Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

owning 2 flats and claiming HB/tc on a council house

93 replies

imjusttosoft · 04/06/2012 21:52

ok ive namechanged

this is a ???? as well as a AIBU

a friend of 8yrs has a council house and lived there for 12yrs,10yrs ago she met her current partner he has a flat in the town we live in and a apartment in spain both let out and were his before he met my friend so all in his name

in the last 5yrs they have had 2 young children and he moved into her council place (thats still only in her name) he is the only worker in their family and works 24hrs a week in a local corner shop

because he works nmw and low hours they claim WTC,TC,HB,CTB

now surely if he has these properties would he be entitled to help as i would of thought rent he recieves would be classes as income??????? and the rent for the property in the uk here would be 700pcm for a start thats without the propert abroad

maybe hes not declaring as it seems strange

and AIBU that if hes got 2 properties he should sell them and free up the council house for somebody that needs it

yes its none of my buisness but it seems very strange that hes got 2 places and their geting HB for the council property,i just dont believe that the council and tc would be paying these amounts as surely rent from his properties would be income

OP posts:
Noqontrol · 04/06/2012 23:22

Is the income from the rent just covering the mortgages though? Because if it is, then it's not actually an income. It would be in the long term once some of the mortgage is paid, but not in the short term.

EdgarAllenPimms · 04/06/2012 23:26

mortgage is not a deductable expense. you can only deduct 10% for maintenance...

so yes, he should have declared the income less a max of 10% and the HB/CTC should be tapered against it.

WhosPickleisThatOnion · 04/06/2012 23:28

My understanding is that it's the interest on the loan. Not any capital repayments.

Doodlegoogle · 04/06/2012 23:32

I think you can claim housing benefit if the rent you make on another property does not exceed the interest on that mortgage. If it's paying off capital on the mortgage then you can't claim hb.

If she hasn't declared he is living there then that's a problem too. I think he can't stay more than 3 nights a week.

I think.

Doodlegoogle · 04/06/2012 23:33

Ah cross post with pickle :)

baabaapinksheep · 04/06/2012 23:34

Allowable expenses include: interest on mortgage repayments, agency fees, maintenance of the property, and if it is furnished a wear and tear allowance.

If there is no profit after expenses then there is no income.

wannabeamillionaire · 04/06/2012 23:35

yabu mind your own business do you not think there is enough shit going on in the world without everyone grassing on each other.

nothingoldcanstay · 04/06/2012 23:37

If they are living together then they should be declaring it. I don't think it matters about the"rental income" because he actually has assets over a certain amount (presumably). As a couple they would surely have over the £16,000 asset threshold? She can't be renting to him unless she was a landlady before in the property.

TBH though I wouldn't shop her. She will have nothing if he leaves her as he hasn't put her name on anything. Why would anyone chose to live alone in a council house if they could actually own their property in a committed relationship? OK so it's cheap short term but long term her and her children will have nothing if he decides to bail. He's the one taking the piss. Report him to H&M revenue maybe.

SinisterBuggyMonth · 04/06/2012 23:46

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster
imjusttosoft · 05/06/2012 00:04

nothing,buy him having 2 properties bought over ten years ago i would say he should have over £16,000 in equity.u misunderstood she dosent rent to him the c,house is in her name and they get HB for the rent there due to TC low wage

i get your point about if he left but why should he have properties in his name and living and claiming assosiated benefits from her home,when he should sell his propertes and house them himself,council houses are like gold dust and i can see no reason why they should be housed and rent paid by the council when they have other accomadation they could use,some family is probably living in a b&b at this moment when they could have a permanent home

dosent sit to well

OP posts:
Original poster
imjusttosoft · 05/06/2012 00:07

wannabeamillionaire

just say this was totally the case,why should they be able to do this

i would be intrested in your answer

OP posts:
OutragedAtThePriceOfFreddos · 05/06/2012 00:17

How well do you know this couple, and how much is she 'in on it'?

He could be an arsehole to her as well as an arsehole in general, and he might refuse to sell the properties or move into them. She might want to. Especially as she's the one that stands to get in the most trouble if she is claiming as a single parent.

Either way, illegal or not,it is definatly morally wrong and you should report it.

SinisterBuggyMonth · 05/06/2012 00:17

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster
imjusttosoft · 05/06/2012 00:21

i know this couple well,she knows all about it,yes he is more dominant than her,he imho is a idiot and dosent treat her equally but she wont stand up to him,so yes shes aware of things but hes in charge if you understand my meaning

OP posts:
DioneTheDiabolist · 05/06/2012 00:23

Where are you getting your £16k figure from OP?

Original poster
imjusttosoft · 05/06/2012 00:24

yes he says the properties are his,he goes out to spain 3 or 4 times a year,shes lucky if she goes once in 2yrs

so yes hes a selfish selfcentred twat,i didnt want to say what he was like before as it would like i had a axe to grind,i havent but i hate his superior manner on this matter

OP posts:
nothingoldcanstay · 05/06/2012 00:27

imjusttosoft - no I didn't think she was renting to him but it's a dodge they could be using.

But really, if he doesn't want to make her part of his world then the poor girl is buggered. She is the one in the property that is open to fraud but he can get away with putting her in that position. He will still walk away if the shit hits the fan (with two houses) but she will have two children and no equity to back her up plus a record of benefit fraud.

Original poster
imjusttosoft · 05/06/2012 00:28

one poster said benefit limits 16,but i am guessing if his to properties were bought over 10yrs ago there would be some equity in each,he also had a property before these to so no 100% morgages either and he had a good redundancy pay of from the goverment,was a civil servant 8ish yrs ago

OP posts:
nothingoldcanstay · 05/06/2012 00:29

DioneTheDiabolist - thaat was the figure back in the day you were allowed to have to eligible for HB. Anything over then it was forget it..

Original poster
imjusttosoft · 05/06/2012 00:30

god i never thought of that,nothing,

OP posts:
Original poster
imjusttosoft · 05/06/2012 00:31

but hes working 24hrs to claim tax credit,so she cant be claming as a single parent.would he have to be on the electoral roll to claim there then

OP posts:
CrispyCod · 05/06/2012 00:47

I imagine if the benefits agency get wind of it they may seize the properties he owns to pay back the HB which he has fraudulently claimed.

nothingoldcanstay · 05/06/2012 00:52

How do you know this ? She can claim CT as a single parent. If they are claiming working tax credit and she doesn't work then yes it's dodgy.

Whatever please remember it's your mate with two children that will be in the shit. Have a word with her before the authorities. Please remember that daubing in your neighbour is a symptomatic of horrible repressive regimes. Doing something wrong does not mean you are a horrible person per se. or example you may drop litter but pick up dog mess. Or you declare taxes but employ a cash in hand babysitter every other week.People have their reasons.

Original poster
imjusttosoft · 05/06/2012 00:54

he claims wtc as he works ,she dosent

OP posts:
Olympia2012 · 05/06/2012 00:59

He isn't on the tenancy agreement?

Swipe left for the next trending thread