I have a client who is planning to move into her aunt's house with her baby after the birth. She will have 2 rooms (one for her and one for the baby and share kitchen etc with her aunt) she will have to pay rent to the aunt. will she be able to get HB? from the info I have checked an aunt does not count as a close relative. are there any other aspects of this situation which may cause problems in claiming HB?
thanks

Ideally she needs something in writing from the aunt before moving in to establish the binding nature of the agreement. There is always a bit of a risk around whether the agreement is truly commercial or designed to take advantage of the HB system with relatives, but there is absolutely no legal reason why she should not be able to make a successful claim.

It can help a lot if there is evidence that the premises have in the past been let at a commercial rent and that the aunt is letting to her niece at the same rate.

I agree with ariadne. The LA may want to know what other options for accommodation, if any, were considered. If none, why? In my experience, these arrangements tend to be entirely above board with HB merely being a consequence, or, a bit of a try on with HB pretty much being the main consideration. The difficulty in such cases is that they are down to judgement calls.