Buy council house or continue to rent

tryingtobegood75

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~Beanie~

I think that if they don't want to buy then that is their choice, it’s not really any of your business

The son can't get a mortgage on a house he won't own, assuming that your in-laws are the named tenants then it is them that would have the right to buy, not the son.

Owain_Moneysaver

Benefits legislation can change, but at the moment housing benefit in the event of the son's unemployment would only cover mortgage interest, not capital repayment.

Also as owners, parents or son will be responsible for external maintenance, which the landlord currently covers. Maintenance gets more expensive as you get older and less able to do it yourself.

You don't say why the son will never move out, but they should consider whether after their deaths it would be better for the son to inherit a bought house which he can sell, but has to maintain, or a secure social housing tenancy with a local authority landlord. A house can be an expensive thing to maintain on a minimum wage job.

They should also consider whether it's actually worth buying the council house even at a discount depending on its market value relative to private sector housing locally. Will selling actually enable them to move somewhere if that is what they want? As social tenants if they get less mobile and can't manage stairs they'd probably be priority for any ground-floor accommodation that became available, and retain security of tenure.

On your figures they 'save' £110 a month or £1320 a year by buying.

However British Gas Homecare for heating, plumbing, electrical, all of which is probably covered by council landlord at the moment, assuming one call-out for each a year, is going to be about £400 a year (assuming one call-out for plumbing, drains, electrical and payment of the insurance excesses).

Add on general buildings insurance which is also covered by rental - say £300 per year.

That's half the 'savings' gone before paying for a single roof repair.

elsien

I tend towards the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" school of thought in this situation, especially if they've been perfectly happy as they are.
A colleague bought her council house when she was in her fifties, couldn't cover the costs due to ill health and had now sold it to one of those sell and rent back companies. Which leaves her back at her original starting point but with far less security.
When you're doing your planning, consider all the worst case scenarios as well. Personally I'd leave them to it. Money isn't everything.