Paying my Sisters monthly rent "top up"

Kammmy

Good Afternoon all,


My sister is a single mum of two whom receives all eligible benefits.


She has found a really nice flat next to our mothers home, however the property is £250 over the LHA rate.


Landlord whom is private is willing to give her a 6 month tenancy if I am her guarantor, which I have no issues with at all and I am in a comfortable financial position to afford £250 and pay this monthly top up for her. This is not just for my sisters sake but my mothers too, whom would feel a lot better if the daughter was only a street away.


Before My sister signs the tenancy, if I pay her top up for her, will this effect her existing benefits?


I wish to state that the money will be leaving my account straight into the landlords via a monthly BACS payment or Standing Order.


Under these circumstances will she have any issues?


Thank you in advance.

marliepanda

Kammmy wrote: »

I wish to state that the money will be leaving my account straight into the landlords via a monthly BACS payment or Standing Order.


Under these circumstances will she have any issues?


Thank you in advance.

No, this will not cause any issues

calcotti

James1968 wrote: »

{Edited by Forum Team}.

It should be disregarded anyway. It's a voluntary payment and should therefore fall to be disregarded as income.

For example under UC:
"A claimant’s unearned income means any of their income consisting of
1. retirement pension income
2. benefit income
3. foreign benefits
4. spousal maintenance
5. student income (see ADM Chapter H6 for guidance on student income)
6. employment and training payments paid
6.1 as a substitute for UC or
6.2 for a person’s living expenses
7. sports awards
8. certain insurance payments
9. income from an annuity
10. income from a trust
11. income deemed to yield from capital (sometimes also known as “tariff income”)
12. capital treated as income
13. certain income which is taxable.

If a type of income is not listed above, it does not affect the claimant’s award."

[Deleted User]

James1968 wrote: »

It will only cause issues if she is stupid enough to tell the benefits people.

What a stupid thing to say. The money is being paid to the landlord, she can tell who she wants and it won't effect her benefits.

tboo

James1968 wrote: »

It will only cause issues if she is stupid enough to tell the benefits people.

Go on then tell us why for future reference


Some of your other postings in other threads are inaccurate so please give out accurate information and a reliable source from the internet i.e CAB next time

Kammmy

Hello everyone,


Thank you very much for you informed responses.


It's what I suspected as the money is not coming into her account, but payment straight to the landlord.


Thank you all for putting me at ease, Will tell my sister she can proceed and take the home

poppy12345

What a wonderful thing to do for your sister. I wish i had a sister like you!

calcotti

Kammmy wrote: »

It's what I suspected as the money is not coming into her account, but payment straight to the landlord.

Even if you paid the money to her I believe it should still be ignored but paying it to the landlord is much the better option because if the DWP see the money in the bank statements they will ask about it which is just unnecessary aggravation.

Sncjw

Make sure you get something in writing from the landlord just in case they start sayin your sister hasn’t paid the rent.

Sea_Shell

Are you aware of your full commitments of being her guarantor? It's not just £250 a month at stake.

Will you continue to provide this top-up if she meets a new partner, they move in, or she has another child?

ska_lover

What a lovely sister you are.

Honestly you are a better person than me to agree to me a guarantor. What if YOUR financial circumstances change?

I did it once (was a Guarantor) for a close relative - never again. It was for a vulnerable relative, and I felt backed in to a corner. Whilst I am glad I helped them out, it did me no favours at all, cost a fortune and caused a lot of stress

Is there no chance of her getting a local authority home, where there is not the LHA rate? The LHA rate only applies to private rentals


Please think carefully. I know you have a good heart and want to do best for your family, but £250 a month is a hell of a lot of money and believe me, that is your minimum contribution (assuming all goes well)....this could be £250 a month for the rest of your life if she stays there.....and you are getting nothing out of it (for yourself)


It is not up to you to provide happiness for everyone else, for your sister, for your Mum. It is not up to you to provide housing for your sister

I would be advising her to go to the council.


However, there is another idea, and I know a family that currently do this and it works very well for them:-


If you are well off, you could purchase a buy to let house, and rent it to your sister. Housing benefit will want to see proper tenancy agreements and all the gas certs - as in do it as a proper legal tenancy etc..but they are happy to pay (at least in my friends case) as long as it is clear it is not set up to take advantage of the system, a fair rent is charged and it is a business arrangement. All of the hoo haaa can be removed by getting a letting agent to act as middle man



The family I know who do this, had a daughter who was struggling to get housed and were beside themselves and now say they wish they had thought of this years before

This way, you are getting something out of it, an investment. and if things go pear, you an re-rent or sell up as in you have options and you are getting something out of it for yourself


Just an idea anyway, I know someone it works very well for, and it is all above board, business arrangement with no dodgy dealings going on, fair rent is paid which covers the mortgage / gas servicing etc.




Obviously if you were seriously considering this, it would be worth getting proper advice from benefits advisors etc before committing to anything at all