Inheritance and benefits
Discussion
A scenario for advice please:
A middle-aged man has suffered with mental health issues for 30 years or more. In that time he's never worked. The state pay him housing benefit, which he spends on the private rental of a small 1-bed flat where he lives, plus whatever disability allowance he's entitled to. This is his sole income.
For the sake of the sums, let's assume that he receives £500pcm housing benefit and £500pcm disability allowance.
If he were to be offered the opportunity to live in a property, not the one he lives in now, but somewhere which a relative owned and gave him permission to live there, rent free, in perpetuity, what would the DSS' view of this be? I assume that they would say "OK, you don't need housing benefit any more, so we'll stop that but continue paying your £500 disability allowance".
Is it as simple as that or is there more to it?
Please, no snarky answers. They're boring, not clever and I'll just ignore them. I'm just trying to find some answers for a family who have asked me what I think about this.
A middle-aged man has suffered with mental health issues for 30 years or more. In that time he's never worked. The state pay him housing benefit, which he spends on the private rental of a small 1-bed flat where he lives, plus whatever disability allowance he's entitled to. This is his sole income.
For the sake of the sums, let's assume that he receives £500pcm housing benefit and £500pcm disability allowance.
If he were to be offered the opportunity to live in a property, not the one he lives in now, but somewhere which a relative owned and gave him permission to live there, rent free, in perpetuity, what would the DSS' view of this be? I assume that they would say "OK, you don't need housing benefit any more, so we'll stop that but continue paying your £500 disability allowance".
Is it as simple as that or is there more to it?
Please, no snarky answers. They're boring, not clever and I'll just ignore them. I'm just trying to find some answers for a family who have asked me what I think about this.
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/help-if...
scroll down the page to see this part ?
You pay rent for the home you live in
To get Housing Benefit you must pay rent. It does not matter if your landlord is the council, a housing association or private landlord. You can also claim Housing Benefit if you rent a room in a hostel, or are a boarder. You can claim it if you share a flat or a house and can get Housing Benefit as a joint tenant or a sub-tenant. You cannot get Housing Benefit if you rent your home from the Crown, or you are 16 or 17 and have been in care.
You can only get Housing Benefit if you are responsible for paying the rent for your home, or live with your partner who is responsible for the rent. Only one member of a couple who live together can claim Housing Benefit. You must also live in the accommodation for which you are claiming Housing Benefit.
There are some people who will be treated as though they are not responsible for paying rent even though they are paying it, for example, if you are renting from a close relative who also lives in the home.
might be worth the relative charging rent ?
scroll down the page to see this part ?
You pay rent for the home you live in
To get Housing Benefit you must pay rent. It does not matter if your landlord is the council, a housing association or private landlord. You can also claim Housing Benefit if you rent a room in a hostel, or are a boarder. You can claim it if you share a flat or a house and can get Housing Benefit as a joint tenant or a sub-tenant. You cannot get Housing Benefit if you rent your home from the Crown, or you are 16 or 17 and have been in care.
You can only get Housing Benefit if you are responsible for paying the rent for your home, or live with your partner who is responsible for the rent. Only one member of a couple who live together can claim Housing Benefit. You must also live in the accommodation for which you are claiming Housing Benefit.
There are some people who will be treated as though they are not responsible for paying rent even though they are paying it, for example, if you are renting from a close relative who also lives in the home.
might be worth the relative charging rent ?
Thanks, that's interesting. I was of the view that he should not take housing benefit as he doesn't need it. If the house owner charged him rent it would be into one hand and out of the other (as it is now, but that's an actual rental agreement). If the owner of the house doesn't need the rent then presumably the guy can just live there?
Someone old and muddled is involved which is why I'm trying to find out the position. I think the concern is that the guy could lose benefits but I think he'd only (correctly) lose the housing benefit - which he no longer needs? But he'd still be entitled to his benefit for his disability (or whatever it's called)?
Someone old and muddled is involved which is why I'm trying to find out the position. I think the concern is that the guy could lose benefits but I think he'd only (correctly) lose the housing benefit - which he no longer needs? But he'd still be entitled to his benefit for his disability (or whatever it's called)?
Just realised that I called this "Inheritance and Benefits" which is misleading - another party is due to inherit a sum of money out of which they would like to provide a home for the mentally-ill guy because they want to give him some security, and will have enough money to do so.
I still can't help thinking that it's morally wrong to take the housing benefit though if the other party is prepared to offer the house for as long as the guy needs it - basically for ever?
I still can't help thinking that it's morally wrong to take the housing benefit though if the other party is prepared to offer the house for as long as the guy needs it - basically for ever?
I think professional advice is definitely needed. Potentially you need to ensure that the tenant doesnt become a protected tenant, which would become important if the home owner dies before the tenant etc.
I would start with the local council first. It may be an idea to do an Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement and charge a low rent basically designed to cover maintenance costs, legal costs etc. That way everyone is a winner, benefits are less, maintenance gets paid etc.
I would start with the local council first. It may be an idea to do an Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement and charge a low rent basically designed to cover maintenance costs, legal costs etc. That way everyone is a winner, benefits are less, maintenance gets paid etc.
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