Private renting from parents

[purpledahlia]

Does anyone know how this works,
My parents have just bought a new house and are waiting and trying to sell the old one, Once they do, they are considering buying me somewhere to live, be it a flat or small cottage or whatever. But, They would be classed as my landlords i would still need to pay rent to cover the mortgage. In order to pay the rent for5 the first while im off work, I would be applying for housing benefit, Do my parents have to do anything in particular to be classed as proper landlords to be able to get the housing benefit? Or does it not matter that its family, they own it and i have to pay rent, How i do that is up to me whether i go back to work straight away or apply fr housing benefit/.... does anyone have any insight to this? i dont want my parents to think i wont be paying rent because i would, they cant afford two mortgages, the new house is taking up a lot atm, So once they sell the old one, pay off a bit of the new one, then they would be able to look at it. Any help? thanks,

 

[Kirstin]

As long as you have a proper tenancy agreement in place they will be your landlords and there should be no problem wilth housing benefit.

 

[GersPrincess]

You should be fine, as long as you have a proper tenancy agreement in place as Kirsten has said. You can get the agreements online and I think you can buy them in WHSmith too.

I used to rent a house from my Mum, and we did originally have an issue with Worthing Borough Council as they decided that as my Mum was my family, she should forgo charging me rent - we appealed and she provided proof that the house was mortgaged and they did give in. This was 5 years ago though.
My mum bought another house for my sister, hubby and their baby to move into last year and she didnt have any issues getting housing benefit.

Just make sure before they buy, how much housing benefit you are entitled to for your family's size - for example, if its just you, oh and one child, housing benefit wont pay for a 3 bed house, but will only give you what you are entitled to depending on your local housing allowance. It varies from area to area, but worth checking before your parents commit to a mortgage so you have an idea if you will need to pay anything towards it.

 

[GersPrincess]

Also, if you are going to be living in Scotland, any person who rents a property needs to be registered with the Landlord Registration Scheme -
www.landlordregistrationscotland.gov.uk

as you can read here

https://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2006/04/28144943

 

[purpledahlia]

thanks,
It is just me and baby, so housing benefit in stirling covers up to 500 once baby is born, Im hoping to stay at mums till end of jan(ish) and baby due in dec. So if we found a 3 bed ( i saw a gorgeous cottage 3 bed online today!) then as long as the mortgage is 500 or less then they could get that, i know council wont pay for the 3rd bedroom but my parents will just want the rent to cover the payments not really to make a profit. If they sell our old house they can use a bit of that as a downpayment and depending on how much i have possibly ill put some in aswell. Then once the mortgage is paid off in a few years i would be able to give my parents a paymet for the rest of the downpayment which they put down and get it put into my name. so id be a homeowner. if that makes sense.
I guess they would just have to register with the accredited landlord association then? and we could get a tenancy agreement written up aswell, but it all depends on the sale of our old house ( which i hate and its too big i wouldnt want to live in it - not good area for me either ).

 

[lesleyann]

Im sorry to diagree but im sure i have read somewhere if you are paying rent to family you cannot claim Housing benefit i will check though

Who isn't eligible

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
* you're a full-time student (unless you're disabled or have children)
* you're an asylum seeker or are sponsored to be in the UK

 

[purpledahlia]

Im sorry to diagree but im sure i have read somewhere if you are paying rent to family you cannot claim Housing benefit i will check though

Who isn't eligible

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
* you're a full-time student (unless you're disabled or have children)
* you're an asylum seeker or are sponsored to be in the UK

none of those apply to me....
It wouldnt be their home, They would be landlords of a sep flat/house....

 

[purpledahlia]

im confused now...

 

[costgang]

ive always been lead to believe that housing benefit wont pay rent if you are related to the landlord aswell, i know someone who is renting his flat to his mum and they wont pay for that, id give hb a ring if i were you to check

 

[purpledahlia]

So calling up jobcentre and asking about housing benefit is the best people to ask? Cos if it wont work then we wont even bother trying till im back at work in a year or so, ill have to see if i cud afford it, i doubt i could without the benefit,

 

[Kirstin]

No the only place to call about housing benefit is the benefits section of the borough council (not sure if thats what its called in Scotland but its the place that said they would give you £500 HB).

Theres usually calculators on their website so you get a better idea of their terms than a generic one.

 

[Tasha]

You would be able to get HB sweetie, they would be counted as private landlords, and the not being able to get HB only affects if they live in the house too.

 

[mama2b]

No the only place to call about housing benefit is the benefits section of the borough council (not sure if thats what its called in Scotland but its the place that said they would give you £500 HB).

Theres usually calculators on their website so you get a better idea of their terms than a generic one.

Yes you need to call your local council and they will advise you.

I know our local council don't pay housing benefit if the landlord is a close relative. I suppose its because it could be open to abuse not to say everyone would but there is bound to be someone out there abusing the system given half the chance/

 

[bubbles]

Does anyone know how this works,
My parents have just bought a new house and are waiting and trying to sell the old one, Once they do, they are considering buying me somewhere to live, be it a flat or small cottage or whatever. But, They would be classed as my landlords i would still need to pay rent to cover the mortgage. In order to pay the rent for5 the first while im off work, I would be applying for housing benefit, Do my parents have to do anything in particular to be classed as proper landlords to be able to get the housing benefit? Or does it not matter that its family, they own it and i have to pay rent, How i do that is up to me whether i go back to work straight away or apply fr housing benefit/.... does anyone have any insight to this? i dont want my parents to think i wont be paying rent because i would, they cant afford two mortgages, the new house is taking up a lot atm, So once they sell the old one, pay off a bit of the new one, then they would be able to look at it. Any help? thanks,

They would need to show that they haven't purchased the property just to rent to yourself i.e it would have to be on the open rental market prior to you signing the tenancy. The best way around this is for them to put an advert in the local paper for 2-3weeks as a private rental property (not through an agent) and if they have enquiries about it they can just say it's already gone. Make sure they save reciepts from paying for the advertising and copies of the adverts themselves they will also be asked by housing benefits what they intend to do with the property should your contract be terminated they would need to say they would offer it for rental again. Also a legally binding tenancy agreement will need to be produced. Hope this helps xx

 

[purpledahlia]

They would need to show that they haven't purchased the property just to rent to yourself i.e it would have to be on the open rental market prior to you signing the tenancy. The best way around this is for them to put an advert in the local paper for 2-3weeks as a private rental property (not through an agent) and if they have enquiries about it they can just say it's already gone. Make sure they save reciepts from paying for the advertising and copies of the adverts themselves they will also be asked by housing benefits what they intend to do with the property should your contract be terminated they would need to say they would offer it for rental again. Also a legally binding tenancy agreement will need to be produced. Hope this helps xx

Ah this makes sense, advertising it and stuff. yeah, okay ill check when it comes to the time that before we do anthing if its still ok with the local council regardint the HB. I can see why it being on the market would be a rule. They prob wud rent it out if i didnt stay in it for whatever reason anyway, if its paying the mortgage then why not. Ill let them know what everyones said so when it comes to it we know what to check. Like i say it depends on them selling the other house first. Thanks!!