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

[blahloney]

I’m actually feeling quite annoyed. I currently work full time, don’t receive benefits but cannot afford to buy a house despite my rent being more than a mortgage. How is this fair?

Em no. Elderly people or anyone else are not being made homeless by the sale of a house they don’t and can’t live in.

If this new policy means that those who lose their jobs don't automatically lose their homes

That isn’t what it means. I’d love to know what Johnson’s trying to hide while we’re all talking about this.

You mean people who have equity already will do this? Eg use it when they can’t pay mortgage

what about those trying to buy for first time - is it for them too?

She actually banned councils from using the funds to build new houses

We also have a crisis of people not being able to get on the housing ladder. The conservatives are meant to be a party of the middle class so will prioritise home ownership over rental properties as that's their values.

I'm northern so the 16k saving limit would be fine for a deposit I also wonder if they will exclude help to buy ISA from the savings limit so they can save more to buy a property

@MarshaBradyo, the house will be sold to the tenant for 60% of its value. That will be the amount of the mortgage. It’s only for FTB HA tenants - forget everyone else, it doesn’t apply to them.

Are you a troll?

Ok thanks

I should probably read an article but feeling newsed out and lazy, will do later

A lot of people on low incomes and on benefits have incurred debt, and might have a not great credit file as a result. There’s absolutely no way the big banks will compromise on that. The credit files are their bibles.

How would that help poor people? The vast majority of landlords would sell and poor tenants who couldn’t afford to buy would be left homeless. It would likely reduce cost of buying housing though so wealthy people would be better off.

That’s actually a complete myth credit files on not their bibles at all each individual lender has its own criteria.

Its always a combination of factors not one single reason why somebody might be excepted for a mortgage with one company and not with another.

for example the Natwest you can already include your benefits in the income for the affordability calculation but you must have a spotless credit rating. Others are a lot less fussy on your credit rating but they will just charge you more because you’re a bigger risk.

Madness to sell off social housing when it's in such short supply

@Workwork21 You ve made an excellent argument for an alternative and workable policy, one that could really help people improve their life chances....cheaper rents, via more HA and council housing, enabling folk to save and in your case get a degree.

I wonder how many people who get Housing Benefit have any savings, let alone 1000s.

This is literally that episode of the thick of it when they scrape the barrel for distracting policies that no one wants or can actually make use of.

A lot of private rents are way over the cost of the mortgage payments for landlords. Maybe they could make less profit so their tenants could afford to eat.

In my area the private rents are over 120% more than council rents.

The Local Housing Allowance goes nowhere near the cost of private rent.

I think it's unfair that my friend gets rent allowance of €2200 rent paid, 300 odd a week, 420 a month child benefit, can have more children and will eventually get a council house which will more than likely be a new build and I have to work two jobs to pay my mortgage.

My house will never be mine.

Same as my mum then, I didn't think I'd made it up. That's a very good point you've made actually.

Councils used to do deals for right to buy customers to get their mortgages from the council, maybe that will be part of the new scheme. If I have managed to exchange my flat for a house when anything happens to my mum I'm definitely buying mine. I won't buy my flat as it will only be leasehold & still stuck under the rules & regulations of the council & they can force you to fork out for repairs for the whole block.

This

It's so desperate and doesn't even make sense as a policy. As pp said how would you get a deposit. Its a red wall northern policy.

Ignore

So what do you suggest an an alternative? That her children are inadequately housed, fed and clothed? Many of these 'unfair' policies are in place to ensure children have a basic standard of living, and sometimes this leads to their parents benefitting. But if the alternative to that is children being disadvantaged, what choice is there?

Look up the facts on MONEYHELPER.ORG.UK (in lower case) I capitalised it to make it stand out.
The site tells you what savings you're allowed to have when you receive various benefits. Some are on a taper system so that having more savings results in deductions from your benefits.

But the rent does not go straight to the landlord, as I well know having just had to evict my tenant as he preferred to spend the rent money down the pub, leaving me with 2 homes to pay for. I am not wealthy, it was the home I brought my children you in, and is basically my pension. Not all landlords are millionaires.

He's just doing it to stay popular, unfortunately some will buy it.

@thelastshadowpuppet
Your friend must live in London to have such a huge LHA and have a lot of children to be getting £105 a week child benefit. It's currently about 20+ for the first child and 14+ for each subsequent child so she must have 6 children.
Of course, the lady might be divorced or widowed and she can't help that and the children must be looked after.

Rents, unless you fall behind and are in debt, are paid to the tenant who is receiving the benefit, whether working on a low wage or not. How they spend it is up to them. The only time councils will interfere is if the landlord contacts the council to say that they are not getting the rent from the tenant. Only then can the council sanction direct payments.