× Search rightsnet
Search options

Where

Benefit

Jurisdiction

Jurisdiction

From

to

Forum Home  →  Discussion  →  Housing costs  →  Thread

Liable for rent son has tenancy

jeanette
forum member

Welfare rights - Newcastle City Council

Send message

Total Posts: 47

Joined: 25 June 2010

Hi The situation is this, tenant lived in the rented property with her 3 children. Tenant has died, children went to live with father in his rented flat. After a lot of legal wrangling the tenancy has passed to the oldest child who is age 14. UC have said they will not pay the housing costs as the child can’t claim and the father does not have a tenancy agreement.

My understanding is if dad moves into the property with the children he will be liable for rent as he is responsible for the child. Sch 2 part 1 UC regs. 
Treated as liable to make payments
Certain other persons liable to make payments
1.—(1) A claimant is to be treated as liable to make payments where the person who is liable to make the payments is—

(a)any child or qualifying young person for whom the claimant (or if the claimant is a member of a couple, either member) is responsible; or
(b)in the case of a claimant who is a member of a couple claiming as a single person, the other member of the couple.
(2) Sub-paragraph (1)(b) does not apply to a person who is claiming as a single person by virtue of regulation 3(4).

The father has been advised that he needs to give up his current tenancy to move in and so the family feel stuck as they are afraid to make the move.

Can anyone concur that if dad moves in he can challenge UC and be paid under the above regulation?

Elliot Kent
forum member

Shelter

Send message

Total Posts: 3117

Joined: 14 July 2014

UC appear to be correct thus far, as nobody with any entitlement to UC is living in or has been living in the property. The father is not entitled to have the question of his HCE entitlement determined in advance of moving in.

However if the family were to move back into the property then the father would be entitled to the housing costs element on the basis of the provision you refer to. (Perhaps para 2, sch 2 could also be relied on by the father in the alternative, although para 1 is a better fit to the facts).

Of course, it is an unusual situation and DWP may therefore respond to it in a clueless fashion which results in incorrect decisions being made and needing to be challenged.

For what it’s worth, I would imagine we are dealing with a social landlord and I would hope and expect that any rent arrears resulting from a delay in resolving matters with UC would be dealt with sensitively and appropriately.

I would quibble with the advice he has been given that he needs to give up his current tenancy in order to move. Certainly it is not going to be financially viable for him to maintain both tenancies in the long run and the homes could not both be held as the family’s sole or main residence. However it is surely a matter for the father to decide when to end the current tenancy. If he were to (say), move into the mother’s former home and then give notice a few weeks later, I don’t see that there could be any proper objection to that although he would need to consider the financial consequences of doing so.

There is a lot of information in relation to the specifics of tenancies and children on our website here: https://england.shelter.org.uk/professional_resources/legal/housing_options/young_people_and_care_leavers_housing_rights/tenancies_for_children_and_young_people

[ Edited: 17 May 2022 at 07:26 pm by Elliot Kent ]
jeanette
forum member

Welfare rights - Newcastle City Council

Send message

Total Posts: 47

Joined: 25 June 2010

Thank you Elliot yes it is our local social housing provider and the support worker had been asking in advance if he would qualify for housing costs and received the advice that he would not. I suspect he will be refused and the decision will need to be challenged.