Renting from a family member

Fire_Fox

Sally_Strawberry wrote: »

Thanks everyone for your advice. It's clear to me that it's against all rules and would look like a contrived tenancy. I've been looking for somewhere to rent in Cardiff from January this year but it's hard to find a landlord that accepts housing benefit!

Welcome to MSE.

Given your parents are financially secure and wish to assist you ... will your parents pay a larger than usual deposit to the landlord and/ or sign as your guarantors?

Being guarantors means they are legally liable for the rent if you stopped paying for any reason. This relates to the whole period of occupation not just the initial six months.

ripplyuk

When you’re filling in the housing benefit claim form, list the rent as the full market rent. They will pay the LHA rate and you can just not bother topping it up from your own money.

I’m assuming your parents are never going to take you to court for the ‘arrears’.

ETA: just read this on the Shelter website. Looks like a low rent is not a problem after all.

‘Local authorities should not assume there is no commercial arrangement just because the agreement is between close friends or relatives, the rent is low or because the landlord does not let to tenants for purely financial reasons’

KatrinaWaves

ripplyuk wrote: »

When you’re filling in the housing benefit claim form, list the rent as the full market rent. They will pay the LHA rate and you can just not bother topping it up from your own money.

I’m assuming your parents are never going to take you to court for the ‘arrears’.

Okay that's one aspect of the contrived tenancy 'sorted' (through fraudulent representation)

Now how is she going to hide the fact her parents bought a house solely to rent to her using benefits? Fake names?

ripplyuk

KatrinaWaves wrote: »

Okay that's one aspect of the contrived tenancy 'sorted' (through fraudulent representation)

Now how is she going to hide the fact her parents bought a house solely to rent to her using benefits? Fake names?

From what I’ve read, these cases are at the local authority’s discretion and I know other people in the same situation who have had no issues at all. I can’t see the council being all that bothered since the OP is going to be claiming housing benefit regardless. It won’t be costing the council anything more.

Though I guess if they did query it, the OP’s parents would have to rent out the house for 6 mths initially, to a stranger.