Buying a council house

chokolat2

Hello everyone.
I live with my parents and we received a council house while I was still at school.
Now I am in my last year of uni and currently working.
My parents are now on benefits.
Can I buy this council house we live in? How does this process work?

All answers are highly appreciated.
Thank You

McKneff

chokolat2 wrote: »

Hello everyone.
I live with my parents and we received a council house while I was still at school.
Now I am in my last year of uni and currently working.
My parents are now on benefits.
Can I buy this council house we live in? How does this process work?

All answers are highly appreciated.
Thank You

No you cannot buy it, only your parents can buy it.
its whoevers name is on the rent book.
If you gave them the money to buy it the benefits people would want to know where it came from.

Council houses were built for people who can afford to rent and not buy which is exactly what it is doing for your parents.

ianian99

Let me guess, you want to buy your parents house and get them to claim housing benefit to give to you? Am I correct?

BitterAndTwisted

To be honest, I don't think that giving up a secure tenancy in return for the modest discount available is worth it. In any case, if you're in your last year at Uni what are you going to use for a deposit or the mortgage payments?

AliceBanned

McKneff wrote: »

No you cannot buy it, only your parents can buy it.
its whoevers name is on the rent book.
If you gave them the money to buy it the benefits people would want to know where it came from.

Council houses were built for people who can afford to rent and not buy which is exactly what it is doing for your parents.

Not true at all. Council houses were built for people who cannot afford to buy at the time. Not all council tenants rent for ever and can't afford to buy. I know someone who grew up in a council house and bought it whilst her parents were still living there, and they all continued to live there - if you are part of the family and your parents agree then I think you may be entitled to buy it. After that it doesn't matter who lives in it, it's yours. I don't know why people are suggesting that you are thinking of benefit fraud because of your perfectly innocent question! Most unfair. I would contact the council, explain the situation and see whether you can buy it, although your parents would have to give up their shorthold tenancy.

chokolat2

Hmmm, ok. So can we change the name of the rent books to mine? Is that possible at all?

chokolat2

AliceBanned wrote: »

Not true at all. Council houses were built for people who cannot afford to buy at the time. Not all council tenants rent for ever and can't afford to buy. I know someone who grew up in a council house and bought it whilst her parents were still living there, and they all continued to live there - if you are part of the family and your parents agree then I think you may be entitled to buy it. After that it doesn't matter who lives in it, it's yours. I don't know why people are suggesting that you are thinking of benefit fraud because of your perfectly innocent question! Most unfair. I would contact the council, explain the situation and see whether you can buy it, although your parents would have to give up their shorthold tenancy.

Thank You very much for your answer.
Someone has understood me correctly :j

poppysarah

chokolat2 wrote: »

Hmmm, ok. So can we change the name of the rent books to mine? Is that possible at all?

Why would you parents want to do that?


If you want to buy a house then buy one. Don't take away your parent's home though.

If they are on benefits and aren't getting all they can because you live at home still that's another thing.

squinty

chokolat2 wrote: »

Hmmm, ok. So can we change the name of the rent books to mine? Is that possible at all?

No.

Its not just a matter of changing the names, it is about assigning the tenancy. The 1985 Housing Act is very clear that a secure tenancy is not capable of being assigned apart from in certain prescribed circumstances - none of which appear to apply in your case.

McKneff

AliceBanned wrote: »

Not true at all. Council houses were built for people who cannot afford to buy at the time. Not all council tenants rent for ever and can't afford to buy. I know someone who grew up in a council house and bought it whilst her parents were still living there, and they all continued to live there - if you are part of the family and your parents agree then I think you may be entitled to buy it. After that it doesn't matter who lives in it, it's yours. I don't know why people are suggesting that you are thinking of benefit fraud because of your perfectly innocent question! Most unfair. I would contact the council, explain the situation and see whether you can buy it, although your parents would have to give up their shorthold tenancy.

You are of course right in the first part of your post. My husband and i bought our council house in 1980 just before the tenants right to buy came in. It was all a bit of a scam really, the house next door to us was bought just after the RTtoB came in the houses were 3 times as expensive.

But, family cannot buy assigned tennancy council houses and neither should they ever be allowed to.
Some misunderstanding of your friends buying her parents house on your part or wrong explanation from them to you.

PasturesNew

At the moment, your parents have a home for life. No worries. Cheap rent.

If you buy it you're opening up a HUGE can of worms for yourself ... now, in the near future, in the distant future.

Leave things as they are.