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housing benefit if subletting as a social housing tenant
My client (who is the same one as in my last query) is a social sector tenant and gets housing benefit. He is over pension credit age. He is currently allowing someone to stay in a spare room while she looks for work. No work to be found so far (!) and as it is now looking more long term he wants to formalise her as a subtenant. I have advised him that there are a whole load of issues to consider but this query is about one that I had not thought was an issue.
The jobcentre have told her that she will not get hb in these circumstances because she is subletting from a social sector tenant. I haven’t found anything to back this up or to say that the rent will be restricted other than to that of a room in a shared house. In the back of my mind I do seem to remember some proposed legislation on this a couple of years back but I’m assuming nothing happened. Is it me or the jobcentre giving the rubbish advice?
I think they might be referring to this.
So…..not content with misadvising people about the benefits they actually administer, they like to feed people random BS about ones that are nothing to do with them as well.
Grrrrrr
The jobcentre is wrong. She should get HB.
There is legislation (still not in force if I remember rightly) making it a criminal offence to sublet in a “selling your keys” sense where the tenant no longer occupies the dwelling. Taking in a lodger is not what the legislation is aiming at at all.
It is a condition of any secure tenancy (and I imagine most HAs impose a similar condition) that the tenant does not formally sublet (i.e. part with exclusive possession) of any part of the dwelling without permission, but I don’t think that would normally happen - most lodgers will be licensees who share living accommodation with the landlord. In any case, unless and until the Council or HA decides to take action over alleged unauthorised subletting the fact of the matter is that a liability exists.
Some HB departments get their knickers in a twist if the lodger is paying more to the head tenant than the head tenant is paying to the Council or HA but this is dealt with through the means test and it shouldn’t be a problem.
Finally if the parties are pre-acquainted in any way there is always the risk that the Council will think it is a dodgy tenancy - non-commercial etc. Best way to avoid that is to keep a transparent audit trail of rent payments: direct debit from her to him is ideal, some other form of bank transaction will help (eg she pays in cash, he deposits the cash into the bank and the deposts mat5ch the amount/frequency of the rent).