I'm looking at supported living options in the north-west for my twenty-year-old son.

Parent1001

This discussion was created from comments split from: I'm Debbie and I work on Scope's helpline. I have a lead role in Benefits, Finance & Housing..

Parent1001

Dear Debbie,
I'm looking at supported living options in the north-west for my twenty-year-old son. He has autism and bi-polar disorder and wants his own flat but would need daily on-site support to manage independently. I have two questions I'd like help with:
1. Do you have a list of providers?
2. If I bought a flat and he rented it from me, would he be eligible for LHA for a one-bed flat or only the shared accommodation rate. He currently claims PIP at the higher rate for daily living and mobility and ESA support group plus disability premium.
Hope you can help.

Debbie_Alumni

Hi Parent1001,

Thanks for your question and sorry for the delay in responding.
I’m afraid that we do not have a list of providers but my advice would be to contact the housing options team at your local council. They will be able to advise you on supported living in the area where you are. You didn’t specify which part of the North West you’re living in so I haven’t been able to get some more information for you. Your local council will be able to provide advice though.

With regards to your second question, if you bought a flat and rented it to your son, it is quite likely that he would not receive any housing benefit or local housing allowance. The local authority would consider this to be a ‘contrived tenancy’. 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. Contrived tenancies can occur where a family member 'rents' to a family member but on a non-commercial basis.
If you can show that you have rented the property to your son on a commercial basis, with a tenancy agreement and evidence of rent payments then you might be able to persuade the local authority that the tenancy is commercial, however experience has shown that this can be incredibly difficult to achieve. Shelter has some more information about this issue on their website and you can get further advice about this from them. http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/housing_benefit_and_local_housing_allowance/what_is_housing_benefit/housing_benefit_if_renting_from_a_family_member
Finally, if your son does go on and rent privately then it’s likely that he would be able to receive the one bedroom rate of LHA rather than the shared room rate based on the benefits he is currently receiving. Shelter can again clarify this for you http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/housing_benefit_and_local_housing_allowance/what_is_housing_benefit/housing_benefit_for_young_people

I hope that this information has been helpful and I wish you both all the best.

Kind regards
Debbie