housing benafits

[iannt]

will the council pay houseing benifits if my mum buys a house for me to rent

[Ethel]

No

You can't usually get Housing Benefit if:

* you have savings of over �16,000, unless you are aged 60 or over and getting the 'guarantee credit' of Pension Credit
* you live in the home of a close relative

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefit s/BenefitsTaxCreditsAndOtherSupport/On_a_low_i ncome/DG_10018926

And a good thing too. I don't see why my taxes should fund this sort of scam.

[sunflower68]

Well put Ethel I agree.

[THECORBYLOON]

Ethel is correct in what she has said BUT if yir mum does not live in the house and it is rented to you on a commercial basis, you can claim Housing Benefit.

As for it being a scam, since Regulations allow this arrangement, how is it a scam?

[sara3]

if you answer all questions honestly on your claim form and they pay you, you'll be fine.

read the declaration very carefully before you sign, as you might get yourself into heaps of trouble if you sign a declaration that isn't "correct and complete".

[Ethel]

It would be considered a 'contrived tenancy' and councils are very aware of this sort of thing.

It is a scam because the daughter lives rent free whilst the taxpayer is paying for the house via the mother, and probably the daughter inherits the house, or part of, at some time in the future. If the daughter continued to live at home with mother, no benefit would be payable.

If the mother already owned the house and had already been renting it commercially to an unrelated person on a proper landlord/tenant footing, then housing benefit may be payable if it is let on the same basis to the daughter.

[THECORBYLOON]

You are making a lot of assumptions Ethel as to the future arrangements. There is no requirement for the mother to have rented it out before the daughter. The council will investigate to confirm it is being made on a commercial basis i.e. rent has to be paid whether working or no and it's not on an informal basis.

[sara3]

yes but common sense says he can rent a property from anyone. if his mother is going to purchase a property for her to rent, there is an obvious financial gain to the family directly from the tax payer.

[THECORBYLOON]

The mother would get the money from the council no matter who lived there as long as it was on a commercial basis. For all we know the mother has a houseful of folk living wi her and has no room for iannt to live with her.

There is financial gain but it is lawful so I would advise Ethel to be careful about her choice of words

[sara3]

I think it could easily go either way.

the simple rule is.. always make sure you declare the true facts when making a claim.

read everything before you sign, then you can't say, "I didn't read that bit" or "I didn't understand" if you get into trouble, as it just won't save you!

[Postdog]

Never mind all that, I strongly suspect the post is a scam. No one who spells that badly (see other post too) has the ability to use a computer surely!!

[sara3]

where's the other post?

[sara3]

okay, found it!

it's always nice to have a range of options when spelling certain words ;o)

[loonytunes]

I bought a house for my son, who was on benefits, to rent. I pay �634 per month for the mortgage and he pays me exactly the same amount for rent. I had to prove to the council that it was a genuaine commercial arrangement, ie. he was not being charged different from anyone else and we have a tenancy agreement.

He actually got off benefits after 2 months and is paying me rent from earnings.

[THECORBYLOON]

loonytunes, glad to hear it although some think it is a scam.