Putting Name On Council Tenancy

Soot2006

no1wf wrote: »

That seems to be one of very few options I have. Either I move out and Dad moves out. Or we carry on as we are, Dad dies and I pack up my life in 2 weeks and move out.

I think I'm still going to save up for a deposit and see what I can do about buying the house. Maybe the bigger a deposit I have the more chance I might have. My boyfriend might be able to go on it too.

You do realise it would be your father's house, not yours.

And if he does ever need residential care, then the house could be sold to pay for this, leaving you potentially with no house and no savings (because you've spent them on the house).

And if he doesn't need residential care, you will potentially be living with him for a long, long time ... in his house.

... Also, seriously £20/week rent? Compare that to a mortgage + maintenance!

mrginge

It's amazing how in the course of two pages we have gone from 'looking after poor old dad and saving him from eviction' to 'how can I get my grubby hands on this house and not have to bother paying for one on my own'

!!!!!! have some self respect.

[Deleted User]

In her defence.., the OP does have some points to make. She does some caring for her dad, I doubt her Dad wants to move (even if at some point it might be seen as 'better' for him to move to sheltered accommodation) from a home he's lived in all his life. She is paying half the rent .., 20 or 30 years ago this might have given her some 'rights' to stay in the house.

Problem is, now housing need is so acute, with so few houses available.., I don't think the OP has a chance in hell.

But she does NOT deserve to have all the 'greedy' labels attached to her. She can, if she wishes, stay with her father, and use the opportunity to pay £20 a week rent (which is rather inexpensive) as a chance to save for a house she wants when its time to move on. Rather than feeling that she is losing something (her family home) if her father has to leave the house or dies and she is forced to leave.

no1wf

Yorkie1 wrote: »

You haven't understood the previous posts on here.

You are not a tenant. You are highly unlikely to be able to get your name on the tenancy. The law only permits those who are on the tenancy to buy the place. The size of the deposit is wholly irrelevant. The law does not give you the right to buy the place.

I would be applying with my Dad, who would then have to be on the mortgage too. As I've said previously I know it would be difficult given his age but I'll still try.

Soot2006 wrote: »

You do realise it would be your father's house, not yours.

And if he does ever need residential care, then the house could be sold to pay for this, leaving you potentially with no house and no savings (because you've spent them on the house).

And if he doesn't need residential care, you will potentially be living with him for a long, long time ... in his house.

... Also, seriously £20/week rent? Compare that to a mortgage + maintenance!

Serious question, what makes a person need residential care as opposed to staying in their own home and being cared for?

I know we would, but I've been living here with him and Mum before she died even when other friends were off renting flats and houses. I was a late starter on everything due to some anxiety disorders but my boyfriend has been staying here almost every night for the last 3 years and we've all lived together quite happily.

mrginge wrote: »

It's amazing how in the course of two pages we have gone from 'looking after poor old dad and saving him from eviction' to 'how can I get my grubby hands on this house and not have to bother paying for one on my own'

!!!!!! have some self respect.

Excuse you, isn't one of the rules here to be nice? I'm not going to lie and say I'm not thinking of what happens to me after he dies, but above that my first concern is if I really can't stay here then making sure he is safe after I leave.

Even if I had a written contract from the council that was iron clad and everything saying 'if you move out and your Dad is on his own we can confirm he will not be evicted' I would still find it extremely difficult to move out and start my own life while leaving him on his own. As I've said his health is not the best, his wife died only just over a year ago and we're all that the other has got.

deannatrois wrote: »

In her defence.., the OP does have some points to make. She does some caring for her dad, I doubt her Dad wants to move (even if at some point it might be seen as 'better' for him to move to sheltered accommodation) from a home he's lived in all his life. She is paying half the rent .., 20 or 30 years ago this might have given her some 'rights' to stay in the house.

Problem is, now housing need is so acute, with so few houses available.., I don't think the OP has a chance in hell.

But she does NOT deserve to have all the 'greedy' labels attached to her. She can, if she wishes, stay with her father, and use the opportunity to pay £20 a week rent (which is rather inexpensive) as a chance to save for a house she wants when its time to move on. Rather than feeling that she is losing something (her family home) if her father has to leave the house or dies and she is forced to leave.

Thank you. I know my chances are slim but it doesn't mean I'm not going to try. If we do end up having to leave the house he could always come and live with us in a new house I suppose. Moving 25 years (for me, more for him) of memories will be difficult but everyone has to do it. But at least he'll be with me.

neas

Its a tricky post this one. You haven't come out with a typical:

"I want to buy my parents council house"

But the intent is there in the posts, any downside to this you want to find a way around.

Ultimately it sounds like your father currently isn't too bad. While i feel for him, and some could argue you support him in his old age means you should 'get' something back... the fact is the house isn't his to give really. Once he dies its the housing associations right to kick you out as you have found out.

Your final loophole/workaround is an intriguing one. WHen you said I will save a deposit I immediately thought you would use the £90 a month rent to save a lovely deposit for a nice 'non-council' house just like the rest of us do... but you don't even see that as an option which betrays your motivation.

When saving for my first house I had to pay £500 a month rent for a 1 bedroom flat... just to put things in perspective.

What is sad ultimately is that your parents enjoyed a long time in a subsidised below market rent house (180 quid a month for a 3 bed house is prob 25% of what the private market is!), they had it good. They needed help to raise you and the council provided a house for them. Now you wish to try to take this housing stock away from another family just like yours some decades ago, which comes off as ungrateful/greedy to me.

Would I try and do the same? Probably, but it still makes it greedy, just I'd know I was being greedy lol!.

Option 6 is move boyfriend in now, both pay minimal rent, look after father for 5-10 years while he survives.. save a massive deposit for house and buy private somewhere nice.

Oh and there is nothing stopping you becoming a full time carer for your dad... problem is as people get older they degenerate into a 2nd childhood.... my grandfather who is 86 wheres nappies as he goes to the toilet anywhere. He has alzeimers/dementia and constantly repeats same questions... Eventually he will have to go into a home as he cant remember anything and will just wander off.

Looking after someone is a big deal!.

squinty

no1wf wrote: »

Our rent is £37 a week so I'm paying about half, I don't understand what you mean.

OP can you clarify this please? Is this the full rent or the amount you have to pay after some housing benefit.

If you dad does get some benefit I think you need to understand how this is worked out. For example if a tenant who recieves HB has a non-dependent living with them - there is a reduction in the benefit. (eg for a gross income of £180 to £234 this is £36.10 for last - the banding and the amounts change each year).

If your dad is having his benefit reduced because of a non-dependent deduction this is a direct result of you living there. You should therefore be paying him the full amount of the deduction, not 50%.

no1wf

neas wrote: »

Its a tricky post this one. You haven't come out with a typical:

"I want to buy my parents council house"

But the intent is there in the posts, any downside to this you want to find a way around.

Ultimately it sounds like your father currently isn't too bad. While i feel for him, and some could argue you support him in his old age means you should 'get' something back... the fact is the house isn't his to give really. Once he dies its the housing associations right to kick you out as you have found out.

Your final loophole/workaround is an intriguing one. WHen you said I will save a deposit I immediately thought you would use the £90 a month rent to save a lovely deposit for a nice 'non-council' house just like the rest of us do... but you don't even see that as an option which betrays your motivation.

When saving for my first house I had to pay £500 a month rent for a 1 bedroom flat... just to put things in perspective.

What is sad ultimately is that your parents enjoyed a long time in a subsidised below market rent house (180 quid a month for a 3 bed house is prob 25% of what the private market is!), they had it good. They needed help to raise you and the council provided a house for them. Now you wish to try to take this housing stock away from another family just like yours some decades ago, which comes off as ungrateful/greedy to me.

Would I try and do the same? Probably, but it still makes it greedy, just I'd know I was being greedy lol!.

Option 6 is move boyfriend in now, both pay minimal rent, look after father for 5-10 years while he survives.. save a massive deposit for house and buy private somewhere nice.

Oh and there is nothing stopping you becoming a full time carer for your dad... problem is as people get older they degenerate into a 2nd childhood.... my grandfather who is 86 wheres nappies as he goes to the toilet anywhere. He has alzeimers/dementia and constantly repeats same questions... Eventually he will have to go into a home as he cant remember anything and will just wander off.

Looking after someone is a big deal!.

I know the intent is there, it's what I want to do, my parents name is on the tenancy but it still feels like my house too I've lived here the exact same amount of time as he has and it's just a shame it counts for nothing.

I understand what you mean, when Mum was alive the plan was for me to move out into my own place and rent/buy because they had each other. Obviously now that isn't the case and my attachment to this house has become stronger.

I can see how this comes across but I'm just trying to come up with a solution where we can both live together so he's not on his own and incase anything happens to him. Whether that is seeing if the council will let me stay here after he dies, buying this place with him or putting my name on the tenancy and buying it myself/with boyfriend.

Even if when he does die I know I'll have to move out but I don't feel the council would give me long enough to find a house I really want by myself they'll just plonk me in whatever hole they have free with no space for 3 persons worth of stuff to store and it'll end up being miles away from work knowing my luck. But I can't find a place now and live there so I'm covered when that happens because I don't want to live apart from him.

We're stuck whichever way really it's just finding the least sucky option

squinty wrote: »

OP can you clarify this please? Is this the full rent or the amount you have to pay after some housing benefit.

If you dad does get some benefit I think you need to understand how this is worked out. For example if a tenant who recieves HB has a non-dependent living with them - there is a reduction in the benefit. (eg for a gross income of £180 to £234 this is £36.10 for last - the banding and the amounts change each year).

If your dad is having his benefit reduced because of a non-dependent deduction this is a direct result of you living there. You should therefore be paying him the full amount of the deduction, not 50%.

I believe it's after some housing benefit. I don't know, I was paying rent when Mum was here she asked for £120 a month but then for the last year or so I've not paid anything and Dad said if he did end up needing extra he'd ask for it and he's literally only just asked because his jobseekers barely covers shopping and rent so he asked for £20 a week towards rent so that's what I give him.

duchy

How on earth is your Dad getting housing benefit legally with you AND your boyfriend living there too (You say he stays there every night -as far as housing benefit are concerned he's living with you and your Dad).

Either you are a troll or you need to educate yourself about housing law if your Dad is getting any form of housing benefit and not including your boyfriend in his claim . £20 a week for two people to stay in your father's home is rather good - as you are talking about a mortgage presumably you and your boyfriend both work so would be able to save lots !!!! Alternatively you could use savings to pay back the incorrectly claimed housing benefit and the fines your Dad will get when he's taken to court for benefit fraud for having two other adults living in his home undeclared.

Your Dad may not be good with forms and regard an adult daughter as a dependent and has filled out forms accordingly but housing benefit will not see it that way and will view it as three adults living there . This really needs sorting out before the arrears grow to a frightening level....especially if you and or your boyfriend are working.

As an adult daughter you have a responsibility to your Dad to make sure he hasn't misunderstood how his housing benefit is calculated and to pay a proper rent so he can afford to pay the correct rent. Odds are for you and your boyfriend it's likely to be more than £120 a month more.

Citizen's advice would be able to give you advice (and should know what council rents are locally -before housing benefit is deducted) so you could talk to them before approaching your Dsd about how to regulate the situation and ensuring he doesn't get into serious trouble with the authorities.

I note your Dad pays for the shopping too -even when you contributed nothing -Do you seriously think this is right or fair ?

duchy

deannatrois wrote: »

In her defence.., the OP does have some points to make. She does some caring for her dad, I doubt her Dad wants to move (even if at some point it might be seen as 'better' for him to move to sheltered accommodation) from a home he's lived in all his life. She is paying half the rent .., 20 or 30 years ago this might have given her some 'rights' to stay in the house.

Problem is, now housing need is so acute, with so few houses available.., I don't think the OP has a chance in hell.

But she does NOT deserve to have all the 'greedy' labels attached to her. She can, if she wishes, stay with her father, and use the opportunity to pay £20 a week rent (which is rather inexpensive) as a chance to save for a house she wants when its time to move on. Rather than feeling that she is losing something (her family home) if her father has to leave the house or dies and she is forced to leave.

Really ?

I see it differently.
Her father is still of working age and according to the OP doesn't have any health or mobility issues so doesn't need "care" as such.

Until her mother died last year she was contributing £120 a month -since then has paid nothing until asked and now pays £20 a week but has moved her boyfriend in (says he stays every night-and talks of having to remove three people's stuff from the property if her Dad dies) but makes no mention of the boyfriend making any contribution to the household . She also talks of getting a mortgage for right to buy implying that she and the boyfriend work. Oh and Dad asked for money as all of his benefit was going on rent and shopping -so he's buying all the shopping too.

Greedy doesn't seem unreasonable ..... Her Dad may have caused the situation by not wanting to ask for rent when she stopped paying (it isn't clear why she stopped paying when her Mum died ) but her actions are not ones of a daughter concerned for her Dad's welfare -at best she's uninformed and needs to change that . At the moment Dad is paying all the bills on JSA by the sound of it and she's either chipping in £20 a week from at best JSA or at worst from a wage and boyfriend is living there for nothing. If Dad was comfortable on a private pension then it wouldn't appear so self centred but it appears Dad is left with nothing and she has disposable income to save. My sympathy is with Dad not daughter on the current info I'm afraid.... even more so if she and boyfriend are working.

SandC

I think you are worrying rather unnecessarily at the moment. Your father is only 60 years old so why do you keep talking about him dying as if it is just around the corner?

My advice would be to continue to live as you have been since your mother passed away. Start saving up right now for the future - it might be 20 years until you have to move out of the house.

I understand your attachment to the property but you just have to remember that you have been privileged to have that secure home for 25 years and you will continue to do so while your father is fit enough to live in the house.