Can I gift £200 per month to my parent on a pension

atush

It is quite clear to me what should happen here.

They are in an old 5 bedhouse they can't maintain/heat. They need to downsize.

Rent them a nice place, then lend them the cash to redevelope and sell. Split the profit. They buy a new place smaller that they can afford to heat/lookafter. No income worries for your parents.

jamesd

Have they used the free deals for loft insulation and cavity wall insulation?

How about discount deals for boiler upgrades?

Gone around and checked for gaps that can be sealed?

Watch out for the Green Deal that is supposed to be announced later this year. That will provide loans that could be used to change to double glazing and perhaps a heating upgrade. The loan is repaid with the energy bills and should result in a net reduction in costs - it's a requirement of the scheme that it does.

margaretclare

baldnut wrote: »

They have no pension credit, and its a big 5 bedroom house that needs lots doing with no double glazing and poor heating. So heating has to run flat out to keep house warm. I live around 20 miles away and my mother likes to come regular to see the kids and so this costs a lot in petrol and in addition to this she has my 3 children for sleep overs and they take a lot of feeding.

The obvious answer would be for them to downsize. I certainly wouldn't want to be in a 5-bedroom house with no double glazing/no heating, not in retirement years - who needs that amount of space? They must be rattling around in it like peas in a colander. A lot of their money, and yours too, is being wasted, paying for heat that flies straight out of the roof, walls, doors and windows.