housing benefit - mortgage reduction

Notebook

Hi All
A question and my story
Made unemployed - 26k
Immediately did the following.

paid off mortgage leaving me with 5.5k ( after advice from here and a link to the dwp site saying you can ) and a mortgage of 5k
claimed jsa
have been granted council tax benefit after showing them a letter from my mortgage company showing where the cash went.

Now

converted my mortgage (£60) to interest only - so now around £20 a month
(mortgage taken out pre 1995 so different rules)

Can I claim any help with paying this interest?

Thanks

fluffymovie

Good afternoon.

There is no help from the benefit department of the council with regards to Mortgage Interest. However, there is a mortgage rescue scheme but this is only something done once all other options have been exhausted and you can't pay.

jennilb

Hi

I'm not sure that mortgage rescue is what you're looking for - its the public sector equivalent of 'sell and rent back'; it seems like you've made quite a lot of effort to pay your mortgage and nearly own your house outright.

I know this may not be the answer you were hoping for but my best advice is to budget carefully and use your savings to help you to pay your mortgage - this is one of those 'rainy days' people put money aside for.

Good luck with your job search.

mcjordi

iirc you can claim help with the interest after around 13 weeks unemployed

do you not have mortgage payment protection insurance ??

Notebook

to be honest yes I do have mortgage protection - just wondered if I am entitled to help with the £20

dmg24

If you have mortgage protection, you should claim on this. The JCP will not pay you SMI on top of this!

Notebook

Thanks -
Just one question - the mortgage protection says I have to provide evidence of job hunting.
Nobody replies to ads I have sent off about - any help appreciated as its a bit worrying
Thanks

dmg24

You can get a form that the JCP will stamp to show that you are seeking work.

Rikki

Notebook wrote: »

Hi All
A question and my story
Made unemployed - 26k
Immediately did the following.

paid off mortgage leaving me with 5.5k ( after advice from here and a link to the dwp site saying you can ) and a mortgage of 5k
claimed jsa
have been granted council tax benefit after showing them a letter from my mortgage company showing where the cash went.

Now

converted my mortgage (£60) to interest only - so now around £20 a month
(mortgage taken out pre 1995 so different rules)

Can I claim any help with paying this interest?

Thanks

Is this not deprivation of capital?
I though this would affect your benefits especially after the six months of contribution based job seekers ends.

If this is allowed my apologies.

Notebook

Hi
Do you know what is the form called?
I completed a claim form initially and I had to take that to the dole and they sent it back with their own comopleted form. I sent this off and the claim was accepted. As there is a 30 day in arrears wait, I then received a new type of claim form. I then have to get this new claim form completed each month. Is this the form you are talking about?
Is the fact that I satisfy the dole office sufficient evidence?
Thanks

Notebook

Rikki wrote: »

Is this not deprivation of capital?
I though this would affect your benefits especially after the six months of contribution based job seekers ends.

If this is allowed my apologies.

Hi Rikki
Checked this with CAB and they said not.
I found this on the DWP site so saved a copy as it dissapeared not long after.

http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz87/Notebook64/dole-mortgagerules2.png

Also the council asked where the cash had gone when it left my account and when I showed them they said ok.

Hope this helps