Housing benefit and council tax credit

Coz

If you were a single parent and your father was renting a house out to you that he owned, would you still be able to claim housing benefit and council tax benefit, even if you were renting the house off your father?

Natalie99

I can't see why not but I think you would need some kind of tenancy agreement to back this up.

Oldernotwiser

You can't normally claim LHA/HB when renting from a relative.

On an earlier thread you say that your parents are going to give you the house; this sounds like benefit fraud to me.

Coz

Thank you, but I wasn't talking about myself on this thread.

Besides, I don't have a child.

real1314

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

You can't normally claim LHA/HB when renting from a relative.

On an earlier thread you say that your parents are going to give you the house; this sounds like benefit fraud to me.

The only absolute bar for getting HB when renting from a relative is if they also live there. Otherwise you cannot rent from a parent of one of your children and get HB.
Apart from those rules, it then falls into being considered as to whether the tenancy has been contrived to take advantage of the HB rules.

iirc.

Coz

Thanks guys, I'll let them know.

Coz

Surely they would get their coucil tax paid though, as that is paid to the council, not the home owner?

real1314

afaik ctax should be ok, it's just the rent that's an issue.

seven-day-weekend

You can claim HB under these circumstances if it can be proved that the house was bought as a commercial venture and not just to provide your son/daughter with a home.

For example, has it been rented before; would it be rented if the son/daughter didn't live in it, if it has a mortgage is it b-t-l or does it have a rental clause on an ordinary domestic mortgage?

When our son came to live in our investment property we were able to show our mortgage agreement with permission to rent on it (dated long before my son moved in) and also we had a letter from an Estate Agent to say it had previously been advertised on the open market with his agency.

My son was able to claim HB. I provided him with a proper tenancy agreement and rent book.

Hope this helps.