Lodger getting Rent Allowance

jelly&icecream

I rent out a few rooms in my house under the rent a room scheme. One of my lodgers want to claim rent allowance as he has lost his job.

So i filled in the form for him, wrote a letter stating the situation (that I own the house, reside there and rent out a room, the rent, when he moved in...) and gave him a electric bill with my name on it to prove I live there...

But the social welfare officer has deemed that this isn't enough and has demanded a lease. Now as far as I'm aware a lease wouldn't be worth the paper its written on as I'm an owner occupier and normal tenancy legistlation doesn't apply...so whats the point? And why are they so insistant on it?

The_Conductor

Lodgers do not normally get rent allowance. Social Welfare will normally only process rent-allowance for a leased property.

He/she is not entitled to a lease. If you do give them a lease- you are giving them a whole load of rights- that they have absolutely no entitlement whatsoever to. Under no circumstances should you even contemplate giving them a lease. It would be insane to give them the sort of rights that a lease would confer on them- given that its your home.

You are in fact incorrect that the lease would mean nothing- its a legally binding agreement- and you could be held to the terms of it. He has precisely zero right to this though- so DO NOT GIVE HIM/HER A LEASE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES!!!!

MysticalSoul

I use an informal type of Lease for the rent a room scheme. It doesn't give the lodger any more rights than is the case under the rent a room scheme. However, as it is not a Lease drawn up officially by a Solicitor not sure if this would be accepted or not. PM me if you would like a draft of what I use.

jelly&icecream

smccarrick wrote: »

Lodgers do not normally get rent allowance. Social Welfare will normally only process rent-allowance for a leased property.

He/she is not entitled to a lease. If you do give them a lease- you are giving them a whole load of rights- that they have absolutely no entitlement whatsoever to. Under no circumstances should you even contemplate giving them a lease. It would be insane to give them the sort of rights that a lease would confer on them- given that its your home.

You are in fact incorrect that the lease would mean nothing- its a legally binding agreement- and you could be held to the terms of it. He has precisely zero right to this though- so DO NOT GIVE HIM/HER A LEASE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES!!!!

Thanks for replying!
Darn! He's a nice lodger and I'd be sorry to lose him... I presumed that me being an owner occupier would override any lease type thing but I hadn't looked into it in any detail. Thats a real nuisance.

snubbleste

Lodgers do get rent supplement.
OP, the CWO is only looking for proof that he resides at that address and that he pays x rent to you, tell him to go back and state that there is no lease and that the officer can call out to his accomodation if they can't accept his landlords letter. If this fails he should demand a decision in writing and appeal the CWO's decision.
I'd say the CWO are taking a hard line on payment decisions due to cutbacks

jelly&icecream

snubbleste wrote: »

Lodgers do get rent supplement.
OP, the CWO is only looking for proof that he resides at that address and that he pays x rent to you, tell him to go back and state that there is no lease and that the officer can call out to his accomodation if they can't accept his landlords letter. If this fails he should demand a decision in writing and appeal the CWO's decision.
I'd say the CWO are taking a hard line on payment decisions due to cutbacks

Yea, he seemed to suggest that the CWO was a tad narky and seemed fairly resolved to not sign of on it... I'll tell him that he should ask for it in writing so.

I've emailed the SW office requesting information on this, i won't hold my breath waiting for a reply but if the situation is resolved I'll report back.

jelly&icecream

Well, no reply to my email had appeared so I rang them. I stated the case and the person was completely perplexed by the whole thing. She's given me number for the superintendent (whoever that is) but this number is just ringing out :rolleyes:

Surely this is a situation they encounter at least on a semi regular basis??

So its still all a mystery...

The_Conductor

Superintendent?
Tell whoever answers that you want to talk to the HEO or the AP, I have no idea who the superintendent is- it could be the guy who changes the lightbulbs!

jelly&icecream

smccarrick wrote: »

Superintendent?
Tell whoever answers that you want to talk to the HEO or the AP, I have no idea who the superintendent is- it could be the guy who changes the lightbulbs!

Yea, I thought that was a bit strange myself! She may well have gave me a random number just to get rid of me! She hadn't a clue.

I find it very strange that there's so little information on this available. Surely if someone can claim tax relief (when they're working obviously) on the rent paid in the "rent a room" situation, they can claim rent allowance when they aren't working?

snubbleste

The superintendent is the SCWO, the officer who monitors all CWOs in an area and to which an individual can appeal a decision made by a CWO to.

I'd leave it up to your tenant/applicant to actually do the legwork.

jelly&icecream

snubbleste wrote: »

The superintendent is the SCWO, the officer who monitors all CWOs in an area and to which an individual can appeal a decision made by a CWO to.

I'd leave it up to your tenant/applicant to actually do the legwork.

Ah I see! Well at least this superintendent actually exists! I tried ring the number again this morning a few times....still ringing out. Probably away on holidays or something.

Yea, I think I'll leave it up to him from here on in. I'm still not entirely convinced he stated the situation clearly enough to the CWO originally.