Buying Council Flat

elsien

Whether there is succession or not tends to depend on whether the tenancy already been passed on once already - you would need to check that with your council. 

Because the tenancy is just in your grandmother’s name, (best interests aside, which we’ve already referenced) the purchase of the flat would also be in her name. So if she needed to go into care in the future - depending on how old your sister was at the time - the flat would count as an asset which may well to be sold to pay for care fees anyway. 

fazrewards

elsien said:

Whether there is succession or not tends to depend on whether the tenancy already been passed on once already - you would need to check that with your council. 

Because the tenancy is just in your grandmother’s name, (best interests aside, which we’ve already referenced) the purchase of the flat would also be in her name. So if she needed to go into care in the future - depending on how old your sister was at the time - the flat would count as an asset which may well to be sold to pay for care fees anyway. 

Thanks for the advice.

The plan is not to have her in a care home. For her to live with my sister as she is currently is living with my sister who cares for her but I understand circumstances could change, i.e. if something happens to my sister.

elsien

 It’s not just if something happens with your sister. I work with people who have dementia and some people can indeed stay at home with a bit of extra support for the carer if needed. 

Others have such a high level of need that it’s not possible for one person to care for them safely. It’s not safe for themselves and can also cause such stress on the carer that it leads to carer breakdown.
unfortunately there are no guarantees, and the best laid plans can go awry.

I appreciate your sister’s perfectly understandable wish to have security in the future. But there are a lot of implications that you may not have taken into account. If you still want to consider what may or may not be possible, I do  think this is one you would need proper legal advice on for both the remit of the power-of-attorney and also the possible different future scenarios and what they may mean.

Cloth_of_Gold

elsien said:

 It’s not just if something happens with your sister. I work with people who have dementia and some people can indeed stay at home with a bit of extra support for the carer if needed. 

Others have such a high level of need that it’s not possible for one person to care for them safely. It’s not safe for themselves and can also cause such stress on the carer that it leads to carer breakdown.
unfortunately there are no guarantees, and the best laid plans can go awry.

I appreciate your sister’s perfectly understandable wish to have security in the future. But there are a lot of implications that you may not have taken into account. If you still want to consider what may or may not be possible, I do  think this is one you would need proper legal advice on for both the remit of the power-of-attorney and also the possible different future scenarios and what they may mean.

This is very good advice imo.

KxMx

Also if succession is possible, it's most likely that your sister would be granted a tenancy but not the tenancy for current property as she would be occupying (I'm assuming) a 2 bed property when her assessed need would be for a 1 bed.
In which case she would need to move to a 1 bed council property. 

theartfullodger

is this by any chance related to a huge discount grandma is entitled to on buying?

Who inherits please?

Merely asking, not making any judgement.

Best wishes to all.

caprikid1

"is this by any chance related to a huge discount grandma is entitled to on buying?

Who inherits please?

Merely asking, not making any judgement."

Lol

Marvel1

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.

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.

So for your Sister's benefit and not your Grandmother?