Claim Housing Benefit – Property in Trust.

[PhilH]

Can you claim Housing Benefit if you live in a property that is owned by a Trust and the Trust is owned by your Son and Daughter?

[PhilH]

Sorry found this....
Benefit is not payable in the following circumstances:
"where a person rents accommodation from a trust of which his/her child or partnerÂ’s child is a beneficiary (Reg 7(f))"

[Instinctive]

Would this still apply even if the child is over 18? Or does it perhaps refer only to situations where the child is under 18?

Ramnik
ramnikrp@hotmail.com

[kirstie.williamson@a]

The queriest does not say that their child is a beneficiary, only that their child is a trustee.

If the trust is charging a market rent and the queriest has sufficently low income and savings then housing benefit may be available for some or all of the rent. Generally as long as you have a private landlord and are not actually living in the household of a close relative then you can claim housing benefit.

However if the queriest is living in a property for which the trust is charging him a rent which is so high that he is struggling to meet the payments without resort to state benefits then surely it would be better for him if the trustees were to purchase a more appropriate property with a lower rent ?

The queriest should be aware that in certain areas it is not housing benefit but local housing allowance which is payable. I don't know if the rules are any different.

KW

[Instinctive]

My understanding was that any claimant would not be precluded from housing benefit, allowance simply because the landlord was a (close) relative, unless there was some sort of dubious motive. I make it clear that I have not checked the legislation in this respect.

If the rent was above the market rent or exceeded the locally set ceilings, it would be restricted.

Ramnik
ramnikrp@hotmail.com