If I rent a property from a family member, am I able to claim rent allowance?

Question

If I rent a property from a family member, am I able to claim rent allowance?

Answer 1

A big YES. My son and his wife live in are second property and he gets rent and council tax allowance and the rent is paid in to my bank account. If you are unemployed and have less than £6,000 savings you will get 100% if you are on low wages you can get a percentage of both paid.

Answer 2

Yes as long as it is a proper commercial tenancy ie. you have a lease and there are legally enforceable clauses should you default on any payments or obligations.

Councils sometimes are a bit tough on this and won't pay, which requires an appeal, as long as you are both clear that if they rent is not paid you are evicted then you should win any appeal.

with a private tenancy there is usually a shortfall between the amount of Housing benefit you receive and the rent you have to pay, you will be responsible for making up any difference in what your realtive wants and the maximum the council can pay.

Also remember that the landlord sould declare the income to her HMRC, he will pay Income Tax on any profit and may have to pay Capital Gains Tax when he finially comes to sell the house. The Loacl authority are likely to inform HMRC of the situation

Answer 3

Yes, as stated by th person who listed job centre and council as sources. You will need to provide evidence that whilst that person owns the property you have been paying rent as per a legally binding tenancy agreement. So, the person whose house it is will need to provide copies of their books etc - as they should be doing annual tax returns etc this shouldn't be a problem.

You can also ask for the housing benefit to be paid directly to the landlord. If you're eligible, you may not get the full rent - but you may get whatever is considered a fair amount for a suitable property for you.

e.g, if you're a single person in a five bed mansion - you probably won't get what the rent is worth, but you would get at least what you would be eligible for in a one bed flat in the same area.

Answer 4

Depends who you are claiming the allowance from. I doubt very much that the tax people would be impressed

Answer 5

I don't see a problem with this if your unemployed,but if your employed no chance.

Answer 6

Yes, but it will be investigated first to ensure that it is above board.

Ever considered actually working instead of sponging off the state?

Answer 7

as long as they are your landlord,and they dont reside in the property then yes.