Benefits newbie

MrChips

Hi - I am posting on behalf of my sister who doesn't claim any benefits other than child benefit but I think she may be entitled to more and am doing some research for her.

She is married with 4 children (aged between 2 years and 12 years). She and her husband are both around 40. Her husband works and earns around £30,000 per year, she hasn't worked for many years (since the children came along), but very recently started some part time work with a view to getting some experience for when the youngest starts school (it is only around 6 or 7 hours per week at £9 per hour).

The complication is their housing status. My grandmother moved into a care home in 2007 and around this time they had their 3rd child and were struggling to fit into their 2 bedroom flat. My parents suggested they move into my grandmother's home on a temporary basis as they couldn't afford any bigger places in the same neighbourhood. My grandmother has since died and me and my three sisters have inherited the property in equal shares (25% each). We don't want to sell it as this would leave my sister in a difficult position and are happy to let them live there subject to coming to a suitable arrangement. Ideally they would be able to get a mortgage to "buy us out" but this won't be possible in at least the near future as my brother-in-law's employers are in administration and no bank will lend them money with that uncertainty (I should say they have been in administration for many years so he isn't at imminent risk of being made redundant!).

An alternative I am thinking about is that they pay me and my two other sisters a notional amount of interest each month as if we had lent them the value of the 75% that we collectively own. Anyway...I am struggling to understand how this, admitedly unusual, situation would be treated for benefits purposes. I've been using the entitledto.com website and don't know if they would be treated as private tenants, or mortgaged owners. It's basically a bit of both! Would they be able to claim some sort of housing benefit in this situation?

Any ideas? Many thanks...

nannytone_2

they should be receiving child tax credits anyway.

even if the brother in laws income was low enough to receive housing benefit, it xouldnt be claimed on a property that is partly owned by the claimant.

they wouyldnt be tenants as they are part owners. and as the house was an inheritance, they also have no mortgage.

if you and your other siblings decide to charge a nominal amount for them to remain in the property, it is a personal matter between yourselves

MrChips

Thanks - I've recompleted the form and it suggests that they are entitled to child benefit and child tax credits only - but still this is around £525 per month more than they get currently which will be a great help.

It seems they aren't entitled to council tax benefit though.