housing law. is it possible to create a contrived tenancy that is not commercial?

Question

in reading the housing law advice given to the LA i noticed that they are told that in order to claim a claiment guilty of forming a contrived tenancy they must first find that the tenancy is of a commercial nature. i wonder if this is accurate? i assume there must be proven intent to fraud the HB scheme by forming the contrived tenancy and if the tenancy is contrived it must be for commercial reasons. if the tenancy contrived for personal reasons do both parties need to gain from this? assuming that the tenancy was created to abuse the scheme then money would be the reasons for this....help its so confusing.

Answer 1

Among the rules I have found this telling paragraph:

"Contrived tenancy
You cannot claim HB if the local council believes that your liability to pay rent has been created to take advantage of the HB scheme. For example, if you live rent-free while you are in work, but have to pay rent when you are unemployed.

If you can satisfy the local authority that the arrangement was not intended to exploit the HB system, you may be able to get benefit."

That's clearly what we're talking about here!

Incidentally, I can conceive of a non commercial scheme whereby a council tenant allows somebody else to live in a council house just to keep the pot boiling, as it were, while he or she went away to study, or to be a guest of Her Majesty for a stretch, or to be an in-patient. They might regard the arrangement as a sub-letting or, more likely, a licence. That would be a non-commercial arrangement benefiting the council tenant, who would then retain all options.