Am I Entittled to Housing Benefit on Part/buy Part/Rent Property?

bertielove

Hello!
My husband and I are currently receiving working tax credits. On top of this we were in receipt of housing benefit & council tax benefit for the property we live in which is owned by a housing association. Late last year a relative died and left us their bungalow. We were not entitled to housing & council tax benefit any more due to the bungalow being an asset, although we we were still entitled to working tax credits. We stayed in our H/A bungalow and have tried for nealy a year to sell the bungalow but 4 times the chain has fallen through. We are now nearly at the end of the bungalow sale, again a chain and fingers crossed it will all go through. We will share the proceeds with my husbands brother. We have seen a property that is part buy part rent with a housing association, we want to buy the 50% share in cash, so will have no mortgage and then pay the housing !!!. rent each week on the other 50%. We will still be in receipt of Working tax credits but would like to know if we would be entitled to housing and council tax benefit. I know you can not apply to buy a share of a part/buy part/rent property if you are in receipt of housing benefit but once we are in the property and own 50% and are paying rent on the other 50% if we get in to difficulty ie bad health etc would we be entitled to housing benefit if we are in part/buy part/rent. I have searched the internet/government websites but have not been able to find out. We will part own the home but also be paying rent to the housing !!!. If any one can help I would really appreciate it
From Berlie Love

System

Was the relative's bungalow left to just your husband or shared between him and his brother?

AnxiousMum

As you're both working, why not put the money into a house as a downpayment and then do what most do when they can afford it, and get a mortgage. I don't know that you would get approval from the housing association to half buy/half rent a property from them and being reliant upon housing benefits - you may want to check with the association!

bertielove

Hello!
my husband has inherited the bungalow with his brother, so when it is sold then will have an equal share. From this share of the sale we want to buy another home we have seen (we still live in our original H/A bungalow) on the part buy part rent scheme. We have looked around to buy, we already have a small mortgage in principle based on our working tax credits but have decided we do not want to have a mortgage as at some stage we may lose our home if we get in to difficulty. The sale of the bungalow is not a great amount which has make up our minds to not have a mortgage. If we buy a 50% share of this other home we will be paying a very small rent to the housing !!!. - less than half of our rent to our current H/A landlord, so the other property is very attractive to us financially.
I understand that when we are buying the 50% share of this other home, the H/A will not accept people who are in receipt of housing benefit at the point of application for the property. What I would like to know is, would we be entitled to housing benefit from the government if, once we are living in the property (part/buy part/rent) we get in to some kind of difficulty such as health issues and can no longer run our business etc. Not sure if you are entitled to housing benefit if you are living in part/buy part/rent properties. I know you are entitled if you are renting but this property would be partly owned buy us and partly we would be paying rent to a housing association. I am just thinking of every eventuality. My husband had arthritis and if it gets really bad (as sometimes it is) and the business fails due to this I want to know that our share (50% in the new home) would not be in jeopardy and that we would not lose our home and money due to now being able to pay the rent.
Thanks so much
Bertie love

bertielove

Hello!
we will also have some savings if we buy this new part/buy part/rent property which we want to plough in to a new business to ensure (hopefully) that we have a good financial future.
My worry is that things may go wrong and if we are reliant on housing benefit as some point will we be entitled to housing benefit if you own 50% share outright and pay rent on the rest of the 50% to the H/A?
thanks so much
Bertie love