To think being able to use housing benefits as a mortgage is unfair?

It another Pinocchio lie
Boris is in trouble and this starts him off on lie after lie. It's all he knows. Thd government haven't even discussed it with the housing associations yet!

This policy is codswallop. How are people on UC going to be able to buy their social housing properties? They simply won't be able to afford it! Don't be sucked into this divisive propaganda by this horrific government. We need more social housing - it's not rocket science.

The interest will be paid, but only in the form of a loan, so you have a charge put on your home until you have repaid the loan. Years ago, the interest would be paid and you didn't have to repay it.

It's actually £6000 for Universal Credit claimants to get their full entitlement, but a sliding scale between £6000 and £16,000.

I think it is a daft policy and is put there for no other reason than to appease some Tory MPS who Boris has to appease by showing his "traditional Conservative Values" such as home ownership. Its ridiculous!

You cannot claim housing benefit to pay off a mortgage - even if Boris Johnson says so. he's never been very sure of his facts and this is another instance of preferring the soundbite to the reality - see below's non-partisan news feed

www.marca.com/en/lifestyle/2022/01/18/61e68004268e3e077f8b4600.html

CAN YOU CLAIM HOUSING BENEFIT TO PAY OFF A MORTGAGE
Those who are currently paying a mortgage for their own home should be aware that they are not entitled to the Housing Benefit scheme.

But this policy will make it worse not better. If they actually wanted people off HB they would build more affordable housing for rent and then people could save for a regular mortgage.

This policy is a bullshit gimmick designed to look like they are doing something. The policy has been condemned by housing experts and charities.

Just double checked it on the ONS website. Data is a few years old but there’s 1.3 million rented households in receipt of universal credit / housing benefit. But 4.5 million renting.

Well that’s why they’re looking to reduce that by getting people who are currently receiving housing benefit off the payroll.

Pension. I don’t earn enough for one of those
about a month ago I opened one that allowed me to pay in £15 a month, thanks to some lovely mumsnetters Who advised on one that took such a small amount.

as I say generation rent “retiring” is going to be fun for the government.

I think the demographic might of changed in the last few years though I was actually really surprised as to how high the household income can be whilst a person is still in receipt of universal credits.

I presume this is why wage inflation is being encouraged to push people off it.

The answer to that of course if you put the difference into your pension and try and manage on the same amount as you did before you might find that you qualify for universal credits and thats to your overall benefit especially in the long term.

I don’t know the exact figures, I did some work on this a few years back but the majority of private renters don’t get housing benefit / universal credit

Okay

I don’t get universal credit

@EvilPea Well you should benefit massively then from the fact that you are going to be able to pay your mortgage with universal credits that will be included in the affordability calculations and basically gives you a least £600 a month extra purchasing power that you didn’t have before

This is it. We have a decent deposit it’s the mortgage to wage bit we can’t qualify for.

I think the deposit is to prevent people from walking from a home and also to ensure that the bank will be able to cover the cost of the property if the person can't pay. Forced sales often mean that the property sells for less than what it is valued in the first place

I don't think the issue is the 10% deposit required for many FTB properties. The issue is house prices are very high in relation to earnings and there is huge inequality in earnings and wealth..people are using their houses as bank accounts... So a FTB is often competing with someone with 200k in savings sitting in a bank account....i don't think they should be allowed to compete in the same market but they often are. I bought my flat from an ex landlord who purchased my property in cash. I was lucky that the yields in London were low at the time and the government imposed more taxes on landlord. If a lot of landlords were buying in London at that time (they seem to be buying in the region's), I would have had no chance...

I doubt lenders will want more than the most basic survey because of the relatively low LTV. Equally stamp duty for FTBs doesn’t apply under £300k, presumably this is only likely to be an issue in very expensive parts of the country.

Regardless, it’s a really shit idea to perpetuate a policy that caused the current housing crisis in the first place. Good thing it’s never going to happen.

Us too, I don't even understand why people in se use tenancies need to be able to buy their homes, let alone st a discount. Its private renters who have no security, regulation or hope of bettering their situation

Absolutely.

1/ we shouldn't be taking the secure tenancies of HA and council homes out of circulation, there aren't enough of these to start with.

2/ these people have incredibly secure tenancies and therefore don't need to buy.

3/ we need to make private rentals more secure - I'm all for rent caps and more secure tenancies and if that makes some landlords sell up, so be it. It will mean more homes for owner occupiers to buy.

4/ I suspect this is all a wheeze to get traditionally Labour voters to vote Tory.

A HA (or council) tenant will not need savings for a deposit (as many PP have already said). However, if you've never bought a house before, it's easy to not realise the other costs involved that will require savings, and can cost a few thousand.
Obviously, as they already live there, they won't need to pay for moving costs. However, solicitor fees will still need to be paid. if people don't consider this beforehand, I see them getting out loans to cover the excess costs. Also, things like home surveys; I assume the banks lending will still want these?
Also, what is the situation with stamp duty? Yes, first-time buyers get some relief on this (a lower amount etc), but if the (full) value of the home exceeds the threshold, this will still need to be paid, and could be in the thousands. Is this scheme intending HA and council tenants to be exempt? (I don't know what the current situation is with council tenants who are able to buy, I assume the same rules will apply to the HA tenants now?)

That’s where the reduction in deposit comes in - if happens

Although earlier on as pp said you could get 110% even but 2008 made it all harder

Tough one as it’s a shame people can’t buy just due to deposit but also was riskier

Given that various governments have had literally decades to prepare for the biggest ageing population of all time and have done nothing, I don’t know why you’d expect anything else.

I'm old enough to remember when this was possible. Then Maggie stopped it, so people had to move out of houses they were buying into rented accommodation, even if the rent was more than the mortgage.

In some cases people literally moved next door.

Who bought the houses that flooded the market? Buy to let landlords. Who then put rents up far higher than the initial rent.

So HB (and obviously tax payers) used to pay a mortgage for people who had lost their jobs, single parents, people who had to give up work due to disability or illness and allow them to stay in their own home.

Most people are not on benefits for life unless it is for disability / ill health.

Now it is paid to the landlords instead.

So as a taxpayer where do you prefer your tax to go?

Completely, they have the holey grail of tenancies as far as private renters are concerned.

There are solutions but one way or another someone will always lose. You just have to work out whose need is greater (or which donor / vote counts more).
there are alternatives to building on farm land and greenbelt and I say that as someone who actively defends the countryside and wildlife.
you can build in a way that benefits communities and wildlife, there’s less profit in it though.