UC advice - Scotland

[T12344]

Hi,

can anyone shed some light on my situation.

I am a single mum of 2. I am a university student and receive £800 per month from UC after my student income is deducted.

My landlord is selling the house I rent from him. The father of my children is going to buy it from him through a private sale. It’s difficult to get a property in my area and this is a great opportunity for my children’s father to get on the market especially in the area I live, as it is a private sale the landlord is selling it to him for 10 grand less than the valued price.

my question is what happens now with my UC? I have heard that it is not possible to rent from an ex partner/or the father of your children is the are under 16 - both my children are under 16.

if UC refuse to pay my housing element - my children’s father has suggested that he moves in (he currently lives with his parents) while I get on my feet. I have 1 year left at university, and I am just about to start a part time job. Private rent prices are through the roof in my area and as I have been a long term tenant to my current landlord I have paid fairly cheap rent the last 5 years - which he has never increased in five years.

has anyone successfully rented from an ex while on UC?

or does anyone know what will happen with my UC if he moves in while also being the house owner? We have no intentions of getting back together we have been separated for 7 years but we are very good friends so I am open to the idea of it means I can stay in this area while I finish uni and most importantly my children can stay at the local primary school.

any advice appreciated

My understanding is that you can claim UC while renting from an ex, but only if very specific conditions are met and you do have to be very very careful with it.

You must be living as two separate households, and you must be able to evidence that, so he needs to be able to prove he is living elsewhere (bills in his name etc).

You also have to have a proper, legal, formal tenancy agreement just like you would have with any other landlord so all the usual things like deposit protected, your ex would need to get a buy to let mortgage (so would need a bigger deposit), the rent cannot be cheaper, it has to match the local market average and the DWP does check this so he couldn’t be giving it to you cheaper for example. He would have to take on all of the legal responsibilities of being a landlord properly, formally, legally, he couldn’t just buy the house and then let you live there and ask for £x a month.

I'm England/Wales not Scotland but I don't think the principles are vastly different. I think @Mrsttcno1 has the essentials; all the normal criteria for a letting need to be met.

There are rules about paying rent to a close relative, which I think is the analogy here, where you're under the same roof. Beyond that they're worried about contrived tenancies created to facilitate a claim or increase the benefit payable rather than anything specific about relationships between individuals.

I can’t see how a family of four can live together in a property owned by one of the parents and the other parent is entitled to universal credit to pay rent. Surely the state wouldn’t fund that?

No the state wouldn’t fund that. If they all lived together then no it would not be eligible.

He would also need to be declaring and paying tax on the rent

If he becomes my landlord then of course everything will be above board, buy to let mortgage, tax wise, registered landlord, legitimate tenancy agreement, rent price for the area etc

These are just two possible options we are exploring to get me through my last year of university.. nothing is set in stone I’m just exploring options and wanted to ask on here. Appreciate all replies and they confirm what I already thought. The sale is happening in September, I don’t want to discuss it with UC just now to avoid any confusion or problems with my claim as I know they like to act quickly.

so can anyone answer - if he moves in can I continue to claim UC without the housing element or will the whole claim end?

thanks

If he moves in then you cannot really continue your current claim as a single person OP, no, again there’s quite strict conditions but living with someone who pays for the roof over your head and is also your children’s dad is going to be a tricky one to argue. You’d be best off entering a joint claim at that point but of course they will take his income into account which may reduce your UC to less or even £0

“Universal credit pays father’s mortgage on home he shares with his two kids and their mum” Not really a headline the government could attempt to defend so I assume the answer to your question is “no, that wouldn’t work, full stop”