i do things, pay more early then get a rent holiday. Surfice to say 3 months after presenting the idea of claiming HB, i got it, and it took 3 days! Obviously my relationship with the landlord was rather soured during this situation.
Things were going well up-until i got sanctioned by the jobcentre, and had to use a food bank. The sanction i got reversed on my own, and the payment was returned to me after 4 weeks. However the manager of the house decided upon himself to help himself to my items of food from the food bank, since there were items which he fancied as opposed to the stock food i buy from Iceland (personal preference). I course asked everyone if they had taken any of the missing items (the rent still had been paid since i got a nil income HB claim re-instated the day after the sanction of JSA). The other "lodgers" denied taking it, so i got the landlord involved, who's first action was to inform me that i was being evicted for stirring!. Again unbeknown to me at the time we get legal-aid for housing matters whilst in reciept of certain benefits. So whilst evading her requests to leave the home (with no money - she technically owed me £400 in over paid rent at the time), so she threatened court, at which point i sought advice, and found out about the above.
We went to court, and despite really wanting to sue, ergo win, i took the charity's advice (a charity called Two Saints who help homeless or soon to be homeless people), and took a flat in which the landlord i took to court paying the deposit of £500 to the new landlord. The flat is alot better than the alternative which i've never attended, which is basically a hostel full of hardcore drug addicts (my best friend was stuck there for 6 months).
So i live in a "flat" provided by a private landlord who works in partnership with said charity at a rent of £540 pcm, i'm stil on JSA which currently is £72 per week, and i have to pay the council tax, albeit discounted to approx 20%, the £40 rent shortfall, the flat has no heating (so electric only on a key meter) and i also have no hot water other than boiling a kettle. The shower is practically unuseable, given it runs off someone else's gas boiler, but the shower is electric, with very poor water pressure, at best i get 15 secs of nice temperature, before it goes to the extreme of 60 celcius, or 3 celcius. Subsequentally i use other people's showers, mainly my parents, whom are local (10 miles away) which i commute via bicycle to. The toilet has never flushed, so i have to manually flush it by taking it apart, or using the bucket of water from height. The landlord has been informed, and refuses to pay the £3 part that the toilet requires (however it's not the cost it's the work that needs to be done to install said part which is why i've not attempted it). I've also had rats, which as you might expect the landlord didn't acknowledge, he changed his mind though when i threatened the use of solictors, at which point he got his workers to fill up all the holes in the flat. Luckily i've had no more sighting's of the rats, even if i can hear them under the floor, in the fireplace and under the sink, scratching away at the temporary fix.
So basically at the moment i live in a flat which in smaller than several of the rooms i've rented in the past, with no heating, multiple defects in the guise of holes, an unuseable shower, a manual toilet. It's also ground floor and north facing, with windows facing bushes approx 1 metre away, making it rather cold (even in summer!). The flat also has the non-convenience of having a kitchen in the lounge which also trebles as my bedroom, so i basically have to airate the room everyday, losing any heat i've stored via the expensive electric heating, otherwise there will be mould, which is a usual occurance when i leave the flat for a few days. The flat is also more than the LHA pays, with a Landlord who simply doesn't care, unless you owe him 5p or more in which case he'll be badgering till he gets it (others in the block of 7 get this treatment).
You'd think i'd move, like that's a realistic alternative, never-the-less i have tried to no avail, mainly due to not having the fluid funds that non benefit claimants have. Any rent that falls under the LHA rate is often snapped up by a worker pretty much as soon as it's advertised.
So, my situation is a bit more rosey, given that my parents retired early, having done rather well for themselves, my father retiring at the age of 42 (not to ill-health). He's now 73, and for the last 18 months has been eager to purchase a flat for me to live in. However we read alot of contrived tenacy articles, and of course the HB office is just computers now. The HB office suggest we write to them, which we shall... However despite the inferred wealth of my parents, i actually moved out at 22 to experience life, become independant and not be molycoddled like my brother (whom at 44 lives with parents with his wife and 2 kids, in the house, and pays no rent or bills.)
I've been living for the last 18 months in my flat, paid for by my entitlement of HB, and been unemployed for the last 3 years, so making up the shortfall using my JSA.
So my question:
If i currently get HB+JSA for an existing 1 bed flat, could i not get it for a different 1 bed flat, if my parents bought it as a cash buyer?
The flat we've not purchased yet, mainly due to the analogous situtation of cheap rents, it seems cheaper homes sell to quickly also. Whilst he is a cash buyer i've seen 6 i've liked and those sold within a week of being advertised!
Whilst i shall keep looking, my father seems to be under the impression that this situation can be done, and other threads on this site sometimes suggest this also.
For the record the tenancy will be tied to the LHA rate, and won't be used to pay for a mortgage, and thus tax shall be paid on the earnings made by my father. He'll be quite happy to evict me should i default, obviously though that's not a historically accurate assumption to make given my mandate to pay rent, then bills then food then everything else, in strictly that order.
P.s due to a quick typing speed i tend to write alot, apologies.
However my circumstance is slightly different, in the fact that i have privately rented for the last 16 years (partly using HB when unemployed and paid full rent when i wasn't). All addresses i have lived aside my current were rooms and as such i've never been in arrears anywhere. For the last 15 months however i have been renting a flat since i have surpassed the age in which i classify for a flat on LHA, This flat too (studio flat) despite being more than the LHA maximum of £500 pcm in my location (Southampton) also remains to be paid in full every month, the rent is £540 pcm.
Whilst this next bit may be irrelevant to the advice i'm seeking, i'm just eager to explain why i exist in the flat that i do: 3 years ago i lived in a room in a 3 bed house with a friend whom i met 5 years prior (in a mandated JSA course). The rent was higher than i was used to being £80 per week (the LHA at the time was approx £64 a week and JSA £65 approx). The friend was the manager for the house, given that the landlord had appointed him to be the mediator and manager of the house. Despite it being a 3 bed house, it was only me and this manager/friend. Of course the landlord claimed to live there also (for the tax dodge), but never did! When i moved in i was working so the transition from my previous abode was relatively seemless, the manager of the new home even helped with transportation. Now in order for the new home to be viable only 2 of the 3 rooms needed to be occupied according to both the landlord and the manager. For the next 6 months we lived in harmony, seemingly cementing a friendship bourne from our mutual interests. Then another friend moved in (unknown to me, but known to both landlord and manager). We all lived happily for a further 6 months. Then i lose my job, get straight on to JSA (unknowingly due to unfair dismisal, as most if not all other scenarios constitute a wait of 6 weeks to get JSA when sacekd from a job). HB gets paid 3 days after making the claim, albeit 3 months after i presented the stuation to the landlord who claimed that due to her living there i was a lodger (whom just happened to have a lock on their room, with keys like the other 2 bedrooms had!). Of course this was a bit silly on her part to insist that the previous tenant used her lodger agreement successfully, given he most likely forged a different one. Her lodger agreement was basically her name, her bank details, and what the rent paid for, all neatly presented on a single sheet of A4, no signatures, no tenant name - basically worthless, and as such HB would not pay on such a flimsy contract. I suspect those who read this would think i defaulted for the entire time i was waiting for HB, however this again was not the case, my job which i had lost allowed to the pay for 3 months of rent, which incidentally is how i do things, pay more early then get a rent holiday. Surfice to say 3 months after presenting the idea of claiming HB, i got it, and it took 3 days! Obviously my relationship with the landlord was rather soured during this situation.
Things were going well up-until i got sanctioned by the jobcentre, and had to use a food bank. The sanction i got reversed on my own, and the payment was returned to me after 4 weeks. However the manager of the house decided upon himself to help himself to my items of food from the food bank, since there were items which he fancied as opposed to the stock food i buy from Iceland (personal preference). I course asked everyone if they had taken any of the missing items (the rent still had been paid since i got a nil income HB claim re-instated the day after the sanction of JSA). The other "lodgers" denied taking it, so i got the landlord involved, who's first action was to inform me that i was being evicted for stirring!. Again unbeknown to me at the time we get legal-aid for housing matters whilst in reciept of certain benefits. So whilst evading her requests to leave the home (with no money - she technically owed me £400 in over paid rent at the time), so she threatened court, at which point i sought advice, and found out about the above.
We went to court, and despite really wanting to sue, ergo win, i took the charity's advice (a charity called Two Saints who help homeless or soon to be homeless people), and took a flat in which the landlord i took to court paying the deposit of £500 to the new landlord. The flat is alot better than the alternative which i've never attended, which is basically a hostel full of hardcore drug addicts (my best friend was stuck there for 6 months).
So i live in a "flat" provided by a private landlord who works in partnership with said charity at a rent of £540 pcm, i'm stil on JSA which currently is £72 per week, and i have to pay the council tax, albeit discounted to approx 20%, the £40 rent shortfall, the flat has no heating (so electric only on a key meter) and i also have no hot water other than boiling a kettle. The shower is practically unuseable, given it runs off someone else's gas boiler, but the shower is electric, with very poor water pressure, at best i get 15 secs of nice temperature, before it goes to the extreme of 60 celcius, or 3 celcius. Subsequentally i use other people's showers, mainly my parents, whom are local (10 miles away) which i commute via bicycle to. The toilet has never flushed, so i have to manually flush it by taking it apart, or using the bucket of water from height. The landlord has been informed, and refuses to pay the £3 part that the toilet requires (however it's not the cost it's the work that needs to be done to install said part which is why i've not attempted it). I've also had rats, which as you might expect the landlord didn't acknowledge, he changed his mind though when i threatened the use of solictors, at which point he got his workers to fill up all the holes in the flat. Luckily i've had no more sighting's of the rats, even if i can hear them under the floor, in the fireplace and under the sink, scratching away at the temporary fix.
So basically at the moment i live in a flat which in smaller than several of the rooms i've rented in the past, with no heating, multiple defects in the guise of holes, an unuseable shower, a manual toilet. It's also ground floor and north facing, with windows facing bushes approx 1 metre away, making it rather cold (even in summer!). The flat also has the non-convenience of having a kitchen in the lounge which also trebles as my bedroom, so i basically have to airate the room everyday, losing any heat i've stored via the expensive electric heating, otherwise there will be mould, which is a usual occurance when i leave the flat for a few days. The flat is also more than the LHA pays, with a Landlord who simply doesn't care, unless you owe him 5p or more in which case he'll be badgering till he gets it (others in the block of 7 get this treatment).
You'd think i'd move, like that's a realistic alternative, never-the-less i have tried to no avail, mainly due to not having the fluid funds that non benefit claimants have. Any rent that falls under the LHA rate is often snapped up by a worker pretty much as soon as it's advertised.
So, my situation is a bit more rosey, given that my parents retired early, having done rather well for themselves, my father retiring at the age of 42 (not to ill-health). He's now 73, and for the last 18 months has been eager to purchase a flat for me to live in. However we read alot of contrived tenacy articles, and of course the HB office is just computers now. The HB office suggest we write to them, which we shall... However despite the inferred wealth of my parents, i actually moved out at 22 to experience life, become independant and not be molycoddled like my brother (whom at 44 lives with parents with his wife and 2 kids, in the house, and pays no rent or bills.)
I've been living for the last 18 months in my flat, paid for by my entitlement of HB, and been unemployed for the last 3 years, so making up the shortfall using my JSA.
So my question:
If i currently get HB+JSA for an existing 1 bed flat, could i not get it for a different 1 bed flat, if my parents bought it as a cash buyer?
The flat we've not purchased yet, mainly due to the analogous situtation of cheap rents, it seems cheaper homes sell to quickly also. Whilst he is a cash buyer i've seen 6 i've liked and those sold within a week of being advertised!
Whilst i shall keep looking, my father seems to be under the impression that this situation can be done, and other threads on this site sometimes suggest this also.
For the record the tenancy will be tied to the LHA rate, and won't be used to pay for a mortgage, and thus tax shall be paid on the earnings made by my father. He'll be quite happy to evict me should i default, obviously though that's not a historically accurate assumption to make given my mandate to pay rent, then bills then food then everything else, in strictly that order.
P.s due to a quick typing speed i tend to write alot, apologies.
0
Comments
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Just because your father will own the property it doesn't automatically follow that the tenancy would be contrived. Having a proper tenancy agreement in place and paying the market rate would help but ultimately the decision rests with the local council.0
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As long as the rent is in line with the local area (not cheap because you are their son), you pay a deposit, the tenancy agreement is thorough and includes things like, how you can be evicted, costs for losing your keys, renewing your tenancy, any letters that need writing to you etc. and your father does all the landlord legal stuff, gas safety certificate, registering with HMRC etc etc then it'll be fine.0
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