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Gifted deposit & Housing benefit
dicus1
Posts: 10 Forumite
Hi Can anyone help with this.
8 years ago my wifes parents decided to sell their property and come and live near us.
As they couldn't afford to buy in the area we live we decided between us that I would buy an apartment for them to live in and they would gift the deposit (£48,000) which is what they had sold their flat for and we in turn would allow them to live rent free for the rest of thier lives.
3 years ago my father in law died and mother in law decided to try for housing benefit to help with the mortgage. So we drew up a rental agreement and applied. The application was refused due to the gifted deposit.
As it's now more than 7 years (IHT minimum period) and she has little other money(about £4k) does anyone know if it's worth trying again? She's 90 by the way, I don't know if that's relevant!
Any help would be appreciated, but please don't guess I need to know for sure!
8 years ago my wifes parents decided to sell their property and come and live near us.
As they couldn't afford to buy in the area we live we decided between us that I would buy an apartment for them to live in and they would gift the deposit (£48,000) which is what they had sold their flat for and we in turn would allow them to live rent free for the rest of thier lives.
3 years ago my father in law died and mother in law decided to try for housing benefit to help with the mortgage. So we drew up a rental agreement and applied. The application was refused due to the gifted deposit.
As it's now more than 7 years (IHT minimum period) and she has little other money(about £4k) does anyone know if it's worth trying again? She's 90 by the way, I don't know if that's relevant!
Any help would be appreciated, but please don't guess I need to know for sure!
0
Comments
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In return for trousering their life-savings for a deposit in exchange for a rent-free property for life you've now decided that the tax-payer can contribute to your mortgage-payments? Apart from worrying about IHT loopholes I suggest you look up the definition of a contrived tenancy. Which was most likely the true reason the HB was declined in the first place. And quite right, too.0
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you agreed to let them live rent free for rest of lives? Why the need for housing benefit then? Surely she is not now paying you rent at 90?0
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I agree I dont get it. If shes living rent free why does she need to pay a mortgage0
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BitterAndTwisted wrote: »In return for trousering their life-savings for a deposit in exchange for a rent-free property for life you've now decided that the tax-payer can contribute to your mortgage-payments? Apart from worrying about IHT loopholes I suggest you look up the definition of a contrived tenancy. Which was most likely the true reason the HB was declined in the first place. And quite right, too.
Interesting view, but apart from the fact that the deposit was used up years ago in what it would have cost them in rent, maintenance, services charges ect. what I am actually trying to do is to avoid putting mother in law on the street as we can no longer afford the mortgage and as for "trousering" the deposit, the property is now woth 30% less than we paid and we have negative equity so selling is not an option.
Things are not always what they seem, bitter & twisted indeed!;)0 -
you agreed to let them live rent free for rest of lives? Why the need for housing benefit then? Surely she is not now paying you rent at 90?
No she has lived there for 8 years rent free, but she volunteered to try and get benefit to help me with the mortgage because we can't afford it anymore!0 -
Have aged MIL move in with you and find a normal, solvent tenant who can pay the going rate.0
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BitterAndTwisted wrote: »Have aged MIL move in with you and find a normal, solvent tenant who can pay the going rate.
Good suggestion, I would gladly do that and we've offered, but she wants her independence. It's actually her driving this not me, but I wanted some advice before I let her start it up again.0 -
If she's not paying you rent now and never has done I suspect you will fall foul of the rules around contrived tenancies.0
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BitterAndTwisted wrote: »If she's not paying you rent now and never has done I suspect you will fall foul of the rules around contrived tenancies.
Ok thanks, I'll read up on that.0
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