Council RTB question

QBD

My Gran has got maximum discount on her council house and I am giving her the money to buy it. She says that she will then give me the house after the 3 years are up to help me get on the property ladder.

what we dont know about is what would happen to the property if she would pass away within the 3 years? If it was left in a will to me would I simply have transferred ownership as she hasnt actually sold it she has given it away?

Thanks!

QBD

Dora_the_Explorer_5

I would imagine if she leaves the house to you in her will you will inherit it. Can't imagine any local authority will 'claw' back property from a deceased's estate because they didn't live for 3 years after they had bought it.
There may be one difficulty - if your gran has to go into residential care at some point during the next 3 years the local authority won't fund her and she will be expected to fund herself which may mean selling her house at it's market value. They will only start funding once the resident's capital falls to around £19.5k.
Unless you live in Scotland.

QBD

Hi Dora, thanks for the good input....I do live in scotland but I wouldnt let my gran go into a social home anyway -I think it should go somewhere under human rights act as cruel and unusual punishment! lol

So if she dies they cant take it if she leaves it in a will then? Im just wondering about the amount of money that she is entitled to in a discount and if she would lose that if I got ownership before 3 years are up.

Cheers

Spendless

Hi

My gran bought her council flat the week after her 80th birthday. We were advised that if she died within 3 years the owing the discount back would only come into force if the property was sold within that time. We could rent it out, or leave it unoccuppied until the 3 years were up.

Re-not letting your gran into a home. I think you need to take into account, she may become so ill that it isn't possible for her to be looked after by a family member. I know of 2 cases where a gran has had alzheimers and it just wasn't possible to give them 24/7 care. My 2 grandads both had strokes, one lived another 13 years, the other 25. Both were looked after at home by the grans but this care took its toll on their health.

I have also read that the discount is now over 5 years not 3, and if you sell within 10 the council has to have 1st refusal. How accurate this is I don't know and not sure if it would apply to Scotland. You may wish to look into this further.

Good Luck.

QBD

Thanks Spendless, thankfully those rules dont apply here yet but they will no doubt in time!

Regards

QBD

danniss

i am in the same situation.

i bought (with cash) the house of my mother through right to buy and this year, in the summer, the 3 year period is up.

The house is in her name although we had a will made where, if she dies, the property goes to me. Preferably transferring the deeds of the house to me when the 3 year period is up though.

The only problem is i have heard/read somewhere that if she needs to go into care home (she is in and out of hospital), the council want the funding for this from the sale of the house. Is it on a sliding scale ie if she goes into care in 5 years then she/we have to pay 10% of the profit on the house towards the costs?

We live in England. Does anyone know who/where i should go for definite advice on this question?

Dora_the_Explorer_5

There's a downloadable leaflet about funding residential and nursing home care on the Age Concern website. Someone who goes into a home will have to pay their own fees out of their estate - property and savings, until the total drops to around £19k. At that point the local authority will start to fund some of the cost but the resident will continue to contribute until the value of their property and savings reaches just under £13k. At this point the local authority will fund all of the shortfall not met by the residents government old age and any private pension plus the amount of attendance they will have been awarded.
Hope this helps.