Forum Home → Discussion → Housing costs → Thread
Can someone claim housing costs if they own a property
My client is currently renting a property in London as her son is in hospital there. She owns a house in Bristol that is currently empty. She will be moving back into that property when her son leaves hospital. Will she be eligible to claim for the rental property?
Think this potentially comes under a capital disregard
Premises not occupied as the home for a time
H2038 Premises usually occupied as the home are disregarded if
1. they are not occupied for a time and
2. the intention is to return to live in the premises as the home.
For example, if a person goes into residential care on a temporary basis and intends to return to the house which the person usually occupies as the home, the house is disregarded.
Problem is the housing element can also only be paid for premises normally occupied as the home, so I think you’re probably snookered.
Problem is the housing element can also only be paid for premises normally occupied as the home, so I think you’re probably snookered.
To play devil’s advocate, she does normally occupy the home in Bristol, it’s just that she’s temporarily living in London to look after her son?
Either she normally occupies the Bristol home and is just on a temporary break in the London home - in which case she can’t claim housing costs on the London home but the Bristol home is disregarded.
Or she normally occupies the London home (at least for the six or twelve months plus of her tenancy) and so can claim housing costs - but her Bristol home is then no longer disregarded.
I imagine that quite an important point, which is omitted, is the equity situation in her Bristol home. That’s going to have quite a big bearing on which of the two situations she wants to argue pertains.
To play devil’s advocate, she does normally occupy the home in Bristol, it’s just that she’s temporarily living in London to look after her son?
Interestingly HB is slightly different to UC.
In HB, both the premises being claimed for and the premises disregarded as capital are those “normally occupied” (r7(1) & Sched. 6 para.1).
In UC, the premises being claimed for have to be those “normally occupie[d]” (Sched. 3 para.1), but those disregarded as capital are those simply “occupied” (Sched. 10 para.1).
That does leave room to argue (despite the guidance quoted by Ianb) that you could claim for the property in Bristol despite owning the London home. Unfortunately, that’s the wrong way round here!
Thank you for the very helpful replies. You have confirmed my suspicions but always worth asking.