Council house purchase for my parents

Mels1977

I want to purchase my parents council house for them.
My father has a few months to live and my mothers health is failing. 

My mother won’t consider leaving the property, especially since my father is terminally ill.

She’s terrified of being forced to leave once he’s passed and I want to buy the house for her so that she’s able to spend the rest of her days there.
I can raise the money, since she has the maximum discount allowance. 

As she is a pensioner on benefits, I’m worried that if I front the funds and she makes the purchase,  she’ll lose all her benefits.
Can she purchase with my money and immediately sign it over to me? Or gift it?

I’m worried the social services will stop all their benefits and see it as an asset. If so, I’ll lose my investment and her benefits will be stopped. 

This would be catastrophic if so. 

After 44 years in the house, I don’t want to lose the opportunity to keep it in the family. 

NameUnavailable

I don't know the full details of what the implications might be but ultimately if your Mother needs care at some point the cost of that will come out of her estate (the value of the house) so you might lose the money you pay for it.

I'm not sure you could buy the house for them, I think you'd need to gift them the money for it.

They are probably better off staying as council tenants to be honest, but you obviously need to look into the details more. I don't think the council can force anyone to leave, they might offer incentives, but force?

Keep_pedalling

If you give your parents the money to buy the house, you risk loosing some or most of if later she needs residential care. 

The council won’t force her to move, but they are likely to ask her about a swap for something more suitable for and elderly person living alone. That is what happen to my mother when a suitable bungalow became available in the same village.

Norman_Castle

No need to buy it. As a pensioner on benefits the rent will be paid in full which is fortunate both for your mother and for us as we dont need to write suitably outraged posts about fanciful rtb purchases.

Pixie5740

Mels1977 said:

I want to purchase my parents council house for them.
My father has a few months to live and my mothers health is failing. 

My mother won’t consider leaving the property, especially since my father is terminally ill.

She’s terrified of being forced to leave once he’s passed and I want to buy the house for her so that she’s able to spend the rest of her days there.
I can raise the money, since she has the maximum discount allowance. 

As she is a pensioner on benefits, I’m worried that if I front the funds and she makes the purchase,  she’ll lose all her benefits.
Can she purchase with my money and immediately sign it over to me? Or gift it?

I’m worried the social services will stop all their benefits and see it as an asset. If so, I’ll lose my investment and her benefits will be stopped. 

This would be catastrophic if so. 

After 44 years in the house, I don’t want to lose the opportunity to keep it in the family. 

Why does your mother think she will be forced to leave the property when your father passes?  Have either you or her investigated if that is a likely scenario?  I can't imagine that it is since presumably your mother is a joint tenant with your father.

How do you plan on raising the money?  With a mortgage than if so you can forget that unless you have been living with the tenants at the property for the last 12 months as you won't be eligible to make a joint application with your mum and therefore won't be able to get a RTB mortgage.

If on the other hand you have enough savings to cash in then yes you could give your mum the money and she could gift the property to you straight away but she would need to repay the 5 year discount.  Alternatively you could loan your mother the money as if you were a mortgage lender and secure the loan with a charge against the property.  Of course any equity due to the tenant's RTB discount and HPI will be used when assessing funding for your mother's care in the future even if she givens that a way to you (deprivation of assets).

All in all it would probably be best to leave your mum as the tenant whilst relieving her fears that somehow her tenancy will end when your father passes.

HampshireH

Your mum's housing needs are far more secure whilst it's owned by the Council.

If they have lived there 44 years they obviously been quite happy not owning it and having to pay for all the repairs, insurance etc.

How would you feel if you gifted the money to your parents and then they have to sell it to pay for care?

I think it's bes just to buy your own home (if you haven't already) somewhere else and for your parents to keep paying their rent in the knowledge that they have a safe space and adequate service provided.

Single older people aren't forced to downsize by social housing landlords without cause. They tend to support moves due to mobility and capability.

980233

Mels1977 said:

I want to purchase my parents council house for them.
My father has a few months to live and my mothers health is failing. 

My mother won’t consider leaving the property, especially since my father is terminally ill.

She’s terrified of being forced to leave once he’s passed and I want to buy the house for her so that she’s able to spend the rest of her days there.
I can raise the money, since she has the maximum discount allowance. 

As she is a pensioner on benefits, I’m worried that if I front the funds and she makes the purchase,  she’ll lose all her benefits.
Can she purchase with my money and immediately sign it over to me? Or gift it?

I’m worried the social services will stop all their benefits and see it as an asset. If so, I’ll lose my investment and her benefits will be stopped. 

This would be catastrophic if so. 

After 44 years in the house, I don’t want to lose the opportunity to keep it in the family. 

Investment or sentimental purchase?

london21

Seems like emotional purchase than an investment.
If it is both their names, only they can buy it which will lead to loss of their benefits.
They will likely get a decent discount.
Your mother does not need to worry of been asked to leave, its the council and she has been there for 44 years. 

deannagone

My neighbour's husband died last year.  Yes, she did have a visit from Housing, yes they did suggest she needs to think about moving.  I believe it may have been inferred she HAD to move but I wasn't there so can't be certain.  Being fairly forthright, she told them where to go, there was no way she was moving out of the house she'd brought her family up in (the words only leaving and box were used lol).  The premise being the council can't force you to move even if its a 3 bed and you only occupy one bedroom. 

I don't know what happens with bedroom tax, if the remaining tenant is of retirement age, however.  

Personally, I agree that unless you have lived there, it would be very difficult to share the RTB with your mother.  And gifting the money raises a few problems if she later needs care.  Probably far less disruptive to have her stay where she is, as she is right now - far more uncertainty going this route.  If the council do make a visit, you can be there if you feel she needs support.  If she actually needs a one level property later on or supported housing, she can obtain that through the council. Many councils will help pay for the move costs when a tenant is moving from a larger property to a smaller property.

Do some googling for your local council/housing to see what their policies are.  I did the same for mine and quickly found out what the situation was if I needed to move to a smaller property (one son no longer lives here).  

elsien

Mels1977 said:

I want to purchase my parents council house for them.
My father has a few months to live and my mothers health is failing. 

My mother won’t consider leaving the property, especially since my father is terminally ill.

She’s terrified of being forced to leave once he’s passed and I want to buy the house for her so that she’s able to spend the rest of her days there.
I can raise the money, since she has the maximum discount allowance. 

As she is a pensioner on benefits, I’m worried that if I front the funds and she makes the purchase,  she’ll lose all her benefits.
Can she purchase with my money and immediately sign it over to me? Or gift it?

I’m worried the social services will stop all their benefits and see it as an asset. If so, I’ll lose my investment and her benefits will be stopped. 

This would be catastrophic if so. 

After 44 years in the house, I don’t want to lose the opportunity to keep it in the family. 

Some basic misinterpretation here. Benefits are nothing to do with social services, they are paid by DWP.
You are thinking about financial assessment if your mother ever needs care, either at home or in a care home. Age UK have some good fact sheets about this.

But aside from the morality of buying a council property as an investment, you haven’t said where you live. If you live elsewhere, it is no longer your family home. That is where you live now.

Does mum in the depths of loss and bereavement really want to become a home owner with the ongoing responsibility and cost of arranging all the maintenance works herself? It is extremely unlikely that she could be forced to leave, where has she got that idea from?  But there is no guarantee that anyone can spend the rest of their days in their home. Homes become unsuitable due to age and illness for any number of reasons. Some people can be supported to stay at home for end of life care, for others it’s just not possible. 

You need to check the RTB details for her council, but no she can’t just sign it straight over to you and expect to keep her discount. 

Keep_pedalling

The best thing the OP can do for their mother at this difficult time is to get a lasting power of attorney put in place so that they can deal with the LA and other agencies on her behalf. They should also reassure her that the LA will not throw her out of her home, and she will only need to move if she wants to.

The heart often rules the head when it comes to decisions about moving. My mum and step father took a lot of persuading (by me) to request a swap to a bungalow even though he could no longer manage the stairs and was sleeping in the front room.