Would elderly parent get housing benefit if living with us?

catz1ct

Why do so many people come on here and ask for advice and then get annoyed when we don't give them the information they want?

californiagirl

bspm wrote: »

No idea if OP explained wrongly re parents and renting but here is the definition for what some are calling a 'contrived tenancy'

A contrived tenancy is a term used in British housing law to describe a situation where a tenancy is created in order to take advantage of the housing benefit system. Contrived tenancies can occur where a family member 'rents' to a family member but on a non-commercial basis.

Night night folks, think drugs are finally kicking in.

Ok, thanks bspm. This would not be a contrived tenancy because I would never want to take advantage. If that were the case then I would have to be responsible for killing one of my parents off in order to claim the HB. And before others chime in implying that's my intention.....IT'S NOT!!

californiagirl

catz1ct wrote: »

Why do so many people come on here and ask for advice and then get annoyed when we don't give them the information they want?

I've thanked everyone who's given me constructive advice and information. Just not interested in the thoughts of those who are clearly looking to do something else.

GwylimT

No, it would be considered a contrived tenancy.

Why wouldn't the surviving parent claim HB at their own property to cover the rent? Why would you be paying for food etc when they have their own income of a pension and if requiring care AA and possibly pension credit if the are that hard up.

californiagirl

tomtom256 wrote: »

The above is a factual answer based on the wording used, because in theory if it was an official annex/separate to the main house and the tenancy would be legally enforced and they would be evicted if they didn't pay rent, then HB could be payable.

However as worded in the first post, HB would not be payable based on the two points quoted as they infer that they want the HB to make the mortgage affordable.

As to accusing them, based on the wording used, they do appear to want to defraud the local council, but wanted clarification first.

In essence there is either a liability to pay rent which will be enforced as per a tenancy agreement or there isn't.

Thanks for the pertinent information. That's helpful. Probably best not to judge my intentions though based on a couple of paragraphs on a forum that lack context. Jumping to conclusions simply clouds the purpose of the forum.

Mojisola

FBaby wrote: »

From reading many posts here, it would appear that what you are suggesting doing isn't impossible, however, you would need to evidence that your arrangement is commercial.

Your best chance to do this is to actually evidence that it was before you consider to rent to your parents, ie. rent the place to strangers, via a proper ast arrangement for a few years, and THEN, get your parents to move in and claim under the same arrangement. You might want to go through a couple of tenants first and contact HB to ask if it would be ok to rent to your parents at this point. You might also need to factor delays and potential lack of rental income when you evict the tenants to move your parents in.

From this - https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5685531 - it looks as if permission to create the annexe would only be given if it is to create accommodation for family members so that won't work.

californiagirl

GwylimT wrote: »

No, it would be considered a contrived tenancy.

Why wouldn't the surviving parent claim HB at their own property to cover the rent? Why would you be paying for food etc when they have their own income of a pension and if requiring care AA and possibly pension credit if the are that hard up.

Yes, that was part of my original question. If they could claim HB at their own property, I wondered whether they could do it if they lived with us. I don't see what's necessarily scrounging about that - it frees up their house to be rented by someone else, thereby helping supply of the housing market. If we were planning to live in a mansion and had them live with us purely on the basis of claiming HB, that would obviously be a different matter. But we're not. As with most things in life, context is everything.

Their pension is hardly anything at all when you consider the rising costs of rents and utilities. A few people have mentioned AA - I didn't even know that existed, so will look into that. Thanks.

Mojisola

californiagirl wrote: »

Their pension is hardly anything at all when you consider the rising costs of rents and utilities. A few people have mentioned AA - I didn't even know that existed, so will look into that. Thanks.

If their pension income is less than £243.25, they could claim Pension Credit.

GwylimT

californiagirl wrote: »

Yes, that was part of my original question. If they could claim HB at their own property, I wondered whether they could do it if they lived with us. I don't see what's necessarily scrounging about that - it frees up their house to be rented by someone else, thereby helping supply of the housing market. If we were planning to live in a mansion and had them live with us purely on the basis of claiming HB, that would obviously be a different matter. But we're not. As with most things in life, context is everything.

Their pension is hardly anything at all when you consider the rising costs of rents and utilities. A few people have mentioned AA - I didn't even know that existed, so will look into that. Thanks.

No, you can't claim HB when living in a family members home. The same rules apply to annex's as councils will generally only allow them to have residential status if family are living in them, permission is rarely given for it to be used as a private rental.

HB would cover their rent, so the rising cost of rent isn't relevant. With sensible use utilities are affordable as well, it is just sensible financial planning that is needed, especially if people didn't arrange a private pension.

AA is very easy to apply for, if a person is genuinely in need, also, councils will provide a certain level of care to those in need as well.

xylophone

You indicate that your parents are renting privately and not claiming any benefits so one assumes that they have state /private pension provision/savings.

It may be that their savings and income are too high to be eligible for pension credit or housing benefit.

See http://www.ageuk.org.uk/Documents/EN-GB/Factsheets/FS48_Pension_Credit_fcs.pdf?dtrk=true

Have you looked into what help may be available (HB/CT) on their LA's website?

With regard to Attendance Allowance, ( not means tested) do either of your parents have care needs?

http://www.ageuk.org.uk/money-matters/claiming-benefits/attendance-allowance/