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Using an inheritance to buy a council flat via "right to buy" for someone on benefits

My sister is currently living on benefits - she was on Disability Living Allowance but recently has been deemed fit for work so as I currently understand it is now on Universal Basic Income & I believe also gets her rent & council tax paid 

She is due to receive an inheritance which is to be put into a Trust so should not affect her benefits

Would using some of that inheritance to buy her council flat via Right To Buy be a good investment ?

Obviously she would "lose" the value of the rent that she receives but would be able to buy the flat at a signifcant discount of up to £84000
- there may also be service charges and other expenses to pay of course as well on the flat

Also apart from the "loss" of rental benefit would there be any other affect on her benefits from owning her own flat ? 
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Comments

  • davilown
    davilown Posts: 2,303 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Giving her a secure home for the rest of her life would be a good idea.  Has the inheritance already been put into a trust though? Is it written in the will to be in Trust or is it cash that she has inherited that you want to put in trust? If the latter, it may significantly affect any benefits she may be entitled to. 
    Best to check with a specialist to give you sound legal advice 
    30th June 2021 completely debt free…. Downsized, reduced working hours and living the dream.
  • theoretica
    theoretica Posts: 12,691 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    How would she benefit from the £84k discount?  Seems she would need to sell the flat to actually see that, and would then need somewhere else to live.
    But a banker, engaged at enormous expense,
    Had the whole of their cash in his care.
    Lewis Carroll
  • Inigo_Montoya
    Inigo_Montoya Posts: 1,216 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    davilown said:
    Giving her a secure home for the rest of her life would be a good idea.  Has the inheritance already been put into a trust though? Is it written in the will to be in Trust or is it cash that she has inherited that you want to put in trust? If the latter, it may significantly affect any benefits she may be entitled to. 
    Best to check with a specialist to give you sound legal advice 
    The Will states the money is to be put into a Trust from the outset so as long is the Trust is set up correctly there is no affect on her benefits until any money leaves the Trust

    I was just wondering if anybody knew if using this Trust money to buy her flat has any implications for her benefits - if the purchased flat was put into the Trust then I assume not  but if the flat was put into her name then there possibilly could be 

    As far as ongoing charges & possible liabilities for flat / block repairs goes that would be disclosed during the Right to Buy process so we could make a decision then on whether to proceed or not
  • user1977
    user1977 Posts: 18,336 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Seventh Anniversary Photogenic Name Dropper
    davilown said:
    Giving her a secure home for the rest of her life would be a good idea.  Has the inheritance already been put into a trust though? Is it written in the will to be in Trust or is it cash that she has inherited that you want to put in trust? If the latter, it may significantly affect any benefits she may be entitled to. 
    Best to check with a specialist to give you sound legal advice 
    As far as ongoing charges & possible liabilities for flat / block repairs goes that would be disclosed during the Right to Buy process 
    Only insofar as any works are currently contemplated though - she'd need to take the risk of any future costs.
  • K_S
    K_S Posts: 6,893 Forumite
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    @Inigo_Montoya For most people I see, an RTB with full discount is a no-brainer due to the size of the discount you get and especially so if there is an exit from the property planned for in the medium-term.

    In this case as one of the posters above mentioned, there is an interplay of multiple things so you would be best off getting proper advice. You could start off with CAB, Age UK (if over 50/60). They can potentially refer you to other similar orgs like Law Centres etc who can answer complex benefits queries.

    I am a Mortgage Adviser - You should note that this site doesn't check my status as a mortgage adviser, so you need to take my word for it. This signature is here as I follow MSE's Mortgage Adviser Code of Conduct. Any posts on here are for information and discussion purposes only and shouldn't be seen as financial advice. 

    PLEASE DO NOT SEND PMs asking for one-to-one-advice, or representation.

  • theartfullodger
    theartfullodger Posts: 15,774 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    ..... ......

    She is due to receive an inheritance which is to be put into a Trust so should not affect her benefits
    ......
    If the inheritance is from a will leaving it to her, they her putting it into a trust would be seen as "deprivation of assets" and make any benefits very difficult to get.  See..
    https://www.entitledto.co.uk/help/Deprivation-of-savings-and-other-capital-Universal-Credit

    Or does the will specifically (now..) state money goes to a trust, please?  

    (I have knowledge of a trust named in a will granting £xxxx to a trust, makeup of the trust defined in will, to hold property for a relative during her lifetime... That was legal...)
  • Inigo_Montoya
    Inigo_Montoya Posts: 1,216 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    ..... ......

    She is due to receive an inheritance which is to be put into a Trust so should not affect her benefits
    ......
    If the inheritance is from a will leaving it to her, they her putting it into a trust would be seen as "deprivation of assets" and make any benefits very difficult to get.  See..
    https://www.entitledto.co.uk/help/Deprivation-of-savings-and-other-capital-Universal-Credit

    Or does the will specifically (now..) state money goes to a trust, please?  

    (I have knowledge of a trust named in a will granting £xxxx to a trust, makeup of the trust defined in will, to hold property for a relative during her lifetime... That was legal...)
    The Will specifically states the money goes into Trust from the "get go" so my understanding is that it will not affect her benefits 
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