Would this be considered a disposal of assets?

Danien

pjs493 said:

Danien said:

Can I ask why you're not in receipt of BSP, you're certainly entitled by circumstances, though there are limits to when you can claim if you're claiming late.

Once you've bought the house and it's your main home then the money you used to buy it would not be classed as deprivation of capital - you have provided a home for yourself and your children.

Renovations are different. It will depend if you can show that the renovations were necessary to make the home livable. So do you have a surveyors report stating that the work is necessary?  As an example if the house needs a new boiler, roof, insulation, flooring, rewiring etc then this type of thing maybe considered acceptable, but if there is a perfectly adequate kitchen and you put in a 20k kitchen, a conservatory and an extension for a craft room, then that wouldn't be considered necessary.

We used savings to have necessary work done to make a disability friendly kitchen, flooring and some basic furniture for a place we moved into and it was accepted by the DWP as not being deprivation. 

It is dependent on you convincing the decision maker that what you're doing is necessary, but I haven't so far found them particularly difficult about these things - I don't know about others' experiences.

Also remember you can apply for universal credit as soon as your savings is below £16,000. Just keep them updated on your spending on the renovations.

I am in receipt of BSP. I also receive CB. But at the moment that’s all I’m entitled to due to savings. 

I had a level 3 survey done so the re-wiring, hot water and heating system, etc is mentioned in that as well as things like the need to upgrade the insulation in the loft etc. 

It does describe the kitchen as in a reasonable condition, but it doesn’t have space for white goods (there is a small washing machine in a cupboard, but it’s ancient and much smaller than a standard size machine), the integral fridge freezer is broken and there is no space for my American fridge freezer which will have to go in the dining room initially. There are also doors hanging off hinges, it’s really grotty between the joins of the laminate benches and they’ve blown in several places leaving me with concerns about hygiene regardless of how deep it’s cleaned. It’s been used as a holiday home by the sellers so works for that purpose, but for a family of three it’s not a practical kitchen. At the end of the day it’s a 40 year old kitchen and not in the best condition. 

That all sounds like reasonably needed work to me. As always dependent on the decision maker, but I can't see it being a big issue - if they make a fuss there is always mandatory reconsideration and appeal. Make sure to keep all survey reports, invoices for work and materials and other costs receipts like needed white goods and necessary furniture. 

I don't think the DWP go around policing where you can live or what type of home you're allowed to buy. You are providing a stable, warm home for your children, close to needed family connections after they have been through a terrible loss.

mybestattempt

I apologise if this point has been covered and I ask as someone who has little knowledge about working age benfits.

However, if @pjs493 moves into her new home, then waits until her capital is less than £6000 before claiming UC would there be any questions asked by DWP about what capital she had before then and how she had used it?

peteuk

mybestattempt said:

I apologise if this point has been covered and I ask as someone who has little knowledge about working age benfits.

However, if @pjs493 moves into her new home, then waits until her capital is less than £6000 before claiming UC would there be any questions asked by DWP about what capital she had before then and how she had used it?

Yes as they may be asked to provide bank statements which will show an historical capitol of £6K or £16K plus.

Spoonie_Turtle

mybestattempt said:

I apologise if this point has been covered and I ask as someone who has little knowledge about working age benfits.

However, if @pjs493 moves into her new home, then waits until her capital is less than £6000 before claiming UC would there be any questions asked by DWP about what capital she had before then and how she had used it?

Yes, because they want to make sure people haven't just e.g. given away savings just before claiming in order to be entitled to benefits.  That's really the main point of Deprivation of Capital, it just also happens to apply to people with savings between £6,000 and £16,000 because those affect entitlement too.

For the avoidance of doubt the OP can claim as soon as their savings drop below £16,000.

mybestattempt

Thanks, I understand the principle of deprivation of capital.

I can see claiming with initial capital of £16000 which diminished over time to £6000 might be questioned.

Are all initial claims checked?

pjs493

Thanks for the last few comments. If indeed I am denied on the first application, due to some decision maker deciding I shouldn’t have replaced the boiler or rewired the house, I’ll likely be in the situation where I have to stop contributing to my private pension, the children’s JISAs, and my own savings and use that money to live off, probably needing to dip into savings to pay for ad hoc things as they come up like car insurance, MOT, car repairs, etc. 

We’ve never lived extravagantly as a family, always had an older car, never really bothered with holidays, and focused on overpaying on the mortgage of the rental property (which was paid off in Probate), contributing to our private pensions, savings, making monthly contributions to the children’s JISAs, etc. We were always looking to make sure we were setting ourselves up for the future. The plan was that once my husband retired we’d be able to sell the rental property (by then with a paid off mortgage) and use his retirement lump sum and money from savings to buy a forever home mortgage free. Obviously that all changed when my husband died suddenly. 

If I wasn’t successful in applying for UC, over time I’d be depleting my savings to a point where I fall below the savings thresholds and apply on that basis, or I’m mentally able to return to work. I’m on compassionate leave until the end of the year and can extend compassionate leave up to two years in total. At the moment I can’t envisage a point where I’ll feel able to return to work, but I’m hoping that will change once we’ve moved, have the support of family, get settled, etc or if not then, by the time the children are both in school full time. 

mybestattempt

@pjs493, I am so sorry for your loss and hope the future all goes well for you and your children.