Charging mother rent...........

Gorgeous_George

poppysarah wrote: »

The hb/lha payment comes from the pockets of tax payers.

Just as it have would had the house remained in Council ownership...

... and would have for the earlier years following RTB...

... and the council would not have been paid for the house (if only in part).

Oh, and the Council would have been responsible for repairs, refurbishment, administration, debt collection etc.

GG

blythmags

The house is in my name as I gave my parents the money to purchase from the council, then they transferred to my name a few years later.

EdInvestor

My understanding is that HB is payable as long as there is a proper "arm's length" tenancy in place - ie mother would need to sign up to an AST (assured shorthold tenancy) rental agreement.

She can then claim HB, assuming she qualifies ( what is her income?) and the council will pay her the money,which she then pays to you as rent. There are rules about how much the council will pay, so you need to find out what they are in your area so you pitch the rent at the right level..

blythmags

Hi EdInvestor

Thats interesting. My mother doesnt have an income other than her OAP. She has about £2k savings and is 82 years old

justthisonce_2

Does she get pension credit? Who pays the council tax? Make sure she is claiming what she should be. She should have about £120 a week after housing costs as a pension.

EdInvestor

How much is her OAP?If she only gets the basic, it sounds like she would be entitled to Pension credit (124 pounds a week) which then results in automatic council tax benefit, and if renting, HB.

I suggest you and she consult your local CAB or Age Concern, who are very helpful with filling in benefit claim forms. Both should be able to give a view on the rent issue.

Meantime, have a look here:

www.entitledto.com

affordmylife

my grandfather signed his house over to my father some years ago.

my father then rented the house back to his own father. who claimed housing benefit which was paid direct to my dad.

when my grandfather moving into a care home my father sold the house.

so it can be done.

this house was privately owned tho - dont know if it makes a difference.

Gorgeous_George

blythmags wrote: »

Hi EdInvestor

Thats interesting. My mother doesnt have an income other than her OAP. She has about £2k savings and is 82 years old

That is much more than many of today's spendaholics will manage. About 24p per day at 6%.

No doubt she helped with the war effort. Please make sure she gets all that she is entitled to.


GG

silvercar

So you gave your mother the money to buy the council house at a discount. Then she transferred ownership to you once the council's discount clawback time had passed. Now you want to charge her rent to live in the home you bought for her?

AFAIK, there will be the assumption that she received market value for the property when she sold it to you. So she would have profitted by the amount of the discount and the increase in house prices over that time. This would notionally give her savings which would reduce her entitlement to housing benefit.

Captain_Mainwaring_2

blythmags wrote: »

Hi

I purchased my 82 year old mother's house some time ago, when her council house came up for sale. Since then, I have not charged her a penny in rent, and don't want to start now.

However, what would be the case if I charged her the going rent knowing that she couldnt afford it (she has no capital worth mentioning). Would the authorities/social services/ housing/benefits people etc, have to financially assist ?.

I would hate to think I was losing out on some assistance to payment just beacause she was my mother if you know what I mean !

Thanks for any advice I receive

John

Obviously getting a cheap house wasn't enough for you. How would your mother have paid the Council rent had you not purchased the property? If she would have been entitled to some support in this case, you should have considered that before buying the place. You could have waited and take over the tenancy in the event of her demise, and then purchased the place.

I trust that you will properly account for any tax liability caused by the rental income.