SMI

1979pipkin

I lived with my partner in her house for 11 yrs she died in 2020 of covid 19. i was her carer for 6 yrs i was not on the morgt and had no right to the house or its assets, even though i put money into the house ie decorating and  new windows in 2016 the gov brought out a new rule where they will pay interest only and if house is sold in the future they take the money back from sale or in the event of death of owner.. the debt is wiped. we both signed a form for help with paying  the interest . when my partner passed away the house was sold and the house was handed back to the mortg company , now 4 yrs on the DWP have sent me letters telling me about the interest going up,i rang them informing them that i was not on the mort and had nothing to do with the house as i was not exective and they said i had to repay the money as i signed  the form for the loan but on the form it stated that in the event of homeowners death the debt is wiped, also if no equity in the house when sold  the SMI loan would also be wiped. i rang the dwp last yr and after numerous calls they mentioned that a charge was not put on the house.  we were not married    . what should i do, do i need a solicitor.

1979pipkin

by the way, when I say it was sold. i meant  I had to leave the house as I didnt have any rights to stay their and the mort company wanted it back , otherwise i would have been evicted after they took house back then they put it on the market. 

fatbelly

How much are they asking for?

The rules around SMI are best understood by a benefits specialist. I'd ask if your local CAB has one. There's also a ben efits board on this site, with some very experienced posters

If at the end of the day you are liable for this debt, however much it may be, we can help you with tne options over on debt-free wannabe

1979pipkin

Thankyou for replying... last count which was in 2022 was £5000 (five thousand pounds) 

silvercar

I’ll ask the forum team to move this to the benefit board.

silvercar

The rules on death are:

” If you die before you’ve paid off your SMI loan, it will not need to be repaid if your home is left to a surviving partner. The loan will need to be repaid if your home is left to anyone else or it’s sold.”

As the home wasn’t left out you but was sold, the loan should have been repaid out of the proceeds of the sale. 

That said I am unsure as to why you had to sign for the loan, given you weren’t an owner, do you know what you signed? Could it be something to the effect that you won’t get in the way of a sale if a sale needs to happen as that is what people who live in a mortgaged property but aren’t on the deeds often sign.