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Forum Home  →  Discussion  →  Universal credit administration  →  Thread

Can a Lodger on UC claim Housing Costs?

VS
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Welfare Team Grwp Cynefin

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Total Posts: 20

Joined: 1 March 2016

I have a tenant with an Assured Short-hold Housing Association tenancy with a right to take in a lodger, wanting to take in a lodger to share half the rent with her as she has the bed-room tax. The proposed lodger is 30 and in receipt of UC

The tenant is in receipt of legacy benefits - ESA and full HB (minus the bed-room tax); she advises that she took in a friend to share the rent some time ago - a couple of years ago and at that time they both received HB for half each of the rental liability. The tenant does not want to make the lodger a joint tenant - merely to have a lodger to mitigate the bed-room tax.

My understanding is that the the tenant’s HB will be reduced by the non-dep deduction of £14.80 due to the lodger and she will also lose the singe person discount from her Council Tax and so be worse off when taking in a lodger on UC.

My question is whether the Tenant’s Tenancy agreement along with a letter from the tenant advising that she wants half the rent sufficient for UC to accept that there is liability to pay rent on the part of the UC claimant and so make them eligible for housing costs in their UC?

SarahJBatty
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Money Adviser, Thirteen, Middlesbrough

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The tenant’s tenancy agreement does not make the lodger liable for half of the rent.

The lodger can only claim UC housing costs under a ‘license’ agreement from the tenant.  I think UC may accept a letter alhtough many people would think it better and more likely to be accepted by DWP if they used a lodger license agreement and these can be easily downloaded from reputable websites.  The tenant may well want to specify a figure equal to half of the rent or another figure which will cover all the ‘costs’ of having the lodger.

 

 

VS
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Welfare Team Grwp Cynefin

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Total Posts: 20

Joined: 1 March 2016

Thank you Sarah - this is very useful!