Housing benefits loop of doom! – Anyone have any good ideas on how to house my mum (80)

[reversegear]

I’ll try to keep this short.

My mum is 80, lives alone, and is currently in a private rental. She’s about to run out of savings and will soon be eligible to claim housing support and pension credit.

Her current landlord has said they won’t accept tenants on benefits, apparently due to insurance reasons, so she’ll need to move out.

We’ve looked at helping her ourselves by buying a small buy-to-let property and moving her in, but the council has told us they won’t pay housing benefit if she’s renting from family, even with a proper tenancy in place.

We also looked into shared ownership and part-buy schemes, but again, we’re being told she can’t live in a property as shes not the leaseholder, but they won't sell to her.

She can't get a mortgage.

So where is she meant to go?

There’s no social housing available in our area at the moment and we’re doing everything we can to give her some stability, but we keep hitting walls.

If anyone knows of a way through this or any schemes we’ve missed, I’d really appreciate it!

Look at Anchor, they provide sheltered accommodation at lower rents all over the country. You can search on their website with a postcode, to see if there's any in your area. My husband's Uncle secured one here in Dorset and my FIL in Hampshire. Your Mum would need to go on a waiting list. My husband's Uncle had to move out of a private rent, as the landlord wanted to sell. If you let Anchor know that housing is urgent, due to being told to leave her private rent, she should get bumped up the list. Any medical needs make a difference too.

It might be worth speaking to someone more senior at the council bc it is possible to rent from a relative and get HB.

My husband did it for his son.

It is possible to claim HB if living in a relatives property but its not straightforward. -..As a PP mentioned speak to a senior member of the team

@IMustDoMoreExercise @notsobloodygrear – arhhh OK thank you I just took the blurb on the site at face value, but can't risk mortgaging a house for her and then them saying no, as we can't afford the whole amount.

Thank you I will take a look if there are any local to us – its not urgent yet, she still have some savings but we are getting close 6-9 months and she will below the threshold and the savings will be gone, hence looking now. The landlord is OK with her staying while she is paying form her own funds.

No social housing even for an 80 year old??
There is much better availability of over 65 housing in most areas because, not to put too fine a point on it, people die so there is turnover. I honestly would be surprised if there isn’t any she is eligible for.

Maybe a housing charity like shelter can help?

Echo, what PPs have said. I rented from my mum. A few extra checks but it wasnt difficult at all.

Firstly it's actually totally illegal for a landlord to evict a tenant because they are in receipt of benefits. Ask him to specifically state in an email that he is evicting your mother because she will shortly be in receipt of housing benefit. Be very interesting to see his reaction. However, I do realise that he could make life unpleasant for your mother and private rental is, in any event, not ideal. I don't know where you live, but there is usually far more accommodation for elderly people (sheltered housing) than anyone else. Even in Bristol which is notorious for homelessness. As for renting from family - yes, the tenant can claim housing benefit so you haven't been told the truth. I don't think it's a straight forward process, but it is perfectly possible and legitimate. Speak to someone more senior or get adult social care involved.

Get specialist advice but I don't think they can evict her just because of her source of income, as she's an existing tenant.

I don’t think saying no benefits is actually an enforceable tenancy term. And how will the landlord know that your mum is on benefits unless you tell them.

Hb can be paid if renting from a close relative (in working age regs it’s reg 9 so you can look up the exact wording) you have to show that it is commercial. Like charging a commercial rent having a proper tenancy agreement and proof that your mum has/is paying any top. Please note that assuming your mum is on her own then she will only be entitled to the 1 bed LHA rate which in my area is £156pw/£676pm. Obviously if you charge her more rent then you will need to show that she is paying the top up.

Your local council however will not /cannot guarantee that they will pay your mums HB if you buy a house for her. They won’t make a decision on her claim until she makes the claim which will be after you have bought the house/she has moved in.

Have you actually applied for social housing for her? It’s a much quicker turnaround (for obvious reasons) in the over 55 complexes.
My DF applied and was offered a flat within weeks (nothing was showing advertised as I think they just offer vacant places to the people already on the list)

Have you actually spoken to anyone at the council? Does she have a housing officer? The landlord is going to have trouble evicting her on those grounds (how does he even know anyway). If you speak to the council and explain she is at risk of homelessness they will be able to help.

Look into applying for an almshouse:

Apply for Almshouse sheltered, cheap and affordable accommodation

That’s my concern that we get so far down the line buy something and she can’t claim for some reason.

To all the replys this is very helpful, it’s actually the letting agent that has said they don’t accept HB tenants, so I could keep trying that but TBH the private rent she is paying is high as we do need to move her to somewhere more affordable in the next 12 months even though she’s in a small 2 bed, we need to be looking at cheaper areas as she is paying £1500pa plus council tax on a state pension.

We have time and yes I spoke to the council last week and was told she would need to go on a waiting list and there was currently nothing suitable or available in our area.

She doesn’t quality yet while she has savings. So she can’t go on the waiting list until the savings have gone, but when they are gone she will need to move ASAP.

I did wonder if there were any help to buy schemes for the elderly? But I can’t see anything.

Get her on the council list anyway irrespective of what they say... Usually the list for older people is separate...
She may have to get evicted so i would clarify with the agent thats their plan... In writing.... As long as she's paying i don't think they have that option... And talk to age uk and/or shelter

Find your local Age UK and talk with them.

Look into assisted living places. My MIL is in the same position and lives in one with the rent paid by housing benefit. She loves it. There is a lot of availability because people tend to stay there very long.

I had to contact adult social services to get her the flat. They came and did an assessment and she was deemed suitable. She could choose the development she went into.

Is this link right, it doesnt actually do anything, gives a list of almshouses companies but then no way of contacting them or searching for properties?

She should be able to claim pension credit if she had no private pension. That also means no council tax. Make sure she is also claiming attendance allowance if she needs help with day to day tasks.

She doesn’t need to be evicted first to move into assisted living. Most councils are very keen to get older people in to then to free up housing stock and make care provision easier.

Any housing association flats for older people near you? Like Housing 21?

I applied for housing benefit many moons ago I did not tell my landlord and it was paid to me. Mum needs to apply for financial support when her funds fall below the threshold for support.

Might it be possible to buy to buy to let, let it to someone, and use the rent money to house your mother privately? Obviously it won’t work if you need the rent to pay a mortgage,

Housing 21 is the provider of MIL’s accommodation. She is very, very happy there. It’s all very well run and the staff are super helpful. She’s been able to stay far more independent than she would have been able to be in her old house.

Definitely agree with the comments saying over 55s social housing options are usually more flexible and available. Your local council should run a "choice based lettings system" (Google that + name of your council) which may help you find providers in your area.

I have a BTL mortgage and it specifically prohibits letting to family as part of the terms and conditions, so do watch out for that.

Mind she doesn’t need to give up all her savings. Youre allowed to keep some that are disregarded and claim benefits while keeping those savings.