This is not as easy as it looks.
As a minor the claimant cannot hold an estate in land – Law of Property Act 1925. Because he is nevertheless the rightful successor, someone else must hold the tenancy on his behalf as a trustee until he is able to take it over – see the case of Prince and RBK&C.
The possibilities that might allow him to claim HB are:
– he is liable to reimburse his father for the outgoings the latter incurs
– he can be treated as if he is liable to make payments to the real landlord
The first option would be caught by Reg 9(1)(e) (payments to trustee of a trust of which the claimant is a beneficiary) but the non-contrivance exemption would apply; however Reg 9(1)(b) would be more of a problem
The second option fails if the father is actually making the paymnts, because the relevant part of Reg 8 only applies where the liable person is not doing so.
Therefore, the better option is for the father to make the claim – he is the person who is actually liable to make the payments and it is the dwelling that he occupies as his home, so job done.