Renting from family

[Ludwig1]

Hi I'm just wanting to know if anyone knows the rules on renting from family.
Ì need to leave my partner. my mum has another house she has rented for 12 years.
I have no income, so would be claiming universal credit. Can I rent from her and get my housing component to pay her as a landlady? She has a mortgage on it so it's not any profit for her. It will just be me and the kids.
Thanks

Yes, as long as you have a contract and she charges you market rates.

You would need a formal tenancy agreement and some councils put restrictions on family rentals.

Thank you. I guess I need to speak to my local council about this.

Thank you. I guess I need to speak to my local council about this.

It is not the council that administer Universal credit, it is the DWP so no point speaking to the council.

I would recommend your mum rent the house to you via a letting agent and also pay them to manage the rental. So you’d have a standard tenancy agreement, you’d be arranging repairs with the property manager at the letting agent, and you’d pay your rent to them (not direct to your mum). This would make it a fully commercial lease. And if you paid rent late or failed to pay, the property manager would automatically charge you the late fees or take legal action required under a commercial lease on behalf of your mum.

Here is some guidance
”To be entitled to help with housing costs through the HCE of UC or HB, a person must be ‘liable’ to make rent payments, which means their rent agreement must be legally enforceable. A person may be considered as liable to pay rent, and therefore entitled to benefit support for housing costs, if they rent a property from a relative who does not reside with them.

But a person who resides with, and pays rent to, a ‘close relative’ cannot claim benefit support for housing costs because they should not be treated as liable to pay rent.”

More at
commonslibrary.parliament.uk/benefit-support-for-housing-costs-when-renting-from-relatives/

england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/benefits/claiming_benefits_if_you_rent_from_family

Do you share the same surname?

Yes

She needs to check with her mortgage company too. Some don't allow you to rent to family members.