Advice on family moving in

LuK2007

I am a secured tenant for a housing association (social housing) in semi detached house with 2 rooms. I am still living here but my brother in law and his mrs and their 2 kids have recently been made homeless.

out of the kindness of my heart i have decided to let them stay with me free of charge for the near future - they wont be in a rush to go and we have discussed everything and we all are happy.

All the bills are still all in my name and their is absolutely no rent paid to me by him or anyone else for that matter. They are broke and eventually want their own house somewhere local.

I dont stay at this house every night because my job demands that im out on the road alot (im a sales rep) and cover quite a big region.

This is still my primary residence however im concerned that the new presence of a family in the home may cause concern to my landlord.


Do you think they will A) try and give me a notice to quit as they "believe" I may be subletting or Spy on me and generally give me grief

I pay full rent and have never messed my landlord around, am i actually allowed to let anyone i wish stay in my property free of charge so long as its my main residence?

Pixie5740

It's your home, you can have guests stay with you if you want.

Somerset

I'd check with the HA before you commit to this. They may prohibit it.


Your BIL, wife and two kids aren't guests. This will be their primary residence unless/until they are rehoused. Council tax, schools, doctors, dentists etc.

LittleMax

Pixie5740 wrote: »

It's your home, you can have guests stay with you if you want.

But this is longer than just having guests stay over - this would be getting into permitted occupancy. The HA will say no to this as the property is not large enough and they would be condoning overcrowding and there would then be a duty to rehouse.

Is your brother-in-law in contact with the Council and registered on the housing list?

MoneyMission2015

I appreciate the comment above saying you can have guests stay when you want, but this isn't guests, this is a family coming to live with you for an indefinite amount of time. It could end up being a month, 3 months, a year, who knows. You have even said they would be in no rush to go.


If I were you I would discuss it with the LL just to check. Better to be open and upfront with them than to find yourself in trouble a few months down the line when somebody complains.


Have you also considered how much extra money this will cost you? You will have increased utility bills, if you are currently eligible for single person discount on your council tax you will lose that, your phone bill could increase if they don't use their mobiles. I know you said you wont be asking for any money, but would they be able to afford a small contribution to the bills (not rent) to help cover the extra that you will be paying?


It's a lovely thing you're doing and I hope you are able to help out your family, but don't get yourself in trouble for the sake of other people.

spadoosh

By no means an expert but might be doing them a diservice.

At the moment they are homeless and vulnerable (kids) as such they will be high priority for the council to house. As soon as they have a house with you they are no longer high priority or homeless and could make it more difficult long term for them to get housing (unless they can afford private rents).

I'd definately tell the HA, a relative (proper curtain twitcher) reported a neighbour for sub letting. I remember thinking that the poor guy had probably just lost his house because she grassed because he had a mate stay over. Fortunately hes still got his house but the sleep overs do seem to have stopped. Last thing you want is neighbours sticking their oar in. Let the HA know and theyll say yes or no abd you can go from there.

HappyMJ

LuK2007 wrote: »

I am a secured tenant for a housing association (social housing) in semi detached house with 2 rooms. I am still living here but my brother in law and his mrs and their 2 kids have recently been made homeless.

out of the kindness of my heart i have decided to let them stay with me free of charge for the near future - they wont be in a rush to go and we have discussed everything and we all are happy.

All the bills are still all in my name and their is absolutely no rent paid to me by him or anyone else for that matter. They are broke and eventually want their own house somewhere local.

I dont stay at this house every night because my job demands that im out on the road alot (im a sales rep) and cover quite a big region.

This is still my primary residence however im concerned that the new presence of a family in the home may cause concern to my landlord.


Do you think they will A) try and give me a notice to quit as they "believe" I may be subletting or Spy on me and generally give me grief

I pay full rent and have never messed my landlord around, am i actually allowed to let anyone i wish stay in my property free of charge so long as its my main residence?

They need to be doing something to find themselves accommodation or this will be seen as their main home and allowing them to stay may be against the terms and conditions imposed upon you by your landlord.

You're welcome to have guests stay over.

Applying as homeless for social housing would indicate to your landlord they do not intend to stay permanently. They would be giving you address as their temporary address so your landlord will find out one way or another that they live there so speaking with your local housing association and informing them that they are staying temporarily whilst waiting to be housed might be a good idea.

LuK2007

Thanks for all of your advice.

They have there own mobiles so thats a bonus.

I phoned my landlord anonymously and the receptionist said as long as im paying full rent with no benefits and its still my primary residence that its ok.

I just wanted to post here to see what others thought. They have been refused once before for social housing as they were "adequate" not to need it where they currently where and that if they "left" were they have been kicked out of they wouldnt get help.

So they are pickled unless they come to live with me for a bit.

To get done for Sub letting NO MATTER how nosy or reportative your neighbours are.... wouldnt there need to be solid proof that im receiving money from then as well as none of my belongings or sky tv or any other bills are there in my name. i.e. all my letters will still be registered to my address.

The family that are coming to live with me have there stuff registered at their old residence which the person who kicked them out is still happy for there letters to stay there.

All is good i believe although im still really happy for as many people to put there opinion in on this one and could help others in my predicament

Mojisola

LuK2007 wrote: »

I am a secured tenant for a housing association (social housing) in semi detached house with 2 rooms. I am still living here but my brother in law and his mrs and their 2 kids have recently been made homeless.

out of the kindness of my heart i have decided to let them stay with me free of charge for the near future - they wont be in a rush to go and we have discussed everything and we all are happy.

I think you may come to regret these two kind gestures.

The family should at the very least be offering to pay the increase to your bills - Council Tax and the utilities. If they didn't make that offer themselves, I would be concerned having them to stay.

Not having some end date to work towards could end up with them happily living with you while you start to resent their presence. They will be in the house more than you and you may start to feel like the visitor but find it hard to tell them to leave because you said they could stay as long as they want.

Why not set a review date for, say, two or three months and have a semi-formal review - you can sort out any problems that have arisen (not cleaning the kitchen, using your stuff and not replacing it, etc) and they can show you what efforts they've been making to find somewhere to live.

spadoosh

LuK2007 wrote: »

Thanks for all of your advice.

They have there own mobiles so thats a bonus.

I phoned my landlord anonymously and the receptionist said as long as im paying full rent with no benefits and its still my primary residence that its ok.

I just wanted to post here to see what others thought. They have been refused once before for social housing as they were "adequate" not to need it where they currently where and that if they "left" were they have been kicked out of they wouldnt get help.

So they are pickled unless they come to live with me for a bit.

To get done for Sub letting NO MATTER how nosy or reportative your neighbours are.... wouldnt there need to be solid proof that im receiving money from then as well as none of my belongings or sky tv or any other bills are there in my name. i.e. all my letters will still be registered to my address.

The family that are coming to live with me have there stuff registered at their old residence which the person who kicked them out is still happy for there letters to stay there.

All is good i believe although im still really happy for as many people to put there opinion in on this one and could help others in my predicament

Not saying you will be done but they might put the onus on you to prove that they dont pay rent. They might request banking documents etc. And its not like your dealing with a right and wrong here. Your landlord does not have to rent the property to you, they can at any point decide that they no longer want to rent the property to you irrespective of a 'valid' reason. Theres certain protections (ie notices to leave) but ultimately they decide they dont want you doesnt matter what evidence you have. Its extremely difficult for someone to force you to let them live in your house.

teddysmum

I was about to mention what has been said above; ie that having your home to stay in will mean they do not qualify as in urgent need and will be pushed down the waiting list by others who accept emergency accommodation, even if only in a B&B.