Renting and housing benefit

Myci85

My advice would be to prioritise taking a job, any job for now, be that supermarket work, cleaning, care work etc, so that you have an income, and then assess your situation again. 

There are pitfalls, but yours may be a scenario where shared ownership makes sense. You could sell your flat, use the equity to buy shares in a house, as much as you can afford, and then pay rent on the rest. This would mean you have a more secure home than renting, but you would still be able to claim housing benefit to help pay the rent. None of the pitfalls of becoming a landlord, and you don't risk spending all the equity you saved up on paying rent. 

Ratkin007

You may want to consider seeking benefits advice/assistance. 
with severance I'm assuming redundancy. I've not kept up with benefits but I remember always being told of people living off their redundancy and then trying to claim benefits and having difficulty when they should have applied for benefits from day 1, as their redundancy payment did not affect their JSA.  I believe there is a new style JSA, which can possibly be claimed alongside universal credit. 
In relation to renting out your property, if you know about being a landlord then fair enough, however it is not a good idea if you do not.  There has been and continues to be so many changes which landlords struggle to keep up with.  One of which is property licensing, for which financial penalties can be served if a property is required to be licensed but is not.  It also seems that if you ended up with a tenant that was late paying their rent or didn't pay their rent, you would end up in greater difficulty.  

Sorry for being so negative, but just some of the things to be aware of.  You don't want to end up in a worse situation out of desperation. 

itsthelittlethings

Yes, I forgot about JSA. You would have been entitled to that straight away I think. Perhaps get an appointment at CAB to ask about your options.

Also your situation is really difficult and it seems like it is getting you down. If you are struggling with your mental health I would advise you to speak to your GP. Although all your worries may be perfect reasonable according to your circumstances, they may be able to help, even refer you for talking therapy if necessary.

Smalltownhypocrite

Sya said:

Smalltownhypocrite said:

You obviously can't get housing benefit to cover your rent if you OWN a house you choose not to live in. That's not how benefits work, we all WANT bigger and better than we have but that doesn't mean you just get given it for free.

You would also be liable for double council tax until you have a tenant in situ and income from rent would be the viewed as income. 

Do you own outright? if you have a mortgage they might not even allow renting plus can you afford all the insurance and maintenance? What about if the tenant stops paying and you need to go to court (very expensive)? Are you going to be managing it yourself or paying professionals?

Honestly the whole idea sound nuts, why don't you sell your flat and buy a bigger flat/house?

how do i buy a bigger place with only 8k?? i have not job for a mortgage. the flat isnt worth as much as even a 1 bed house.

"You obviously can't get housing benefit to cover your rent if you OWN a house you choose not to live in. That's not how benefits work, we all WANT bigger and better than we have but that doesn't mean you just get given it for free." if the home i have is barely habitable for the two of us (i.e. ONE bedroom and a lounge that is kitchen-lounge) then surely its not suitable for a child?

Its more than millions have, you don't seem to understand you are massively privileged compared to most people. Benefits are there for those without not those who just want nicer. I was homeless for 3 years sleeping and got no help, I have slept rough but you LITERALLY have a home you just don't like it because its small.

You HAVE the means you just can't be bothered, thats different to someone needing something.

What you do is you sell your flat, you live in it until you sell (no renting) and you find somewhere else that you can afford... like everyone else in this situation does (its hardly unique to outgrow a property). The property you can get it might be in a different/worse area or not 'perfect' (needs work, doesn't have garden, old tatty kitchen) etc... but thats life. 

Exodi

Sya said:

Exodi said:

Just my take on it -

Why exasperate an already stressful time by trying to throw a house move into it? I think this can surely wait until you have a new job?

I would remove this part of the issue entirely. You then don't need to find rent and you would be entitled to UC, which should help with your bills and other costs. The 8k won't effect this.

I appreciate your flat is too small, I just think of all moments to decide to move, this is surely the worst (unless you were hoping you could somehow end up with a bigger house out of this? Unfortunately this cannot happen as you would not be entitled to UC if you had the flat but didn't live there, and if you sold the flat you'd not be entitled either as you'd be over the capital limit (aka, you'd be expected to live off the sales proceeds).

Put the house upgrade on the back-burner until you're back in stable employment.

Imagine living in a condition where you are so stressed, uncomfortable etc and then trying to present your best self to interviewers and employers. i want to rent a bigger space, i feel like i could breathe again. but you are right it is not ideal to be moving now. i dont know anything about benefits so i guess i should start with educating myself on that

But you must appreciate, the more cynical among us could interpret what you're hoping to do as opportunism - where you'd like the taxpayer to pay the rent on a bigger house for you, and then you'd hope to rent out the house you own and put the money in your pocket.

I used to live in a 2 bed flat with three other people (a friend who slept in the living room and my two adult sisters who shared a bedroom) so I can somewhat relate on cramped living conditions (though I accept I had my own sleeping space).

I'd say if you are already stressed (as you say you are), all the more reason not to add in even more stress by trying to move.

There's no reason, for example, you couldn't wait a few months until you hopefully have a stable job, get a few months under your belt there and then start looking at selling your flat and buying a bigger place with a mortgage. This could be as soon as next year.

I know the media might portray single mums as minted with benefits, but the reality isn't always so. I remember when one of my younger sisters (who is a single mum on benefits, works part time) was evicted from the house she was living (the LL wanted to sell) - she had previously lived in a 1 bed house (and despite what people may expect, the housing element doesn't usually cover all the rent, with tenants needing to make up the difference) where she had to find maybe a hundred pounds a month. She initially started looking at other one-beds but was told by UC they would not allow her to move into a new one-bed (her child was about 5 at that point) so she had to look into two-beds, which came with much higher rents. She now lives in a two-bed, but as I understand she has to find several hundred pound every month out of her own pocket - she's certainly not flush with cash, quite the opposite - depressed and has regular breakdowns.

I certainly wouldn't be thinking that 'benefits' is the break you need to upgrade your living situation, quite the opposite in fact.

Sya said:
"You obviously can't get housing benefit to cover your rent if you OWN a house you choose not to live in. That's not how benefits work, we all WANT bigger and better than we have but that doesn't mean you just get given it for free." if the home i have is barely habitable for the two of us (i.e. ONE bedroom and a lounge that is kitchen-lounge) then surely its not suitable for a child?

The house didn't suddenly become uninhabitable or not suitable for a child when you lost your job. Even if you used this emotional rhetoric at the council offices it would not work because you own a house, or if sold, would be over the capital limit. I wouldn't feel hard done by, I'm sure many benefit claimants wish they owned their own place.