Housing situation advice please.

[LuckyManifestations]

It's a long one, as I don't want to drip feed.
All advice and opinions welcome.
Divorced lady, 56 years old.
Medically retired through ill health.
I have been privately renting for many years since my divorce.
Renting seemed a good option for me as I had 5 children under 10 when I got divorced, and couldn't have afforded to buy somewhere big enough for us all.
I was working full time and the rent was easily affordable.
When I received my divorce settlement I put the money away to share between the children for a deposit for their first home. I did this because owning a home has never been something I really cared about.

All of my adult DC now own their homes.

5 years ago when I only had 1 DC at home I was offered a new build housing association house which I accepted.

Last DC bought her own home last year, so Im in a 3 bed HA house alone.
Where I live is rural, miles from family, adult DC and grandchildren.
My rent is extortionate for a HA house, so trying to do a swap with another HA tenant has been useless.

I have approached the HA and asked them if I can be relocated closer to my family, and they (rightly) sent me some details of 1 bed houses and flats.

So here is what I need advice on.
Currently I receive a small amount of housing benefit, and some other benefits due to being declared unfit for work.

I am not yet ready to downsize to a one bedroom place. One of the many reasons I wouldn't want that is because I wouldn't be able to host family or friends, or have my grandchildren to stay over.

Looking at private renting a property in the area I need, and big enough for what I want would be approx £400-£500 more per month.

I have a good private pension.
Would I be mad to take a draw down on it, meaning losing all my benefits in order to have a nice big house for the next 10 years, and enjoy what is left of my failing health and mobility?

I know you usually see people on here saying never to give up a council or HA property that is secure. But although mine is secure it is also ridiculously expensive, and miles from anywhere.

I am a bit rubbish with money, so I got help from a financial adviser.
My ideal plan was to start taking my private pension soon in order to move house, pay for treatments and services for my health and disabilities that aren't available to me on the NHS. Then maybe take some holidays while im still able, and enjoy more financial freedom that the money would allow.
The advisor told me that (as best as he was able to predict) I would be able to live very comfortably until around age 70.
There is zero chance of me living to 70 unfortunately.

I haven't willingly deprived myself though.
I had no way of knowing when I gifted that money that 10 years later I would be in the position I was after having a brain injury.
I worked hard, and earned well.

Im sorry you have experienced that.

Prior to living here, I was in 2 private rental properties. The first for 8 years and the second for 4 years.
Both landlords were great. I never waited on repairs, and was mostly free to paint and hang shelves etc as required as long as it was all returned to its original state before I moved out.

I agree though that the 6 monthly inspections were a pain.

You're a single person in a 3 bed, I privately rent a 2 bed with 3 children,the younger 2 are in my bedroom, I can't afford a 3 bed and the council won't help me but you've got 2 empty bedrooms for occasional entertainment while my 2 don't even have a room to share, seems fair

Is the private rent less rust the HA? I may have misread but you say the council H/A wont move you because your not struggling to pay your rent ? But would you struggle to pay if you went private.what happens when your money eventually runs out ? What if the landlord wants the property back? You said you get a small amount of housing benefit? Its extremely hard to find a landlord who gets help with housing costs. Also if you get the help with your then is your income actually that much .

But you said your last child only left home last year ?

I’m sorry but you get a small amount of housing benefit but think in the future a private retirement village would suit you with pool, restaurant etc?
Have you seen the prices of these places? The world has gone mad!!

This. Sometimes in life we can't always get what we want.

I'm afraid the mad thing was playing lady bountiful to five adults to buy houses before you were securely housed yourself. You should have bought whatever kind of house suits you, lived in it without recourse to the taxpayer helping you and then the children would have benefited when you died. It's like putting on your own oxygen mask first.

I think by pretending 'not to be good with money' you have actually tried to leave yourself without assets in case you need to go in to a care home.
I suppose that I ,and my tax paying children, will just have to go on subsidising you at that point. Perhaps looking at this kind of scam would help the government with its benefits bill.

Not needing benefits when you gave it away is a red herring. Everyone should plan for the worst.

Either keep trying for a mutual exchange, or agree for the HA to find you a 1 bed flat.

You'd be bonkers to give up a HA tenancy.

The HA won’t give her a property with more bedrooms than her housing needs - she lives alone. They don’t consider future guests when allocating properties.

You’re better off staying put or looking into over 55 properties as previously mentioned. You won’t get more than a one bed with the HA/LA.

Op says she was given a 3 bed HA. When she only had 1 child still at home. So they did give more rooms than needed . You could have been due to it being rural though

Beware retirement flats. Often they have £200 + a month service charges. They are very difficult to sell so your children would have to keep paying the monthly charges, maybe for years, after you've passed.

To be clear, if I were to take a draw down on my pension I wouldnt be entitled to any housing benefit, or indeed any means tested benefits, nor would I require any.
The private rent would be around £400 pcm more. But its money I am happy to pay for the home I want for the foreseeable.

She did only move out last year, but the money was put into a savings account for her to use as a deposit once she finished university, which she did last year.

Yes, I went to their open day last month.
Its easily affordable for 10 years. I dont expect to be around for much longer than that.

Some of the new retirement villages where I live have HA properties within them, many people get some housing benefit in retirement villages as well.
Have you put you want to swap all over the local facebook pages as well as all the swap sites?
Have you contacted some of the retirement villages to see what is available and if any is local occupancy or HA? The local occupancy in our area are the hardest to fill as people would rather stay in their cottages.

You are absolutely wrong there. I had a very good, secure job at the time with plenty of savings.
I had absolutely no intention of expecting anyone to look after me financially, as I planned to work until state retirement age.

Im entitled to housing benefit as years of not being able to work after an accident meant I used savings to live off.
Only when the savings were gone did I qualify for any kind of benefits.

It's very nice that even although you can't work you are able to look after 3 presumably young children. Most people find that takes quite a lot of stamina.

While you were living off your savings you also seem to have given away five house deposits. Not content with occupying a house which a far more deserving family with children and without thousands to give away would absolutely love, you are completely relaxed about being subsidised by taxpayers and indeed expect them to keep funding your expectations of 'hosting'.

The only consolation is that when you inevitably have the begging bowl out to fund your care in old age of infirmity you'll find that the only care homes that you get free are the ones which aren't quite as desirable.

Ok that's a bit of a drip feed then. Most people in social housing wouldn't have the means to purchase something like this. I know you weren't expecting the council to house you now, I was thinking about your future and the potential for private rental to go tits up. It's all very well living for today but If your tomorrow would be likely to be a hundred times more dire as a result it's perhaps not the best option. If you've got a Plan B though and won't risk ending up in the homeless system, housebound in a health hazard place several floors up because your disability means you can't manage stairs or too afraid to leave your home because of the neighbours in a rough neighborhood, for example, then perhaps you've nothing to lose except a bit of money from your pension.

MN: Benefits are unfair; people who work get nothing.

OP: Worked until she became disabled. Raised 5 taxpayers.

MN: Benefits are not for people like you.

Don't give up a HA property, that's madness. If you are able to move closer to family but not be able to host due to the property only being a 1 bedroomed, then that's the compromise you need to make, in order to be closer to family. Once you give up the property and go into private rent, you'll be lucky to get back onto the housing list again, and are likely to end up the bottom of the pile if you do.

Thank you! Exactly this.

I felt like an awful person reading these posts today.

I have obviously not been clear enough in my posts.

Just to clarify some misunderstood points:
I put lump sums into savings plans for my DC house deposits back in 2010 when I worked full time and had every intention of doing so til retirement.
My accident happened in 2016.
From 2016 until 2022 I supported myself and youngest 2 DC from my savings.
When I had no savings left I was forced to claim benefits to live on.

When I was offered the HA house I am living in now, I had 2 DC at home, so I was entitled to a 3 bed home.

If I were to start drawing my private pension, I wouldn't be entitled to any state support at all, and that is fine. The government has looked after me for the last few years, and I am grateful for that.

Finally I am not wanting or expecting any government help with housing or paying my rent.

There is very little chance of my funds running out if I go into a private rental property, even if I need supported living or a care home towards the end of my life, as long as I don't live beyond aged 70, and there is no chance of that.
I simply want a bigger house in a different area for the time I have left to enjoy it, and wanted opinions as to whether to give up my HA home.

Im sorry for whatever I have said ( or haven't been clear about) that has provoked some of the responses on here.

I understand all that, however I am not looking to return to housing list, as I wont need to.

I would rather get the 1 bed housing association house and use the spare £400-£500 on doing other nice things. Or you could pay for a hotel or an air bnb if your family come to visit? It's silly to use all that money for a bigger house now just for the odd occasion when you might wish you had an extra room or two.