Buying Council Flat

fazrewards

Hi,

My sister would like to buy a flat from the council. The flat is in our grandmas name but my sister has power of attorney. This was done before our grandma unfortunatly came down with dementia. 

She has put in the application but the council have come back to suggest they would like to meet my grandama. Is this normal for this to happen?

She has gone back to them to suggest that there is no point as she does not have the mental capacity and she has power of attorney but they are insistant in coming out.

Any advice would be appreciated on why they are keen to come out?

user1977

Perhaps they have suspicions that your sister is not acting in your grandmother's best interests? Why would your grandmother want to buy the flat?

fazrewards

user1977 said:

Perhaps they have suspicions that your sister is not acting in your grandmother's best interests? Why would your grandmother want to buy the flat?

Dont quite understand this, she has mental capacity and what suspicions are there to be had when you have power of attorney?

elsien

Presuming that your sister is not a tenant in the flat, she has no right to buy for herself.

If she is acting as power-of-attorney and buying the flat for your grandmother, then she has an obligation to consider whether this is in your grandmother’s best interests. 

My guess (please correct me if I’m wrong) is that your sister is hoping to benefit from the large council discount herself. 

So what benefit is there to your grandmother in buying a flat at a stage in her life when she has dementia and there is no guarantee she will be able to stay there as her health deteriorates. And giving up a secure tenancy for the time that she has left  leaving her responsible for maintenance and costs that are currently covered for her.

Unless your sister can clearly evidence that what she’s doing is for your grandmothers benefit, then she shouldn’t do it because it doesn’t fit in with the obligations of the power-of-attorney. It’s that simple.

fazrewards

elsien said:

Presuming that your sister is not a tenant in the flat, she has no right to buy.
If she is acting as power-of-attorney and buying the flat for your grandmother, then she has an obligation to consider whether this is in your grandmother’s best interests. 

My guess (please correct me if I’m wrong) is that your sister is hoping to benefit from the large council discount.
So what benefit is there to your grandmother in buying a flat at a stage in her life when she has dementia and there is no guarantee she will be able to stay there as her health deteriorates. And giving up a secure tenancy for the time that she has left  leaving her responsible for maintenance and costs that are currently covered for her.

Unless your sister can clearly evidence that what she’s doing is for your grandmothers benefit, then she shouldn’t do it because it doesn’t fit in with the obligations of the power-of-attorney. It’s that simple.

She is a tenant in the flat.

Yes my sister has the funds to buy the property and the discount is the reason for this. I am just a bit confused what would be the circumstances for them to not allow her to buy it. The plan is to have a long term place to live with the grandma as she gets older.

Lets say tomorrow my Grandma is no longer around, the issue might be what happens next to the flat. So this is why we want to ensure there is security by buying the flat with the discount being offered.

elsien

Your sister can’t be a legal tenant in the flat if she’s not named on the tenancy so she has no right to buy. There is no benefit to your grandmother in buying the property so it would be a misuse of the power-of-attorney and if reported could lead to it being revoked. 

The power-of-attorney can only be used to act in your grandmother’s best interests. Not to benefit the person who holds the power-of-attorney.

fazrewards

elsien said:

Your sister can’t be a legal tenant in the flat if she’s not named on the tenancy so she has no right to buy. There is no benefit to your grandmother in buying the property so it would be a misuse of the power-of-attorney. 

Yes I understand but she is on the tenancy.

elsien

How can she be on the tenancy when you say in your first post the flat is in your grandma’s name? If it was a joint tenancy, it would be in both their names. Or do you mean that it is in both names, so your grandmother needs to give consent as well?

Your grandmother already has a long-term place to live. She has the flat she is in already. And as a council tenant if she ever needed to move to an adapted more accessible flat at then she can ask the council to find her somewhere more suitable. Buying the place (effectively for your sister) removes that option.

user1977

fazrewards said:

elsien said:

Presuming that your sister is not a tenant in the flat, she has no right to buy.
If she is acting as power-of-attorney and buying the flat for your grandmother, then she has an obligation to consider whether this is in your grandmother’s best interests. 

My guess (please correct me if I’m wrong) is that your sister is hoping to benefit from the large council discount.
So what benefit is there to your grandmother in buying a flat at a stage in her life when she has dementia and there is no guarantee she will be able to stay there as her health deteriorates. And giving up a secure tenancy for the time that she has left  leaving her responsible for maintenance and costs that are currently covered for her.

Unless your sister can clearly evidence that what she’s doing is for your grandmothers benefit, then she shouldn’t do it because it doesn’t fit in with the obligations of the power-of-attorney. It’s that simple.

Lets say tomorrow my Grandma is no longer around, the issue might be what happens next to the flat.

It would be returned to the council's housing stock and allocated to whichever new tenant was most in need of it. No real issue about that.

fazrewards

elsien said:

How can she be on the tenancy when you say in your first post the flat is in your grandma’s name? If it was a joint tenancy, it would be in both their names.

Your grandmother already has a long-term place to live. She has the flat she is in already. And as a council tenant if she ever needed to move to an adapted more accessible flat at then she can ask the council to find her somewhere more suitable. Buying the place (effectively for your sister) removes that option.

Apologise misunderstanding on my side. Sister is listed as 'relative' but not on the tenancy.

This has answered my question. I understand now. We were looking at long term picture where once the flat is in my Grandmas name, then there is a opportunity to pass this down to my sister when she is no longer around. I see why this might not be possible with the information you have provided.

fazrewards

user1977 said:

fazrewards said:

elsien said:

Presuming that your sister is not a tenant in the flat, she has no right to buy.
If she is acting as power-of-attorney and buying the flat for your grandmother, then she has an obligation to consider whether this is in your grandmother’s best interests. 

My guess (please correct me if I’m wrong) is that your sister is hoping to benefit from the large council discount.
So what benefit is there to your grandmother in buying a flat at a stage in her life when she has dementia and there is no guarantee she will be able to stay there as her health deteriorates. And giving up a secure tenancy for the time that she has left  leaving her responsible for maintenance and costs that are currently covered for her.

Unless your sister can clearly evidence that what she’s doing is for your grandmothers benefit, then she shouldn’t do it because it doesn’t fit in with the obligations of the power-of-attorney. It’s that simple.

Lets say tomorrow my Grandma is no longer around, the issue might be what happens next to the flat.

It would be returned to the council's housing stock and allocated to whichever new tenant was most in need of it. No real issue about that.

Understood. I believe there is no succession process either?