Would my cousin visiting affect my housing benefit?

System

This discussion was created from comments split from: Housing allowance.

Maurice123

I have a problem. I am disabled and to reduce my rent to an affordable level I claim some housing benefit. I have a distant cousin in America who wants to visit me and stay perhaps for three months. Will this affect my housing benefit as she will not be paying me?

Can anybody give me an answer please?

Adrian_Scope

Hello @Maurice123, can I ask if you claim any other benefits such as PIP or AA or Council Tax Reduction alongside housing benefit? I want to ensure the answer we give is accurate but need to know the full picture of your situation.

Maurice123

Yes. I claim council tax and receive a very small pension saving credit. get a further reduction in my council tax but still pay about £600 a year. I would be grateful for your advice. Thanks

Adrian_Scope

@Maurice123 a guest staying over shouldn't impact your benefits but they may want evidence that she is not living with you. We have some information about this on our website Benefits and having someone stay over