Published on 12, July, 2020
My adult son (who has autism) is having difficulty finding accommodation. His tenancy with a private landlord has recently ended. We could just about manage to buy a flat for him to live in but only if we charged him rent to cover running costs. As he is currently unemployed he would need to claim housing benefit but we are unsure (having read conflicting guidance) whether such a claim would be successful. Would welcome advice from anyone who has been down this road.
You might find these resources helpful (to my inexpert eye, it looks like you'd need to rent it to him on a commercial basis, evidenced via, among other things, a legally binding tenancy agreement):Shelter: Claiming benefits if you rent from family
Citizen's Advice: see "If you rent from someone you know"
Very useful thank you. Left thinking that he should be ale to claim housing benefit but what if his claim is turned down after we have already bought the flat.