Benefits, Rent & BR

MrsST

Sorry to harp on about this but forewarned is forearmed.

My DH is in the process of signing on as he can't get any work.

Our plan, discussed for the last month, has been to take out a formal rental of a family member's house, which will give them the income to rent a place more suited to their needs. We opted to do this, so we don't have any issues with a tenancy agreement being terminated once we go BR. I checked with the housing benefit office and they confirmed that providing a formal agreement was in place, then rent would be paid.

However, I didn't mention at that time that we were planning on declaring ourselves BR. It would also be the case that we would be taking out the rental with the hope that benefits would cover the cost of some or all of the payment right from the outset.

Having read on here that a mortgage wouldn't be paid until he has been out of work for 39 weeks, are we likely to find that they won't pay our rent immediately too? I didn't realise that there would be a problem with paying something towards our housing.

Both of us are desperate to get out of the house, as this is the only thing that is delaying us actually booking the court date. The person renting us their house, is only doing it on the proviso that they can find somewhere that they like, which is obviously fair enough. Once we get settled into the rented place, we can move forward with the BR.

DH is meeting with an advisor at the job centre tomorrow and is going to ask them about this but I wondered if anyone has any knowledge about this so we are prepared better for this meeting. Should we disclose the fact that we are planning to go BR? Will this have an impact on them offering us benefits? We only need enough to survive but obviously this does include paying for a home to live in.

Thanks.

skylight

Firstly - are you SURE you will get rent cover for a relatives house?? It is not something my council will ever pay out for - in the local papers it is made quite clear those who have been taken to court for the return of the money.

Don't bother about disclosing about BR - its not important (to them!) nor does it impact in any way your entitlement to any benefits from any source. You may need to disclose it to your new landlord if its in your new contract.

As to the rent, you need to read up on your local councils policy of LHA - its a new way to work out housing benefit. It firstly works out how many bedrooms you need and pays an amount proportionate to that. EG - In my area, a couple with no children will not get anymore than £160pw for a one bedroomed flat. Anything over £160pw will have to be found by the tenants, so check there to see if it will cover. Any benefit wil be paid from the date of the application (if entitled) but may not actually be paid for weeks and weeks.... (due to paperwork and red tape)

MrsST

Thanks skylight.

When I spoke to the guy at the housing benefits office, he did say that providing the tenancy was formal, there wouldn't be a problem. I have remembered though that proof that the money was being paid to the landlord would be required.

Surely, if we just ask for the sum to be paid direct to this person, they couldn't query the situation as being above board.

I'll look into the amounts paid in our area though, thanks for that advice. We have 2 children (both 2 years old) so I don't know if they would insist that we could manage with a 2 bed and pay accordingly. The house we are renting is a 3 bed but priced fairly compared to a 2 bed.

This was all looking so straightforward until this week and now suddenly it's all gone pear shaped.

It seems so unfair that we have both paid into the system for nearly 20 years and asked nothing back, but here we are suddenly in a crisis and we are having to jump through hoops to get any help

SuziQ

It seems so unfair that we have both paid into the system for nearly 20 years and asked nothing back, but here we are suddenly in a crisis and we are having to jump through hoops to get any help

This is exactly how I feel-no help with my mortgage even though it is cheaper than rent for a 2 bed house. However I am trying to look at it the other way,being extremely grateful for what I do get whilst looking for a new job.
I think so many people are going to be in our position over the next few years the system will struggle to cope even as it stands.I am running on a constatnt overdraft at the moment as I was left with a deficit when my job just folded suddenly,ad am lucky that my bank (barclays) have been extremely supportive.

Scarlett.1974

Hi MrsST

What relation is this person to you? I'm sure I read that it's only certain family members that you can't rent from - immediate members, like parents, siblings etc...

You could try asking on the benefits board - they're very knowledgeable about this type of situation over there

Another point, as skylight has pointed out, is HB can take several weeks to come through and is ALWAYS paid in arrears, so you really, if possible, could do with being able to pay at least the first month's rent yourself.

LHA (which is being introduced all over the country now) is now paid directly to the tenant and is then up to them to send it to their LL, along with any difference that they might be required to pay (if the LHA doesn't cover all the rent).

HTH a little

Scarlett.1974

MrsST wrote: »

I'll look into the amounts paid in our area though, thanks for that advice. We have 2 children (both 2 years old) so I don't know if they would insist that we could manage with a 2 bed and pay accordingly. The house we are renting is a 3 bed but priced fairly compared to a 2 bed.

Just to comment on this bit in bold - the advantage (so to speak) with LHA now is it's actually entirely up to you what sort of property you rent, they can't "insist" on you renting a 2 bed, but you're right in that they will only pay for the rooms you actually need and it's then up to you to pay the difference yourself.

MrsST

Thank you for the further replies.

I am relieved to say that DH has got a bit of work coming up now so signing on has been shelved for the time being.

We can definitely manage the first months rent already and possibly even the second, but it's after the second month that is concerning me.

One way or another, we are going to rent this family member's home but I am going to double check tomorrow if the tenancy agreement would be better off being in my name as this person is not a direct relation to me, just by marriage (if that makes any difference!).

All being well, this post is only going to be hypothetical anyway and DH will continue to find work here and there until something more long term crops up.