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Forum Home  →  Discussion  →  Housing costs  →  Thread

Housing Element to pay Family Landlord

TomDRoberts
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Welfare Team / Vauxhall Law Centre

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Total Posts: 5

Joined: 23 May 2022

So I have a client who wants to know if he was to rent a room from his brother, would his Universal Credit pay those housing costs with him being a family member.

HB Anorak
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Benefits consultant/trainer - hbanorak.co.uk, East London

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No.  Para 5 of Schedule 2 to the UC Regs says you cannot get a housing element for rent payable to a close relative who lives in the “accommodation”.  Case law on the equivalent rule in HB (which refers to the “dwelling”) takes a common-sense view about lodgers who argue that they have carved out a separate dwelling/accommodation in their private room - there is in reality bound to be some overlap between the living space used by the landlord and claimant respectively.

TomDRoberts
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Welfare Team / Vauxhall Law Centre

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Total Posts: 5

Joined: 23 May 2022

Ahh thank you. I don’t know how I missed that.