I took a case to Tribunal that raised similar issues and this extract from my submission may help ( the Tribunal accepted my argument and allowed the appeal)
See CH/1097/2004 (Mr Deputy Commissioner (as then was) Mark) paragraph [16] re issue of the fact that lodger made no payments
The tribunal’s grounds for finding improbable the explanation given by the friend for the non-production of the rent book are unsatisfactory for the reasons given in paragraphs 6 to 8 above. The tribunal also comments that the claimant produced no evidence of the making of payments. I can find nothing in the record of the proceedings to indicate that she was asked for such evidence, nor, if she was asked, is there any record of her response, or any explanation what further evidence the tribunal was looking for in the absence of a rent book. The claimant’s own evidence, and that of her friend, that payments were made, if they were made, would be sufficient evidence. In the absence of a rent book, the only other evidence there might be would be in bank statements or cheque stubs if rent was paid by cheque. There is no indication of any question being addressed to this issue. In any event, given the financial straits in which the tribunal found the claimant to be, and the failure of the local authority to pay housing benefit, it would be no surprise if no payments were made.
See also R(H)1/03 at [16] re commercial arrangements and at [16.4] (Mr Commissioner (as then was) Jacobs)
16.4 The burden is not on the claimant to show that the arrangement was on a commercial basis.
[ Edited: 7 Apr 2022 at 04:43 pm by Stainsby ]
