Rent off a relative - get housing benefit

[sylvester]

I don't know if this is the right forum but hopefully someone can help. I have been getting help from a relative to rent privately as I am on a low income. So far, because the tenancy agreement was in my relatives name I haven't been claiming housing benefit.

However, I have to move in the next couple of months. My relative cannot keep supporting my rent, but will consider buying a property and installing me as a tenant hoping I can get housing benefit. According to the guidelines, you cannot claim benefit if you rent from a relative who lives with you.

My relative does not live with me, I live with my 3 children only.

My main concerns are:
1) If I rented off a new landlord, I would either have to ask them to accept me as a housing benefit tenant which is hard to do
2) I would have to have my relative as guarantor which might make it hard to claim benefit as they might consider that the lease is not in my name.
3) As my relative has been paying my rent for over a year I am worried they might assume that the arrangement should continue.
4) That if my relative buys a flat / house, the council will refuse to pay the HB. He can only do this if the rent is paid or significantly contributed to.

There are lots of circumstances which I prefer not to go into about why I am in this situation so if you need to know more to answer me properly please ask.

[MrWoof]

My relative cannot keep supporting my rent, but will consider buying a property and installing me as a tenant hoping I can get housing benefit. According to the guidelines, you cannot claim benefit if you rent from a relative who lives with you.Check with your local Housing Benefit office, mine ask whether you are related to the landlord but I don't know the relevance of the question.



1) If I rented off a new landlord, I would either have to ask them to accept me as a housing benefit tenant which is hard to do.No it isn't but there are a lot of landlords who won't do this because of the potential hassle.



2) I would have to have my relative as guarantor which might make it hard to claim benefit as they might consider that the lease is not in my name.No, you don't need a guarantor but you may need a deposit. If you can't arrange this then you may be able to get a deposit guarantee from the housing office.


3) As my relative has been paying my rent for over a year I am worried they might assume that the arrangement should continue.
Irrelevant.


4) That if my relative buys a flat / house, the council will refuse to pay the HB. He can only do this if the rent is paid or significantly contributed to.See first reply.

[dazalock]

I was asked by a mortgage advisor a couple of years ago if I would consider buying a house to let to his mother as if he bought it, she would not be able to get any housing benefit.

Dont know how true that is bu t you may want to ask the council.

[justaboutsane]

My advise would be to contact the council and find out where you stand in this one. My parents rent from my uncle... My Mums Brother in Law and they claim HB. All they do is monitor it and ensure it is all above board... ie you claiming to rent it when in fact you do not and the HB is paying the mortgage. A couple in Bristol have just been taken to court and convicted oif scamming the council by the wife saying she was renting the property from the husband and he lived elsewhere.. turned out the HB was paying for the mortgage!

In relation to the guarantor question, this would not affect HB applications. The Tenancy agreement would be in your name you just have someone sign an agreement to say if you do not pay your rent they will. It gives the landlord a back up. I don't think I have ever seen a housing benefit form ask if you have a guarantor for your rent.

You can find alot of information on your local government website, some even include calculators to find out how much HB you could be eligible for. If you need help finding the webpage let me know where you are in a private message and I will locate it for you and reply accordingly.