Housing benefit for pensioner if they sell their house

Baldytyke88

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6663624/housing-benefit-for-pensioner-if-they-sell-their-house

My local area has numerous flats for older people, which is what my Dad opted for.

Rent a flat, sell your house and then have £100k+ to do what ever you like, specialist flats need no adaption and services are ideal with everthing on one level or with a lift.

Static caravans can be bad investments.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c2016lxnepno

Veedub69

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81958392#Comment_81958392

Are you sure about this?

We know and have known people that are living and have lived in statics full time, they have double glazing and heating and are quite livable. We know a 12 month residential site.

The static is a better investment than renting and is what she wants.

Park home probably will be out of her price range.

Veedub69

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81958403#Comment_81958403

They can be depending on how long lived in. Renting is a worse investment in our opinion or no investment at all. At least with a static there is some return, especially a new one.

Anyway the main point is this is how she wants to live in her retirement. The feeling of space and community is good for wellbeing ie less lonely than a flat.

We just need to figure out if viable with housing benefit.

Veedub69

I think these are reasonable suggestions if she were 80 not 68 however this is her dream and we should follow our dreams. We think she would be able to have at least a decade or more living like that.

She has some mobility issues but nothing that can't be addressed with adaptations.

QrizB

We just need to figure out if viable with housing benefit.

I'm not an expert (you'll get better responses once this thread has been moved to the Benefits board) but I don't think she'll get Housing Benefit unless she's on a residential site.

The static is a better investment than renting

Beware site fees. I don't know where you are or what the fees are like on the sites you're looking at, but some of the sites I know of have fees that are similar to the rent on a flat.

p00hsticks

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81958455#Comment_81958455

It's all very well wanting to live your dream, but unfair on other taxpayers if you can only achieve it by claiming benefits…..

GrumpyDil

As mentioned non residential sites don't allow permanent living, albeit quite a few residents do live on site pretty much permanently. If a local council visits and identifies that people are living on site permanently they will tell the site to deal with it as the park will be breaking their license conditions if they allow it.

They are also largely unregulated, site fees often increase by more than inflation and if you fall out with site owners it isn't overly hard for them to come up with grounds to terminate your licence.

So in my view a risky way forward particularly for someone in poor health.

Silvertabby

Does M-i-L want to buy a static home with a view to leaving an 'inheritance' behind? Because the resale value after, say, 20 years, won't be much at all.

As it's unlikely that housing benefits would cover the total cost of ground rent and other extras, please consider that this may not be the best solution for her. As has already been suggested, a rented bungalow in an over 60s complex may give her the long term security she needs.

Baldytyke88

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81958455#Comment_81958455

If she has mobility issues already, you should consider the location carefully. Does that area have good access to NHS and local authority services?

peteuk

I’m confused, why would she need housing benefit if she’s buying the static caravan outright?