Liability for rent and HB entitlement

Tenant is a joint tenant with her son. He is in prison and refusing to engage with anyone to claim HB. Can she claim HB for 100% of rent as it is reasonable to do so as J/T isn’t paying his share and she needs to pay to continue living there?

Can’t quite work out whether fact he is a close relative affects this. Also its a 2 bed. Would she get 14% bedroom tax if they paid full HB or would he still be classed as needing a bedroom? He meets the conditions of being sentenced to less than 52 weeks and expected to return etc just refusing to claim HB himself..

Two stages to this one:

- the reasonable percentage allowed for her, and
- whether it is under-occupied

The bedroom tax would depend on whether the whole property is under-occupied and, if it is, whatever share is apportioned to any working age joint tenant would be reduced by 14%.  He will be counted as an occupier if his absence does not exceed the period allowed in HB Reg 7 - irrespective of whether he claims HB, those rules determine the number of occupiers for the purpose of her claim.  If he is sentenced his absence from home must be unlikely to exceed 13 weeks from when he was last there; if he is on remand it’s 52.

The Council must consider what proportion of the rent to allow on her claim by taking into account all relevant factors.  If he is eligible in principle to claim HB I think that would count against your client - it’s no different really from if he wasn’t in prison.  But the Council will carefully consider why it is that he cannot be persuaded to claim and whether it is reasonable to let his mother claim instead.  If he is not personally eligible and in no realistic position to pay rent (i.e. it turns out the absence will be too long after all) I think that gives the mother a much stronger case for having the rent apportioned 100% to her (but in that case there will be a bedroom tax deduction).

Thanks very much