Housing benefits question

CathA

Just a quick question for a friend, I tried to find the answer on the government website but as ever, it's not easy to find!

If you are named on the deeds and the mortgage of one house, but live in another rented house, can you get housing benefit if needed? Thank you.

brewthebear

Ask a stupid question Im sure you know what the answer is.......

Ames

It might be possible for a short time, it depends on the circumstances. For instance, whether it's up for sale or not.

Caz3121

who is going to be living in the property they own or will it be up for sale? if there equity in the property?

Housing_Benefit_Officer

CathA wrote: »

Just a quick question for a friend, I tried to find the answer on the government website but as ever, it's not easy to find!

If you are named on the deeds and the mortgage of one house, but live in another rented house, can you get housing benefit if needed? Thank you.

You could.

Is the property for sale?
Who lives in the house and how old are they?
Is ownership in dispute?
How much is the property worth and how much is the outstanding mortgage?
Is it rented - how much rental income do your receive - if so what is the mortgage?

Housing_Benefit_Officer

brewthebear wrote: »

Ask a stupid question Im sure you know what the answer is.......

Perfectly valid question. Big problem is there are hundreds of thousands of people out there who haven't asked these sort of questions so have no idea that they may actually be entitled to benefit. You may think they are stupid but they are perfectly valid.

CathA

Housing_Benefit_Officer wrote: »

Perfectly valid question. Big problem is there are hundreds of thousands of people out there who haven't asked these sort of questions so have no idea that they may actually be entitled to benefit. You may think they are stupid but they are perfectly valid.

Thank you for your replies. This was just a 'what if' question. My friend is possibly being added to her dad's mortgage and deeds, and as she was unsure about a few aspects of it, I was trying to explain what might happen in a variety of different scenarios. This was one of the possibilities; i.e. if she moved out into rented leaving her dad in the house, what COULD happen if at any time she needed help with rent. Thank you.

Ames

In that case her half of the equity would be considered capital for benefit purposes.

Also, if the reason for adding her is some kind of forward planning for her dad, as a way of avoiding care home fees or inheritance tax, then they need to get proper advice as it could backfire.

CathA

Ames wrote: »

In that case her half of the equity would be considered capital for benefit purposes.

Also, if the reason for adding her is some kind of forward planning for her dad, as a way of avoiding care home fees or inheritance tax, then they need to get proper advice as it could backfire.

Thank you, that's what I thought. I've given her loads of info regarding this and told her to get proper advice; I was just trying to cover all eventualities, including the above. Thanks again x