Disability and Housing

Nomad

Well-Known Member
Staff member
I'm conflicted about this post and MAY delete it down the road.

We live in an expensive to live city. D C has many problems with housing. Much of it is her own fault, as she often gets frustrated in some way with her place and wants to leave quickly...like in two months. This is actually an improvement from the past. In the past, she would get evicted.


Her father is her designated payee, because she can't handle money. About 90%of her check goes into rent. And she stays in horrible places. Sometimes places that would be considered slums. And she's been pinched and groped at various places and one time saw men shooting up by the stairwell.

Right now she is in a room within a nice house (but one that needs repairs) not too far from our home. The owner has financial problems and is charging a fairly low rate. However, the owner is a g. F. G. . The ac was broken for six weeks and we had to get repairmen over there to get the ball rolling and he (the owner) never tried to get it repaired or offered an explanation or to lower the rent for the time being. Other VERY VERY weird goings on and of course, she wants to move. I can't totally blame her this time (and some of the other times too).

If a relative was to own a home or a condo in a decent area and charge her the rate for the going area or slightly below, would this be ok (she's on SSI)? . We don't know what else to do. I read the website info and it seems like it would be ok and the rates vary in the area I'm thinking of...so it would be hard to pinpoint the exact proper rental fee.

Does anyone have any personal insight into these situations?

Thank you.

PS I might ask for this thread to be deleted....but really really need any insight.
 

Lil

Well-Known Member
Disclaimer: This is totally NOT my field of law. I'm making educated guesses ONLY here. I do NOT know how SSI payments thru a payee are monitored or even IF the social security administration does any oversight of those payments at all.

If you are asking if the government would look sideways at your husband for paying rent to another relative out of the daughter's SSI? I don't really see why. Now, if HE or YOU were to buy the house and rent it to her...maybe? That gets a little iffy, with fiduciary duty and such being involved. I could see someone thinking you are buying a house on her money and in the end, she doesn't own it. Of course, that's pretty much the case with any landlord and there's really nothing wrong with that. But I can see an auditor or someone for the SSA looking at it with raised eyebrows and thinking they need to look deeper.

Is it legal to do it? I really don't know - though I don't see why it would not be.

I think I'd do 3 things. 1) Call the Social Security Administration and talk to someone. Ask, hypothetically, if there is any rule against what you are thinking of. 2) Document, document, document! All the places she's lived, why she left them, what the rent was, etc. 3) Get it in writing! Make sure it's all legal and aboveboard - have a written lease, even if it's a month-to-month, and document that the rent is fair rental value or less.

That my two cents and worth what you've paid for it.
 
Disclaimer: This is totally NOT my field of law. I'm making educated guesses ONLY here. I do NOT know how SSI payments thru a payee are monitored or even IF the social security administration does any oversight of those payments at all.

If you are asking if the government would look sideways at your husband for paying rent to another relative out of the daughter's SSI? I don't really see why. Now, if HE or YOU were to buy the house and rent it to her...maybe? That gets a little iffy, with fiduciary duty and such being involved. I could see someone thinking you are buying a house on her money and in the end, she doesn't own it. Of course, that's pretty much the case with any landlord and there's really nothing wrong with that. But I can see an auditor or someone for the SSA looking at it with raised eyebrows and thinking they need to look deeper.

Is it legal to do it? I really don't know - though I don't see why it would not be.

I think I'd do 3 things. 1) Call the Social Security Administration and talk to someone. Ask, hypothetically, if there is any rule against what you are thinking of. 2) Document, document, document! All the places she's lived, why she left them, what the rent was, etc. 3) Get it in writing! Make sure it's all legal and aboveboard - have a written lease, even if it's a month-to-month, and document that the rent is fair rental value or less.

That my two cents and worth what you've paid for it.
 
Four years ago we bought a condo ,the idea being my daughter on SSI would live there and the SSI would pay most of the mortgage. Her housing behavior of going to different places continued, after a year's time she took payee away from me. I learned to not be her landlord. Currently, someone is renting the condo. She was living at our country home for two years and it counted as rent,just be sure you put the entire amount as housing costs so they don't cut the payment.
 

Ironbutterfly

If focused on a single leaf you won't see the tree
I was paying rent to sons Aunt when he got of jail this past summer. I went down to SS and had to restart his benefits and told them he would be living with his Aunt and paying xx amount for rent. It was approved. Just my experience.
 

witzend

Well-Known Member
She should also try to cooperate with a landlord to do Housing supplements. I do bookkeeping for a lady who owns rental houses and several of her houses have tenants who get supplements from the city housing authority to help with rent. It's based on income.
 
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