Father and son housing eligibility/benefits

xanadu76

Can anyone help with a housing query?

Situation is me and my father are looking to move from owner occupied into either council/social housing or private rented due to a change in personal circumstances.

We have applied and are on the local council register for housing, however it could take a while so we are looking at renting privately. It is difficult to understand how much/what we would qualify for in terms of housing benefit etc as when searching for father and son joint tennant, all info seems to be for renting off family members.

My dad is 80, he has basic state pension with savers element pension credit, he also has the lower rate of attendance allowance (looking to apply for higher rate as a recent hospital stay has meant he needs some help through the night as well as day now).
I am 49, on universal credit with LCWRA element and looking at applying for PIP. We both have multiple chronic illnesses. We kind of act as carers for each other (but I do not claim carers allowance).

What would we be eligible for if we did look at joint tenancy and or would it be better for my dad to be the main named Tennant?

We are trying to get guidance through citizens advice however they ideally want us to go to one of the free drop in clinics which would be difficult.

Any help would be appreciated.

OverlyAnxious

Hi,

This is quite a complicated situation.

As your father is over state pension age, and you are not a couple with a mixed age UC claim, he would have to apply for Housing Benefit from the local council. Councils can choose their own rules for Housing Benefit. If he takes on a 2-bed property, then he would be charged bedroom tax.

Your situation is less complex. You would be entitled to Housing Element through Universal Credit. If you have a joint tenancy then I would expect this to be capped at the Shared Rate of LHA. (You can check the LHA website for your postcode for exact amount).

My personal recommendation would be that you take on the full tenancy yourself, and claim the full one-bedroom rate of Housing Element. Then take your father in as a 'lodger' for UC purposes. There is no bedroom tax to worry about when private renting. But there could be a deduction made for a non-dependent living with you. The rent money he pays you as a lodger will not be counted as income for UC. He would still need to get his rent money from Housing Benefit via the local council, so it is the Council that you should contact for further advice in this situation in the first instance.