Can I claim Housing Benefit if I'm a legal co-owner of a property?

SuzieSue

RAS wrote: »

Go over to the wills and probate section. Many instance where a sibling has been living in a property with a parent and after the parent's death the other beneficaries' "share" is effectively nil because the incumbent refuses to sell up and there is no way a court would order a sale.

But why wouldn't the court order a sale?

RAS

elmer wrote: »

Please note before you claim HB fraudulently, that ALL councils do data matching with other government departments, i.e. land registry to prevent fraud, you have to sign the form to say that you accept that.

So you will be found out, it may take a while, but your details will be matched and a fraud investigation launched, I don't think you will have a defence when you will have lied on the form as to who owns the house you are claiming for.

You also have to provide a tenancy agreement, so your Dad or sister will be implicated in your fraud and may be prosecuted also.

You have rather got hold of the wrong end of the stick - probably the wrong stick.

The OP is NOT claiming LHA for the house in which they and their sister live.

And they are allowed to claim income based JSA whilst living in the house that they part-own.

Talc1234

Gilganjn wrote: »

After she died we changed the names on the deeds so that the 3 of us (dad, me, sister) we were all legal co-owners of the property for tax purposes, on advice of a solicitor.


I'm unable to afford to pay rent. Without going into too much detail, I want to move out as quickly as possible. I'm currently on JSA.

What would happen if I try to claim Housing Benefit on the property so that I can use that money as a deposit on a bedsit once I've accumulated enough funds?

Did your mother intend you to own 33% or was this simply suggested by the solicitor after her death?

Firstly I would try talking to your sister and father and explain the situation you are in they may be supportive in giving you your share of the rent or a place to live while you sort yourself out.

If that fails you may be able to force sale as the law is there to protect you being deprived of your assets which you seem to be at the moment. If you are working you may be able to mortgage your share, you can of course sell your share to your sister and father for a mutually agreed price.

What you can't do is claim housing benefit on a property you own. The HB office will want to see a rental agreement between you and the landlord (which in effect is you and your close relatives). As HB is means tested you are also illegible if you have assets of more than £16,000 excluding the house you live in. Your 33% share is an asset which will count if it is not the home you live in. They can check all this on the Land Registry

How how much tax you paid doesn't come into this. Housing Benefit is to pay the rent of people who are unable to fund themselves, not to give help to those with complex family situations. It is not an earned entitlement.

notanewuser

RAS wrote: »

You have rather got hold of the wrong end of the stick - probably the wrong stick.

The OP is NOT claiming LHA for the house in which they and their sister live.

They stated (repeatedly) that they want to claim LHA while living in the property they own to fund the deposit to enable them to move.

Eejay

Gilganjn wrote: »

I was wondering if I could do it for only a short time in order to build up enough funds, and then I would immediately stop the HB once those funds were accumulated.

I get that the situation is difficult, but this is a ridiculous idea. It's like saying, "I'm not going to take up a life of crime, but if I burgle a couple of houses then I'll be able to get myself sorted out and I'll not have to do it again."

You need to stand up for yourself - your sister sounds horrific. How would you discussing the house affect her marriage? The two are completely unrelated - marriage is supposed to be a union of two people who are in love, not a union of two people who want to share a house for really cheap and with no hassle from their sibling who owns part of it. If that's enough to break them up, then they clearly shouldn't be married anyway.

I hope you manage to get things sorted in a way that's legal. Stop letting people walk all over you!

Gilganjn

KMMT wrote: »

You have a roof over your head & you are claiming another benefit which the entitlement to which you are not really sure of, but you think that by just claiming HB for a 'little while' will help you out!! It really is amazing you think this is ok. All because you have paid into the system. Well many people pay into the system for many years but don't think it's ok to fraudulently claim benefits.

The benefit pot is not endless despite what people believe & it's people like you who take what they aren't entitled to that take money away from the people who genuinely need it.

I do genuinely need it. I didn't want to mention this because I'm not here for sympathy at all, I just want to get out of this situation. I have not told anyone in my family either because I don't want them to worry but I have a chronic pain condition known as degenerative spine disease so I'm always in pain 24/7 and no medication i've tried alleviates the pain. So for this reason the prospect of full-time employment is a precarious one - i am always in physical pain and have been for many, many years. I know lots of people share similar pains in this world and I'm comparatively one of the lucky ones, especially even having a benefit system to begin with - that in itself is a tremendously fortunate thing to be born in a country with that system.

But I am in genuine need of the benefit at this time. I am trying to change things and fix myself but unfortunately the doctor has told me that nothing will fix it and no surgery will alleviate the pain. He told me that the only choice is medication for the rest of my life but the prescribed meds have no effect. But doctors aren't always correct, they are often wrong, and it's this documented inaccuracy which provides me with hope that my condition can be reversed.

I try my best to not give any signs away to family or friends. If they ever noticed me squirming in pain I just told them i didn't have a great nights sleep so my back is a little sore.

Pixie5740

If you were genuinely entitled to HB you wouldn't have to fib in order to get it.

You are not in the best of health and your sister is taking the !!!!. Time to lay your cards on the table and talk to your family.

emilybean

3 pages of replies and not one person has asked how, after you have got your deposit *which you would need before you moved, surely-so impossible anyway?*.. how are you planning on paying the rent?

But horrible situation for you OP. You need to sit with your family and be honest about everything from the sounds of it.

Gilganjn

Annie1960 wrote: »

What sort of ownership of the house do you have?


Tenants in common? Joint tenants?

Your legal option is to put the house on the market, but this may depend on the way in which you own it.

I can't go down that route though, I don't want to cause the family any trouble because I love the kids. If it was just my sister and her husband then things would be different, I wouldn't feel guilty about even talking about the situation, but with the kids I do feel guilty even addressing the issue. I don't want to cause the family grief because of the kids.

Pixie5740

Guilt is a selfish emotion. Besides you have nothing to feel guilty about when it comes to your sister's living situation.