Claim HB while waiting for flat to sell?

catfish50

I have to move from the flat where I now live, because I'm getting to the point where the stairs (2 flights) are too much and I can't manage the maintenance. I probably can't sell this place for enough to enable me to buy again, so I'll have to rent. I want to move to another area. But what is the best way to go about this?

I really dread going through the stress of selling again. I've done it so many times, and just feel now at 70 I'm past coping with it. I really would like to pack up and move to a rented flat in the area where I want to live, leaving this place empty and on the market. But needless to say I can't afford to do that unless I would be able to get housing benefit on the rented flat while waiting for this place to sell -- which in the present climate could take a while. I might be able to manage without claiming HB if I could get a sheltered housing flat, where the rent is cheaper, but it seems you can't do that unless you already live in the area. I wrote to the Housing Department to ask them, but I didn't get a reply.

Can anybody tell me what are the rules on claiming HB in these circumstances? I have read online that you can claim housing benefit while waiting for a place to sell, but is that only if you are already on benefits? I'm not on benefits, I get the state pension and a small local govt pension.

Is it possible to apply for housing benefit in advance, so that you know the decision before you take action?

Any advice/information welcome. I really need a plan.

paddedjohn

Could you let out your flat and use the income to get one elsewhere?

catfish50

paddedjohn wrote: »

Could you let out your flat and use the income to get one elsewhere?

I can't sublet because it's a shared-equity flat. A housing association owns 25% of it, and prohibits subletting. Which is justified, because the 25% is from public money. But it does rule out that solution, unfortunately.

Since I posted earlier, I talked to an advisor at housingcare.org. She told me that a local authority has the discretion to award housing benefit to a person while they're waiting for another property to be sold. Because it's discretionary, and you can't get a decision in advance, I'm feeling like it's probably too risky. If I took a flat and moved, and then they turned me down for HB, I would be in a precarious situation. I guess I'll have to sit tight and wait for a buyer.

Savvy_Sue

catfish50 wrote: »

I have to move from the flat where I now live, because I'm getting to the point where the stairs (2 flights) are too much and I can't manage the maintenance.

Are these external stairs? So that would rule out a stairlift?

catfish50 wrote: »

I want to move to another area. But what is the best way to go about this?

<snip>

I might be able to manage without claiming HB if I could get a sheltered housing flat, where the rent is cheaper, but it seems you can't do that unless you already live in the area. I wrote to the Housing Department to ask them, but I didn't get a reply.

Do you have a 'local connection' to the area you want to move to? That would help - family / friends who would give support.

However, sheltered housing sometimes works to different 'rules', because they can't be let to just anybody, and there's a steady turnover, so sometimes it's hard to get the vacant ones tenanted by the right people, so don't give up: find out who the local providers are and contact them, get on the lists etc etc etc. I'd start doing that while still marketing your house.

catfish50

Thank you very much for your reply.

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

Are these external stairs? So that would rule out a stairlift?

Too narrow for a stairlift. And also I'm not yet at that stage, and determined not to be here when I do get to that stage.

Do you have a 'local connection' to the area you want to move to? That would help - family / friends who would give support.

However, sheltered housing sometimes works to different 'rules', because they can't be let to just anybody, and there's a steady turnover, so sometimes it's hard to get the vacant ones tenanted by the right people, so don't give up: find out who the local providers are and contact them, get on the lists etc etc etc. I'd start doing that while still marketing your house.

I have friends there -- not family. Used to live there, years ago. That's a big part of why I want to move, as I'm very isolated in my present location, and don't have anyone to call on if I need help or even if I just need a box lifted down from a cupboard.

Unfortunately I'm not very organized so I'm not making progress very fast towards getting the flat ready to sell, but at least I now have a plan. I can see that much as I would like to move and leave the house to sell, it's not realistic.

Once I've got the repairs done and the flat decluttered, I've decided that I will put it on the market, and will just have to wait until I have a buyer. Then I will use my savings to rent a room in a shared house in the area I want to move to. Once I'm a local resident, I'm hoping that I will be eligible to apply for either sheltered housing or maybe shared ownership housing. I've found out there's a scheme called Shared Ownership for the Elderly (http://www.homesandcommunities.co.uk/shared-ownership-elderly), so maybe I can get onto that.

I can see that there could be problems with this plan, since even a room in a shared house will soon eat up my savings, especially what with paying council tax in two places, but at the moment it looks to me like the best chance of ending up living where I would like to live. Just have to keep my fingers crossed.

Savvy_Sue

if you can demonstrate that you'd get support from your friends, you might be able to get that as a local connection, especially as you used to live there and your current isolation is part of your reason for moving back. Not up on the rules though, so it may not be straightforward.

Onward and upward with the de-cluttering! Could you get a friend to come and stay to help you?

catfish50

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

Onward and upward with the de-cluttering! Could you get a friend to come and stay to help you?

Ha! That would soon be an ex-friend! I'll get it done, it's just a question of getting down to it.

chesky369

If you're in an arrangement with a Housing Association, could you not make enquiries about other properties they may have on their books which you might either move to or exchange with? Have you contacted them to see if this might be a possibility?

catfish50

chesky369 wrote: »

If you're in an arrangement with a Housing Association, could you not make enquiries about other properties they may have on their books which you might either move to or exchange with? Have you contacted them to see if this might be a possibility?

Yes, I did ring them, and had a long and helpful discussion. If I were staying in their area, I think they might be able to add me to their list for resale shared-housing properties. But because I'm moving to a different area, they can't help. It was very well worth talking to them though. I came away with a better understanding of the situation. Which, basically, is that it's not easy to move to sheltered housing or shared-ownership in another area.

Savvy_Sue

Did you specifically ask about any homeswap schemes? I'm not sure if that's what they are called, but there are systems set up which facilitate people moving all round the country, with HAs and local councils all involved.

It might, just might, be worth registering your property, because it doesn't have to be a 2 way swap, they can develop into chains I believe.

But shared ownership might be different, not sure.

catfish50

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

Did you specifically ask about any homeswap schemes? I'm not sure if that's what they are called, but there are systems set up which facilitate people moving all round the country, with HAs and local councils all involved.

It might, just might, be worth registering your property, because it doesn't have to be a 2 way swap, they can develop into chains I believe.

But shared ownership might be different, not sure.

I googled homeswap and got a lot of results, but all for tenants. I'm not a tenant of a council or housing association. The HA owns part of the equity in my flat, but I'm the one who has to put the property on the market and sell it, then they get their money back when the sale is completed. It's not the same as shared-ownership properties that people buy directly from the HA.

I don't quite see how swapping would work, for properties that have to be sold, but I would like to know more if anyone knows of a scheme I could join.