very kind uncle

Hi I am 41 and my wife is 33 we have 3 great kids and one on the way. I’ve work from when I left school to about 3 years ago when I was diagnosed with an incurable disease (but not life threatening) when we were both working we were on a good wage. And we had a few bank loans and credit cards adding up to about £75,000. Now that I am out of work we can not keep up repayments so they are slowly putting the debt onto our house which we have a large mortgage on it of £155,000. So in total £230,000 debt. Iam on ESA and DLA so not much money coming in. Now to the question.
My uncle has said that he will buy are house of us this allowing us to just about pay all our debts back. Then he would rent it to us but would I get help with this and all so would I still be able to get ESA like I do now. Please advice
«13456

Comments

  • Anubis_2
    Anubis_2 Posts: 4,077 Forumite
    It would be seen as a contrived tenancy, so you would unlikely get housing benefit. Additionally being in receipt of the money from the house would stop any income based benefits you have.
    How people treat you becomes their karma; how you react becomes yours.
  • maginot
    maginot Posts: 484 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    It would probably be easier for you to just sell your house normally, pay off your debts, and if you have limited or no excess funds you should be entitled to housing benefit to pay your rent elsewhere.

    Even if it could be done without the potential of a contrived tenancy, it's never a good idea to be renting from family members. As a landlord he will have many obligations and could get messy in the long term.
  • Anubis wrote: »
    It would be seen as a contrived tenancy, so you would unlikely get housing benefit. Additionally being in receipt of the money from the house would stop any income based benefits you have.
    I would not have the money my uncle would pay them directly
  • I cant go through the whole moving bit i need to stay in this house I cant see that we will be doing anything wrong.
  • McKneff
    McKneff Posts: 38,857 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Contrived tenancy maybe but you could rent the house from your uncle if he was a legal landlord,
    he must charge the going rent and comply with every thing in law, Gas safe certificates etc.

    The big question is if you didnt pay your rent wouldhe evict you, he must treat you as a normal 'tenant' and only
    then would yu be able to get benefits.

    Have a word with him and see what he says.

    Good luck

    Annie
    make the most of it, we are only here for the weekend.
    and we will never, ever return.
  • AFAIK you cannot be paid housing benefit for a house that you have previously owned, so I think that you would not be eligible for this at all.

    Also if you sell your house to anyone you would not be able to just pay off everything that you owe as that could be seen as deprivation of capital in order to receive benefits. This would also apply if the money was to be paid directly to creditors, you would still be classed as having received the capital and could lose your benefits because of this.

    Sorry but you may have to rethink your plans on this one.
    Sometimes it seems that just when I think I have reached rock bottom, someone hands me a shovel.
  • merlin68
    merlin68 Posts: 2,405 Forumite
    I think in your case I would save up and go bankrupt.
  • McKneff
    McKneff Posts: 38,857 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    AFAIK you cannot be paid housing benefit for a house that you have previously owned, so I think that you would not be eligible for this at all.

    Also if you sell your house to anyone you would not be able to just pay off everything that you owe as that could be seen as deprivation of capital in order to receive benefits. This would also apply if the money was to be paid directly to creditors, you would still be classed as having received the capital and could lose your benefits because of this.

    Sorry but you may have to rethink your plans on this one.

    Youre right of course:o I hadnt thouht it through properly especially about owning the house beforehand and the deprivation of capital angle.

    Sorry Op if I gave you false hope.
    make the most of it, we are only here for the weekend.
    and we will never, ever return.
  • merlin68 wrote: »
    I think in your case I would save up and go bankrupt.
    Hi I cant they would force me to sell and as said before i cant move I need to stay here.
  • CIS
    CIS Posts: 12,260 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    AFAIK you cannot be paid housing benefit for a house that you have previously owned, so I think that you would not be eligible for this at all.

    Pretty much , the OP would have to show that the action was essential to retain the house. I doubt that selling to the uncle so that they can clear their debts would be an essential action.
    I no longer work in Council Tax Recovery but instead work as a specialist Council Tax paralegal assisting landlords and Council Tax payers with council tax disputes and valuation tribunals. My views are my own reading of the law and you should always check with the local authority in question.
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 350.4K Banking & Borrowing
  • 252.9K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 453.3K Spending & Discounts
  • 243.3K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 597.9K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 176.6K Life & Family
  • 256.4K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
  • 37.6K Read-Only Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.