Contrived tenancies Contents Contrived liability Deciding if tenancy abuse exists Contrived liability A contrived tenancy is where a tenancy agreement or liability to pay rent has been deliberately created to take advantage of Universal Credit. My question in relation to the contrived tenancy however is, ... the house using a first-time-buyer mortgage and I'm very worried that he will get in to a lot of trouble/the claim for housing benefit will be seen as a contrived tenancy because of this. Informal arrangements don't count as renting on a commercial basis. [1] Contrived tenancies can occur where a family member 'rents' to a family member but on a non-commercial basis. 27 August 2012 at 9:47PM edited 30 November -1 at 12:00AM in Benefits & Tax Credits. I would arrange a proper tenancy agreement but as i receive housing benefit Informal family arrangements. For example, by serving notice to end the tenancy if you don't pay rent. I personally don't see how as everything is above board in that all paperwork is legal he has signed an assured short hold tenancy agreement and is fully aware that I can kick him out if need be. Edit: @Puglypoohead has already said this! Evidence can include: A SUMMARY OF THE CASE LAW. In such circumstances, claimants, will need to apply for Housing Benefit from their local authority for help with housing costs. Contrived tenancies can occur where a family member 'rents' to a family member but on a non-commercial basis. i wonder if this is accurate? Home; Forums; Housing Benefit Questions (HB, LHA, DSS) If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. Councils may decide someone has a contrived tenancy if they rent their home from a relative. It would be classed as a private arrangement and Millie would have to show a ‘tenancy agreement’ to the job centre. 10 reasons.... 10 principles; Types of Learner; Conference 2020; About Us. Monthly Friday Fun Quiz; Training Blogs. If you have one or more 'spare' rooms, your Housing Benefit may be reduced. 2. 13 January 2014, 10:50 am. Contrived tenancies can occur where a family member 'rents' to a family member but on a non-commercial basis. A contrived tenancy is a term used in British housing law to describe a situation where a tenancy is created in order to take advantage of the housing benefit system. that the arrangement has not been set up in order to take advantage of the housing benefit system - this is called a 'contrived tenancy'. If you rent a room or a property to a family member, the Housing Executive may view this arrangement as a "contrived tenancy", which has been designed to exploit the benefit system. If he will live with you and his mother this could be seen as a contrived tenancy. I am abusing and defrauding the benefits system. If a parent rents out a self-contained property to a grown-up disabled child, then, in most circumstances, the claimant should be entitled to Housing Benefit … This is known as a "contrived tenancy". A contrived tenancy is a tenancy created to take advantage of the housing benefit scheme. This is called the bedroom tax. HBINFO training is designed to help delegates understand key legal aspects of the Housing Benefit system. 14. They may also check that the tenancy hasn't been set up just so you can claim benefits. 1. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. Get further help. Doesn’t matter who the ‘landlord’ is. We are delighted to offer a course that looks at all the issues affecting questionable arrangements that HB practitioners tend to refer to under the umbrella term of "contrived" tenancies. You can only get benefits in this situation if your tenancy is a commercial one rather than an informal family arrangement. 37 replies 4K views Hamuhu Forumite. Send message. ... On the contrivance issue, the question turns on whether the tenancy was “created to take advantage of the housing benefit scheme”. This is called a contrived tenancy. Under Housing Benefit regulation 7(1)(b) (the "contrived tenancy provisions"), claimants should be treated as having no rent liability, and therefore ineligible for Housing Benefit, where the liability to make payments appears to the local authority to have been created to take advantage of the Housing Benefit. contrived tenancy . Around 6 years ago we jointly funded a family trust to successfully appeal the decision of the Housing Benefit not to pay their related tenant’s rent. You can not always claim housing benefit for rent you pay to someone in your family, or to an ex-partner. johnny forum member money advice, midland heart HA, birmingham. Mr X lives in a property he rents from his sister. What happened. To be entitled to Housing Benefit (HB) or the housing costs element of Universal Credit (UCHE) a claimant must be liable or treated as liable to pay rent (reg 8 HB regs 2008/reg 25(3) UC regs 2013)… In general housing benefit will only pay the local housing allowance for a shared room for someone under 30, not a flat on his own. So you should make sure you get a bona fide tenancy agreement and set up a standing order for the rent to prove you are making payments and therefore prove that the tenancy is on a commercial basis. Housing Benefit Page 6 of 28 2.4 Liable to pay rent or housing costs You do not need to have a written tenancy agreement but you must have a legal obligation or duty to pay rent, which could be made up of license charges, permission to occupy charges, or use and occupation charges. You may have to provide proof of your tenancy, such as: - a contract Phones DSS for some advice and they said that the rental could be seen as a contrived rental I.e. Contrived Tenancies Last updated: 06 December 2016 (version 4) Contrived liability Cases where discretion is not given Deciding if tenancy abuse exists Contrived liability A benefit unit will be treated as not liable to pay rent if a decision maker (DM) is satisfied the liability to rent has been contrived. She wants to make a claim for housing benefit to be able to give to them, which will solve so many problems. If she draws up a tenancy agreement now, will they accept that as proof she has started paying them rent/board and lodge, when she applies shortly? From that appeal we learnt what trusts needed to do to show a tenancy is a commercial arrangement and is not considered contrived for the purposes of Housing Benefit. He is disabled and going through rough time and will be homeless with his son if he cant find somewhere that will accept housing benefit, but i dont know if its allowed. A contrived tenancy is a term used in British housing law to describe a situation where a tenancy is created in order to take advantage of the housing benefit system. in reading the housing law advice given to the LA i noticed that they are told that in order to claim a claiment guilty of forming a contrived tenancy they must first find that the tenancy is of a commercial nature. ** the arrangement has been set up to take advantage of the housing benefit system – this is called a ‘contrived tenancy’. Again this would depend on the benefit he was on. You can get housing benefit or help with rent from universal credit if you rent a property from a member of your family who lives elsewhere. 27 August 2012 at 9:47PM edited 30 November -1 at 12:00AM in Benefits & Tax Credits. Contrived tenancies. For example, if your landlord only asks you to pay rent when you are not working (and so are eligible for housing benefit), but not when you are working (and earning too much to claim housing benefit), this would be a contrived tenancy. Two things: 1. Housing Benefit - Contrived Tenancy? Mr X applied for housing benefit. For example, if your landlord only asks you to pay rent when you are not working (and so are eligible for housing benefit), but not when you are working (and earning too much to qualify for housing benefit), this would be a contrived tenancy. A contrived tenancy is where a To start viewing messages, select the … Housing Benefit; Welfare Reform; Other courses; Fun Friday Quiz. 5 posts. A benefit unit will be … The fact is, it’s neither illegal nor immoral for family members to seek […] About Us. Contact your local council if you have any further questions about Housing Benefit. If you're affected by the bedroom tax, you may be able to get a Discretionary Housing Payment. They are moving out as need 3 bedrooms and so will be letting it out. Benefit decision makers will consider whether your relative would enforce the agreement. You are able to claim housing benefit on a ‘one bed rate’ of the area so she could claim for her room. You can only get benefits in this situation if your tenancy is a commercial one rather than an informal family arrangement. I have just bought a house to rent out and am willing to let him have it You may have to provide proof of your tenancy, such as: a contract BETWEEN PARENTS AND THEIR DISABLED ADULT CHILDREN . You can get housing benefit or help with rent from universal credit if you rent a property from a member of your family who lives elsewhere. Renting from a family member who lives in the same home If you are renting a home from a ‘close relative’ of you or your partner and they live in the same house, you won’t be able to get housing benefit. These Regulations consolidate existing provisions relating to housing benefit for claimants who have not attained the qualifying age for state pension credit and for those who have attained that age and are receiving, or whose partner is receiving, income support or income-based jobseeker’s allowance. He says that he, Mr X, is struggling to pay his mortgage because he is not getting any rent from the tenant. Hi, … Mr X says it is not a contrived tenancy. Our advisers have noted an increase in the number of people contacting us for help because their home is being sold by their private landlord. Such arrangements are those that were meant to be covered by the so-called 'contrived tenancy' provision in Regulation 7(1)(b), and they are the sorts of cases on which housing benefit departments seek guidance from DSS Headquarters on a daily basis. This is known as a contrived tenancy. HOUSING BENEFIT AND LETTING ARRANGMENTS . If the Council believes that such a contrived tenancy exists, they will refuse to pay LHA. Housing benefit and the bedroom tax. We will always include plenty of exercises and real live case examples within the day. A contrived tenancy is a term used in British housing law to describe a situation where a tenancy is created in order to take advantage of the housing benefit system. Good morning Renting to a “close family” member & claiming Housing Benefit Two of my most read website articles, concern tenancies involving “family” members, where the tenants claimed Housing Benefit; were wrongly refused; and with my assistance, successfully appealed the Council’s decision. You can get HB towards the following types of housing costs: I live in a 1 bedroomed flat with my 15mth old and getting nowhere on the list so thinking of moving to my sisters old flat which is 2 bedrooms. The issue here is whether or not something is set up deliberately to try to obtain Benefit which, with a private tenancy would be Local Housing Allowance. The Local Authority may ask you to prove that the tenancy is not contrived to take advantage of the housing benefit scheme. Case law, the courts, and tribunals have helped to define what constitutes a contrived tenancy.