Can i claim housing benefit guys??

teacher2mum

Hi guys
Would anyone know If I would be entitled to any housing benefit.
I am self employed and own 2 properties one of which is empty in negative equity as I have no money to renovate and the other I live it which is mortgage free...mine after our marital split . So I am single with 3 children under 13. 2 of which are on the Low rate DLA for Autism difficulties.
I live 5 miles away from their school which have a designated ASD base and need to be back nearby as it is costing me a fortune a few journeys a day (as one son is flexi schooled). I want them to be back near their friends. The only problem is that area is a bout £300 more than a 3 bed this side of town. I will be renting this out to my niece so that will get added onto my Tax return as income. Can anyone tell me how much 'low' income relates too pls and whether it is worth me applying as I get tax credits and no other benefits. I have been split from my ex for 3 years and never claimed. Would I still be entitled to claim, I have no income but over 100k in property!!

Thanks for your time and help.

Horseunderwater

It will be the equity/capital that will be the problem with getting HB which is means tested.

nannytone_2

they wont pay you housing benefit because you CHOOSE to rent your house to your neice.
you can put the property on the market and may be able to claim housing benefit whilst it sells ( usually they allow 26 weeks but this can be flexible)
they will probably disregard the other property if it is in negative equity

whodathunkit

Why not rent the property commercially and charge a higher rent?

teacher2mum

Thanks guys just what I thought. Ahh well, back to the drawing board x

nannytone_2

dont the council provide transport for your children?
it is common policy for children that attend special school.
there may also be a mileage allowance if your children are unable to use public transport

BigAunty

You currently receive DLA, child tax credits and child benefit. You could check if your employment income is low enough to qualify for working tax credits and council tax benefit using the Turn2us online benefit calculator. Lone parents are only required to work 16 hours to qualify for WTC if their income is low.

Does your ex pay anything in child support? Typically the CSA would expect the non-resident parent to pay 25% of their net salary towards 3 children. This doesn't affect your benefits. Even if he's only on the national minimum wage, this should come out around £50 a week. If not, pop over to the child support board.

Do you think it is feasible to sell the current home, invest some of the equity into developing the other property, sell the renovated property and then buy a final single property that suits your needs better?

Renting out the property to your niece is a bad idea from a benefit perspective as it will decrease your entitlements while effectively making you homeless. I'm sure she will understand that you cannot now afford to move out of your owner occupied address.

Housing_Benefit_Officer

You can claim Housing Benefit at a rented property if you own a couple of other properties. However:-

1) Property 1 will have no capital value as it is in negative equity.

2) Property 2 has a capital value of over £16,000 so it will disqualify you from claiming Housing Benefit at another property. If property 2 was for sale then it would be disregarded for initially 26 weeks or longer if still up for sale and then reviewed every 26 weeks to see if still actively for sale. You could get it disregarded for years if actively for sale.

Most local authorities give landlords grants or loans to enable empty and uninhabitable properties to be refurbished and put back into use as rental properties. This could be a way forward to get your negative equity property to pay for itself.