Help with Buying a Council House

Amnesia180

Hi All,

I am wondering if anyone can help with my query, it is a bit long winded so I will explain as best I can.

I currently privately rent with my fiance. Her mother has lived in a council house for a very long time and has been given the option to buy her house. However, she is over 60 and is claiming state pension (doesn't pay rent on the house).

What would be the best way in which I can approach the Housing Association/Council to buy this house at the discounted rate that has been offered to my fiance's mother.

Would her mother and I need to get a join mortgage? Would I need to give her the money and she can pay rent? If I did get the house, and own it, would the council treat me as her landlord and pay rent on the house (the same as they are doing now?).

I understand these questions are probably not in order, and any advice would be helpful!

Many thanks in advance,
Amnesia

poppysarah

Would you evict your mother for not paying the rent?

scottishblondie

You buying it is a non-starter. You are not the tenant, the discount has been offered to your fiance's mother, not you. Therefore you cannot buy the house, only she can. You can give her the money to buy the house if you want but it will have to be in her name so you wouldn't be able to get a mortgage on the property and legally speaking she could sell the property on and take the money. Also if she owned it she would become responsible for maintenance etc - the council will not pay anymore towards the property.

At this point in her life your fiance's mother is much better off staying in her nice secure council tenancy. If anything went wrong with mortgage payments etc she could lose the property and end up homeless.

silverchair

Why would they allow you to have the same discount as MIL? Surely if you're deperate to buy theres lots of housing stock already on the market.
Does your MIL actually want to buy her flat as theres no mention of this in you post

Alter_ego

Ownership of the house would be restricted to your MIL for the first 3 or maybe 5 years she owns it. Any sale or transfer in that time would have to give the council first refusal to buy it back. At least that is what happened in my parents case.

kingstreet

Your fiancee may join her mother on the deeds and mortgage, I do not think you would be accepted as a joint purchaser. The mother needs to apply to the landlord for a right to buy pack to see what she can and cannot do.

Your fiancee's mother does pay rent, however she probably claims Housing Benefit or Local Housing Allowance which leaves her with no rent (or Council Tax) payments to make.

Once she becomes a joint owner of the property, her HB claim would end and she'd need to claim assistance with mortgage interest payments instead.

Your plan of getting the housing benefit paid to you is a non-starter.

Alter_ego

Amnesia180 wrote: »

If I did get the house, and own it, would the council treat me as her landlord and pay rent on the house (the same as they are doing now?)
Amnesia

Luckily, it does not work like that, you can't own it, she must. So no rent could be involved.

Hugbubble

Also, even it was possible (as others have said, your fiances Ma is the only one entitled to buy it), I have a feeling (although someone more knowledgable will be able to correct me), that the council won't pay housing benefit when the landlord is a close relative.

bris

Once your MIL buys the house the benefits will stop, you have no chance of getting LHA for this house, and quite rightly so. Do you really think it's fair to buy a house dirt cheap and then collect a nice little rent for it, leaving the same person in it. I don't and neither do the council.

kingstreet

For anyone reading this looking for general right to buy information, you need to contact the landlord and ask if you have the right to buy and for them to send you an RTB1 form and information pack.

You can buy with someone who isn't named on the tenancy, as long as they are a family member and have lived in the property with you for the last twelve months. Upto four applicants can purchase, according to Croydon Council.

You have to repay the discount if you sell the property within five years of purchasing and the Council get first refusal to buy back from you for the first few years (ten in Croydon's case).

Amnesia180

Thanks everyone for the replies, very helpful.

My MIL was very interested in owning her house, for the purpose of leaving it to her children. She can't afford to do this, and I was try helping out, obviously to own a share in the house too. I am not trying to pretend this was a total selfless act of good will.

For those that are getting their panties in a twist; I don't need any lectures on what you or I think is/is not fair. I wasn't asking if I "think it's fair to buy a house dirt cheap and then collect a nice little rent for it" was fair.

Thanks for those that have helped

Unfortunately, my Fiance has been living away from that house for a little over a year now.

Even if I could get the mortgage, or even give my MIL the money, as you have said - Council get the first choice on buying it back, which makes the whole thing not worthwhile at this stage.

Next step, somehow - get myself into a secure coucil house and look to buy it in years to come.