AnnO'Neemus
Is so vanilla
My job ended last year (not Covid-related, it was a short-term contract) and so I've been in receipt of benefits, I get UC, the higher rate due to being unable to work due to ill health at the moment, and they don't hassle me to do job searches and stuff.
My mental health, which was already very shaky, has taken a massive dive due to housing problems.
I might be able to get away soon-ish and try to distance myself and sort my head out if I rent out my flat.
What would happen to my benefits if I received rent?
I know if I had a lodger, the income would be disregarded for UC purposes and also tax-free under the Rent-a-Room scheme for HMRC purposes.
But what about renting out my whole flat and moving somewhere else? I mean, I know I'd have to declare it and they'd consider it income, but how would that work?
Would they just say:
You've received, say, £500 in rental income, so we'll deduct that whole amount from your entitlement?
Or would I have to sort of do it as a self-employed landlord kind of scenario, keep books, along the lines of I received... let's say a round number of £500 rental income, but had to pay £60 service charge and £15 insurance, so my net income this month is £425. And then the next month, maybe I received £500, but paid service charge £60, insurance £15, but also had a repair bill of £150 to fix something that broke, so I only made £275 in month 2, iyswim?
I mean, if someone was, say, a self-employed whatever who received £500 for a job, but had to fork out £30 for some spare parts, but also had to get their van that they use for work MOT'd that week, would they be classed as earning £500? Or £500 - £30 - £MOT = 'real earnings:?
And I know Urban traditionally hates capitalist bastard landlords, but I need to somehow get out of my awful housing situation.
(NB: I wouldn't be dropping anyone else into a terrible situation unsuspectingly, I'm not a cunt; there's someone who's looking for a place to rent who knows the history and is still potentially interested.)
And please don't give me a hard time for considering this. I've previously let lots of people stay in my flat for free, and have been taken advantage of. And I've also occasionally had paying lodgers (some wonderful, some arseholes).
I would be letting for well below market rent for the area. My main concern is that I actually need enough income to rent somewhere else myself. (I know I would not be entitled to housing element of UC, so it would have to come out of my 'earnings', but I don't know whether they'd treat all the rent as my income (because that would be paid into my bank account), or whether I'd have to do books and declare earnings after expenses. Oh, and tax, I'd probably have to pay tax at some point? I mean, if someone has a part-time job, DWP don't say You earned £500 we'll offset that against your UC this month, they'd say, you earned £500-tax & NI = £xxx, which we'll offset against your UC. Don't they?
Or should I set up a company and get the rent paid to the company and expenses paid by the company, and then the company pays me whatever's left over?
I don't have the foggiest clue so any helpful advice would be very much appreciated, thank you.
My mental health, which was already very shaky, has taken a massive dive due to housing problems.
I might be able to get away soon-ish and try to distance myself and sort my head out if I rent out my flat.
What would happen to my benefits if I received rent?
I know if I had a lodger, the income would be disregarded for UC purposes and also tax-free under the Rent-a-Room scheme for HMRC purposes.
But what about renting out my whole flat and moving somewhere else? I mean, I know I'd have to declare it and they'd consider it income, but how would that work?
Would they just say:
You've received, say, £500 in rental income, so we'll deduct that whole amount from your entitlement?
Or would I have to sort of do it as a self-employed landlord kind of scenario, keep books, along the lines of I received... let's say a round number of £500 rental income, but had to pay £60 service charge and £15 insurance, so my net income this month is £425. And then the next month, maybe I received £500, but paid service charge £60, insurance £15, but also had a repair bill of £150 to fix something that broke, so I only made £275 in month 2, iyswim?
I mean, if someone was, say, a self-employed whatever who received £500 for a job, but had to fork out £30 for some spare parts, but also had to get their van that they use for work MOT'd that week, would they be classed as earning £500? Or £500 - £30 - £MOT = 'real earnings:?
And I know Urban traditionally hates capitalist bastard landlords, but I need to somehow get out of my awful housing situation.
(NB: I wouldn't be dropping anyone else into a terrible situation unsuspectingly, I'm not a cunt; there's someone who's looking for a place to rent who knows the history and is still potentially interested.)
And please don't give me a hard time for considering this. I've previously let lots of people stay in my flat for free, and have been taken advantage of. And I've also occasionally had paying lodgers (some wonderful, some arseholes).
I would be letting for well below market rent for the area. My main concern is that I actually need enough income to rent somewhere else myself. (I know I would not be entitled to housing element of UC, so it would have to come out of my 'earnings', but I don't know whether they'd treat all the rent as my income (because that would be paid into my bank account), or whether I'd have to do books and declare earnings after expenses. Oh, and tax, I'd probably have to pay tax at some point? I mean, if someone has a part-time job, DWP don't say You earned £500 we'll offset that against your UC this month, they'd say, you earned £500-tax & NI = £xxx, which we'll offset against your UC. Don't they?
Or should I set up a company and get the rent paid to the company and expenses paid by the company, and then the company pays me whatever's left over?
I don't have the foggiest clue so any helpful advice would be very much appreciated, thank you.
