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?

It’s a totally ridiculous scheme to serve two main purposes. First, to cover up the incompetence and corruption of Johnson and this government. Second, to try to cover the disaster that has been the Help to Buy scheme.

My daughter has a disability and is unable to work. Our family got together to buy her a small flat in an inexpensive area.
She's been on various benefits and disability allowances and is now on UC. If she had to give up her home and live on the proceeds until she ran out of money her capital certainly wouldn't last very long and she would have to be rehoused by the council in the end.
At the moment she doesn't need to claim housing benefit fortunately, nor is she using scarce social housing.

I could never understand why housing benefit wasn’t given to people with a mortgage. I was made redundant many years ago and claimed job seekers for several months. I wasn’t entitled to HB as I have a mortgage. But the mortgage still needed paying. If I’d been renting I’d have got my rent covered for that period. It was a really stressful situation. Also my mortgage is less than renting another house the same as mine so it would actually be cheaper to give housing benefit to me for a mortgage than if I was renting.

I don’t necessarily agree with people buying a house whilst on housing benefit. Although if rent is more expensive than mortgages then it could save the government a fortune. But the loan on the house would need to be secured to the government!! ????

Housing benefit already gets used to pay mortgages... the mortgages of the private landlords.

I am not sure how the current system works with mortgages. I don't claim HB. I do know several people on ESA who own their homes though.

@blahloney do you really think people on UC are living the high life and just not bothering? You can work 30 hours a week and still get UC Credit, funkily enough the government thinks it’s sensible for people to have some savings. I suggest you get your facts and learn about the world straight before you start responding to posts.

I don't think it will come to fruition. Its a headline to divert attention away from Boris Johnson. As with many of his announcements it may come to nothing because he hasn't done the work before announcing it. As far as I am aware the housing associations have not even been approached by the government. Its a rehashed plan that has failed twice already by previous PMs and subsequently dropped

Distraction politics to create diversion amongst us.

People still need to be able to afford to pay the mortgage. As we know mortgage payments can be lower than rent.

This is about telling banks their affordability criteria can change and perhaps lend to riskier clientelle. We know where that leads

The house can only be solved by approving affordable housing to be built and rent controls while protecting tenants against eviction with no reason . Without rent control there is no way to solve this crisis .

I love how this government works , first it did the damage it did with brexit by putting people against EU citizens and now it’s putting people against the most vulnerable in society . People need to open their eyes

I’m self employed with a son who has ASD and I get UC. At the moment I am struggling from one week to the next, and I imagine everyone in my situation has the same struggle. I haven’t read the details but since there is an element of housing costs in UC to pay rent won’t that stop if you are paying a mortgage? It seems like a ridiculous idea and as has been previously stated it’s just an attempt to appease the low earners who have suffered most under the Tories.

If you claim housing benefit to pay rent to a landlord can he use that money to pay the mortgage?
If so I find that a bit unfair on the people that have worked for years on end to pay their mortgage. But they are probably healthier and happier than the lazy landlord that is paying a mortgage off housing benefit.

@mcdouglas yes Landlord‘s most definitely can and do use housing benefit that the tenants claim to pay their mortgage is with that’s how the ponzi scheme works.

to be honest somebody reminded me yesterday that Boris promised 40 hospitals that still haven’t popped up yet so perhaps this is a case of will believe it when we see it.

Can I just say, Landlords can't win on MN. Either they are using HB to pay their mortgages or they are evil pariahs who refuse to take tenants on HB. Which is preferred?

Hey, Some people on here really need to take a good look at themselves. I bet you are happy for refugees to be sent to Rwanda too.

It’s divide and rule bollocks. Something the Tory’s are masters at. Meanwhile the 1% are about to have another bonanza as the just about managing default on their mortgages.

They’ll keep you looking down or sideways with stories about ‘woke’ whilst they pick your pockets.

I don't think that one should be able to apply and obtain a mortgage whilst on benefit but for people who took out a mortgage whilst working who then have to go on benefits through unforseen circumstances I think it's a good thing. I'm thinking of families where a parent suddenly becomes long term or even terminally ill and has to cease working, or when a parent suddenly dies or a child becomes seriously ill and they need to take time out care for or to help children over a period of bereavement and adjustment for example. It always seemed to me unfair that such families should be forced into losing their family home at such times of crisis.

This will not happen. Johnson is just being his usual twatting self. Lenders will not loan to people on benefits, they will not have a big enough deposit. They also will not want to buy their own house & have to pay for maintenance themselves. It's a ludicrous idea and will just lead to people claiming benefits are too high.

Maybe he was planning to pay for them with the £350 million a week we’re not paying the EU.

The scheme is aimed at those in work, in receipt of housing benefit, in-work benefits , in low paid jobs & in a council property.
This is the Tory’s way of further depleting an already inadequate social housing stock. You can’t buy any house with the scheme.

It just means more people who are in work can get on the housing ladder & more people who can’t will have to rent privately which will further line the pockets of the few with £££.
This only works if the housing benefit used to buy the property is paid back if the property is ever sold!
The houses shouldn’t be bought so they can be used for profit but to be a lifetime home.

You used to get some help towards your mortgage back in the day but it was only for a short time or it only covered the interest. Now you have to apply for a loan through benefits to pay mortgage but it has to paid back. How you pay it back I haven’t got a clue but I assume they would take a small percentage of your continuing benefits or a percentage of your wage when you start working again.
This scheme is purely to allow those living in social housing to buy the council house they are living in. It scheme doesn’t allow people to buy any house. It is also going to only be open to those in work.
All it will do is further deplete the already inadequate social housing stock which means more in housing benefit will need to rent privately.

£16000 in savings is not entirely correct. Its £6000 then if you have more your benifit is reduced so much each £1000 until you hit £16000 then you get nothing

I see both sides of the coin.
My rent is £795pm but I could get rent paid up to £975 if I received benefits, as the LHA is that higher amount, which would mean money going to make a landlord living in a £1m house even wealthier.
I would think it more prudent for local authorities to allow long term benefit claimants to put their housing benefit towards a suitable property purchase and I mean suitable for their present needs.
The mortgage would be much lower and the property would be in the government's name with an unlimited tenure to the tenant. Rent arrears would not therefore be an issue and if the tenant moved on, it could be re-let.
There are bound to be snags that I'm not aware of and legalities which would need to be sorted out but it would, IMO, not be wasting government money as happens at present.

@Ddot
Anything over the savings disregard is reduced by £1 for every £500 (or part of) over the allowance.

UC claimants will have a different disregard. For every £250 over 6k they will lose £4+ per week (can't remember exact figure) and it amounts to £17 +change per month deducted from UC.

This isn't correct. They lose £4.35 per month for every £250 or part of over £6000, which is the same as those of us on other benefits.

Has anyone actually thought this through - it's cheaper to allow someone to use HB to buy their house than pay for 30 years of HB? (such as those of us with long term illness, carers, etc)