Affect on benefits with taking in a lodger/boarder

poppy12345

ilovefalafel wrote: »

I see, yes that seems better, though I'm not sure if providing meals will be workable.
Thank you so much for the help and advice and taking the time to reply.

If you don't provide meals then only £20 is ignored, the rest is counted as income for your ESA.

pmlindyloo

ilovefalafel wrote: »

I see, yes that seems better, though I'm not sure if providing meals will be workable.
Thank you so much for the help and advice and taking the time to reply.

The actual wording is providing 'some cooked or prepared meals'.

So you could, for example, provide breakfast or an evening meal.

To be honest, no one is going to check so you could provide whatever suits you or your boarder.

CKhalvashi

ilovefalafel wrote: »

I see, thank you to both replies. Our lifestyles are not the same, and I am often unable to cook for myself, so cooking, and eating together would be difficult. I only want to charge the minimum rent, so we will have to figure this out .

That could (at a push) be decided as deprivation of income. I know there’s are similar rules for other types of income.

Would it be possible to buy a few ready meals a week (for the lodger) and claim the discount based on this? As far as I remember there was no minimum number of meals per week as long as its ‘reasonable’.

Put in the microwave, they’re prepared meals which just need to be heated up, based on what I remember of my local councils interpretation of the rules.

[Deleted User]

ilovefalafel wrote: »

The lodger can only work part time , so its quite unfair of me to charge a full rent especially if it will be reducing my benefit, if the lodger cannot afford to pay me, I will be out of pocket and create a bad situation.. This is why I am only going to charge what the lodger can afford.
To moderator, Please close this thread .

That's not how the forum works.

poppy12345

ilovefalafel wrote: »

The lodger can only work part time , so its quite unfair of me to charge a full rent especially if it will be reducing my benefit, if the lodger cannot afford to pay me, I will be out of pocket and create a bad situation.. This is why I am only going to charge what the lodger can afford.
To moderator, Please close this thread .

This may not work out for you because you maybe depriving yourself of income in order to claim a means tested benefit.

w06

working part time doesn't mean you only pay part rent, if only! What you're describing is essentially subsidising your lodger's lack of benefits with your own benefits by under charging him. as kind a thought as it is you need to be charging whatever the going rate for a lodger is, that'll likely make your lodger feel better about the situation too.

poppy12345

ilovefalafel wrote: »

That's balony !
The benefits and council have no problem with the situation as it is at present so we will just not change a thing and leave it as it is.
It feels like people on here just want to create stress and threaten , I wish id never bloody well asked any advice now .

Calm down! Look at it realistically, if you're going to have a lodger then you have to charge the going rate not charge less because of a benefits situation. This is an internet forum and you asked for advice and you've been given really good advice, the only problem is, is that it's not what you wanted to hear.

xylophone

It feels like people on here just want to create stress and threaten , I wish id never bloody well asked any advice now .

I see no threats, just people going out of their way to clarify the rules.

CKhalvashi

ilovefalafel wrote: »

That's balony !
The benefits and council have no problem with the situation as it is at present so we will just not change a thing and leave it as it is.

Being on a part time contract wouldn’t entitle me to pay only part of my mortgage or other bills.

It feels like people on here just want to create stress and threaten , I wish id never bloody well asked any advice now .

I have no intention of creating stress for you or threatening you, I am simply explaining how the rules work.

If we didn’t, it would create a lot more stress further down the line if you were to be interviewed under caution. That is naturally not in your interests.