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    • Thank-you dx, What you have written is certainly helpful to my understanding. The only thing I would say, what I found to be most worrying and led me to start this discussion is, I believe the judge did not merely admonish the defendant in the case in question, but used that point to dismiss the case in the claimants favour. To me, and I don't have your experience or knowledge, that is somewhat troubling. Again, the caveat being that we don't know exactly what went on but I think we can infer the reason for the judgement. Thank-you for your feedback. EDIT: I guess that the case I refer to is only one case and it may never happen again and the strategy not to appeal is still the best strategy even in this event, but I really did find the outcome of that case, not only extremely annoying but also worrying. Let's hope other judges are not quite so narrow minded and don't get fixated on one particular issue as FTMDave alluded to.
    • Indians, traditionally known as avid savers, are now stashing away less money and borrowing more.View the full article
    • the claimant in their WS can refer to whatever previous CC judgements they like, as we do in our WS's, but CC judgements do not set a legal precedence. however, they do often refer to judgements like Bevis, those cases do created a precedence as they were court of appeal rulings. as for if the defendant, prior to the raising of a claim, dobbed themselves in as the driver in writing during any appeal to the PPC, i don't think we've seen one case whereby the claimant referred to such in their WS.. ?? but they certainly typically include said appeal letters in their exhibits. i certainly dont think it's a good idea to 'remind' them of such at the defence stage, even if the defendant did admit such in a written appeal. i would further go as far to say, that could be even more damaging to the whole case than a judge admonishing a defendant for not appealing to the PPC in the 1st place. it sort of blows the defendant out the water before the judge reads anything else. dx  
    • Hi LFI, Your knowledge in this area is greater than I could possibly hope to have and as such I appreciate your feedback. I'm not sure that I agree the reason why a barrister would say that, only to get new customers, I'm sure he must have had professional experience in this area that qualifies him to make that point. 🙂 In your point 1 you mention: 1] there is a real danger that some part of the appeal will point out that the person appealing [the keeper ] is also the driver. I understand the point you are making but I was referring to when the keeper is also the driver and admits it later and only in this circumstance, but I understand what you are saying. I take on board the issues you raise in point 2. Is it possible that a PPC (claimant) could refer back to the case above as proof that the motorist should have appealed, like they refer back to other cases? Thanks once again for the feedback.
    • Well barristers would say that in the hope that motorists would go to them for advice -obviously paid advice.  The problem with appealing is at least twofold. 1] there is a real danger that some part of the appeal will point out that the person appealing [the keeper ] is also the driver.  And in a lot of cases the last thing the keeper wants when they are also the driver is that the parking company knows that. It makes it so much easier for them as the majority  of Judges do not accept that the keeper and the driver are the same person for obvious reasons. Often they are not the same person especially when it is a family car where the husband, wife and children are all insured to drive the same car. On top of that  just about every person who has a valid insurance policy is able to drive another person's vehicle. So there are many possibilities and it should be up to the parking company to prove it to some extent.  Most parking company's do not accept appeals under virtually any circumstances. But insist that you carry on and appeal to their so called impartial jury who are often anything but impartial. By turning down that second appeal, many motorists pay up because they don't know enough about PoFA to argue with those decisions which brings us to the second problem. 2] the major parking companies are mostly unscrupulous, lying cheating scrotes. So when you appeal and your reasons look as if they would have merit in Court, they then go about  concocting a Witness Statement to debunk that challenge. We feel that by leaving what we think are the strongest arguments to our Member's Witness Statements, it leaves insufficient time to be thwarted with their lies etc. And when the motorists defence is good enough to win, it should win regardless of when it is first produced.   
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    • We have finally managed to obtain the transcript of this case.

      The judge's reasoning is very useful and will certainly be helpful in any other cases relating to third-party rights where the customer has contracted with the courier company by using a broker.
      This is generally speaking the problem with using PackLink who are domiciled in Spain and very conveniently out of reach of the British justice system.

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      OT APPROVED, 365MC637, FAROOQ, EVRi, 12.07.23 (BRENT) - J v4.pdf
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Claiming housing benefit where house owned by relative


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I am new to this site and hope someone can help me. I am in the process of buying a house. My daughter is expecting a baby and she wants to move out of our house and rent a property of her own with her boyfriend. She is claiming income support and he is about to be made redundant. I have spoken to our local council who advise me that she will not be able to claim HB if they believe we are buying the house for her to rent and therefore to claim housing benefit. Quite ridiculous in my humble opinion but I do not want to proceed with the purchase if there is no way round it and we find ourselves saddled with a mortgage and my daughter gets no help. Is there any way around this? If we already owned the house then they said they would exercise their discretion and maybe allow a claim. I cannot see how it maes sense to allow her to claim HB for a grotty flat from a third party when we will be charging a commercial rent to her as a thrid party would??? Any advice/ tips etc would be hugely welcome..... baby due in 6 weeks! Thanks

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So far as I know, the restriction only applies if the claimant is renting from a close relative who also lives in the property. You could try asking Citizen's Advice.

RMW

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Hiya Claire,

 

Welcome to CAG :)

 

I have moved your thread over to the renting forum. You will get the advice you need in here.

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Any opinions are without prejudice & without liability. All I know has come from this site. If you are unsure, please seek professional advice. .

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So far as I know, the restriction only applies if the claimant is renting from a close relative who also lives in the property. You could try asking Citizen's Advice.

 

That is certainly not the case.

 

If you are renting from a close relative, then the local authority may well reject any claim for HB. The argument for this (entirely valid) is that the landlord may not have claimed rent, or may be charging under market rent, in this kind of scenario.

 

The rules vary from authority to authority, and so you are basically tied with what your authority says.

7 years in retail customer service

 

Expertise in letting and rental law for 6 years

 

By trade - I'm an IT engineer working in the housing sector.

 

Please note that any posts made by myself are for information only and should not and must not be taken as correct or factual. If in doubt, consult with a solicitor or other person of equal legal standing.

 

Please click the star if I have helped!!

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There are some people who will be treated as though they are not responsible for paying rent even though they are paying it, for example, if you are renting from a close relative who also lives in the home.
From Advice Guide (CAB)

 

I live in a property owned by a family member - can I claim housing benefit?

If you live in a property owned by a family member and pay them rent, you may be entitled to housing benefit. However, this will not be the case if you (or your partner) are responsible for a child and are renting from the other parent of that child.

 

The council will also want to check:

 

that you're paying rent on a commercial basis. In other words, that it's a proper tenancy, not just an informal arrangement between family.

that the arrangement has not been set up in order to take advantage of the housing benefit system - this is called a 'contrived tenancy'. For example, if your landlord only asks you to pay rent when you are not working (and so are eligible for housing benefit), but not when you are working (and earning too much to claim housing benefit), this would be a contrived tenancy.

From Shelter

RMW

"If you want my parking space, please take my disability" Common car park sign in France.

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As mentioned it depends on local authority.

7 years in retail customer service

 

Expertise in letting and rental law for 6 years

 

By trade - I'm an IT engineer working in the housing sector.

 

Please note that any posts made by myself are for information only and should not and must not be taken as correct or factual. If in doubt, consult with a solicitor or other person of equal legal standing.

 

Please click the star if I have helped!!

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MrShed is right. If the local Council think that it is a contrived tenancy i.e. a tenancy set up just to get LHA (private HB) then they will not pay. The things they will usually look for are:

 

does the family member who owns the house have a history of being a private landlord

is the claimant already living in the house and have they been paying rent

does the rent charged match the market rent for the area

has a proper tenancy agreement been drawn up and signed by both parties

does the landlord know what their responsibilities/rights are especially around non-payment of rent

was a deposit paid

 

The best thing to do would be to have a chat with the HB dept of your local Council but this will only be a guideline as a definite answer will only be available after you have bought the property and your daughter has signed a tenancy agreement, etc.

 

If you are not able to let your daughter live in the property rent free while she is on a low income or evict your daughter if the LHA is not paid and she cannot pay the rent or be a private landlord to someone other than your daughter then my advice is do not buy the property.

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Thanks for the replies most helpful! The house will certainly NOT be occupied by anyone other than my daughter and her baby and partner. There will be a formal assured shorthold tenancy agreement in place prior to occupation at a commercial rent. Unfortunately our council seem to think that this is still purchasing a house solely for the purpose of claiming HB!!! I already own a flat in Bristol which is rented out to students so I could argue that I have a history of being a private landlord. As you say, however, it looks very much as if we will have to take the risk of the council refusing to pay or choosing to rent the house commercially first before saying that it is impossible for our daughter to live at home anymore and that she and her partner need to move into the available accomodation that we have ready and waiting. It would be great to talk to the relevant department but, of course, they are constantly engaged!!!! Does anyone think it would work if we rented the house to her boyfriend for 6 months and then decided to rent it to our daughter after that. she could then live at home for a bit?

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Does anyone think it would work if we rented the house to her boyfriend for 6 months and then decided to rent it to our daughter after that. she could then live at home for a bit?

 

Bad idea.

 

Not only will the same HB rules apply when your daughter moves in, it will look as if you are actively attempting to circumvent their policies.

7 years in retail customer service

 

Expertise in letting and rental law for 6 years

 

By trade - I'm an IT engineer working in the housing sector.

 

Please note that any posts made by myself are for information only and should not and must not be taken as correct or factual. If in doubt, consult with a solicitor or other person of equal legal standing.

 

Please click the star if I have helped!!

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Just to clarify, it is not down to the council's policy. The law is the same nationwide.

 

Housing benefit can be claimed where the agreement is legally enforceable, and not contrived to take advantage of the HB scheme (plus a few other fixed excluded situations).

 

Refusal carries a right of appeal to a tribunal.

Post by me are intended as a discussion of the issues involved, as these are of general interest to me and others on the forum. Although it is hoped such discussion will be of use to readers, before exposing yourself to risk of loss you should not rely on any principles discussed without confirming the situation with a qualified person.

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I was in a similar situation last year.

I moved back to the UK in July 2009 and lived at my mothers property without paying rent (she was also living there). In October she moved overseas with work for 3 years and we started paying rent/claiming Housing benefit at that time.

The council initially refused to pay as they found it to be a contrived tennancy, it was only after she used an agent to manage the property that they agreed to pay housing benefit on the property, she lost a % of the rent but better that nothing!

Also if they ask you cannot say that it will only be avaliable for your daughters use, you must say that it will be avaliable to rent to anyone, even if you are only going to rent it to her because she already agreed before it went on the market as it were, hope that makes sense!

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  • 10 months later...

Hi

Welcome to The Consumer Action Group.

 

 

I am just letting you know that as you haven't had any replies to your post yet, it might be better if you post your message again in an appropriate sub-forum. You will get lots of help there.

 

Also take some time to read around the forum and get used to the layout. It is a big forum and takes a lot of getting used to.

 

 

Once you start to find your way, you will soon realise that it is fairly easy to get round and to get the help you need.

 

It can be bit confusing at first.

Please be advised that my time will be limited for the next few weeks.Thanks for your understanding.

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