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?

Indeed. If we need care, our house might easily have to be sold to pay for it. It seems fair enough to me.

I used my assets to fund myself before resorting to taxpayer benefits which is what we all should do as responsible citizens.

it’s what many people do, and get into debt before claiming any benefit

oroblem is then they have often got debt which is difficult to get out of - so not a great option

So poor people should move and potentially leave jobs and family support just to be able to buy a house?

Don't be ridiculous

@ivykaty44

Apparently the discount received on HA or council properties will be classed as the deposit. Whether lenders will accept this or not, remains to be seen. They usually like to see a strong saving history.

I suspect we will be looking at tax payer guaranteed special mortgages for the lenders to get on board with this.

I'm gobsmacked , but not surprised , as it'll be his rich chums that will clean up here no doubt.
Helping those on benefits isn't the Tory way , usually. It all smells like a kipper to me and will only cause more problems a few years on when he is writing his memoirs and twisting the truth leaving it all for someone else to sort out.

Yes it does! If you have another home to move to - you are not homeless. People have to be very frail or have dementia and unable to be cared for at home to live in a care home now. The care home is their suitable home for their needs. In no way are they homeless. That's ridiculous.

In my area it is true those estates improved as a result of homeownership, but now those houses are in the hands of private landlords and far worse than it was as a council estate, with no security of tenure and homes poorly maintained.

Will the banks get on board with it?
Hoping that 07/08 years may give them a clue to be wary.

I agree @Blossomtoes
It's the usual poorly thought through crap he spouts when in trouble.
AND it pits people against each other. Horribly.
The problem is a lack of secure decent affordable public housing.
The rich get richer and smirk whilst we all scrabble against each other.

People should check their eligibility as many more are entitled to top ups than claim them. My friend split from her husband last year and despite having a full time okay paying job gets some UC. She only checked as she was trying to prove to someone she wouldn't get anything.

This policy won't work, but it is sad how people punch down to people on benefits when God forbid there's something they see that might benefit them. Why not be annoyed at the government rather than those struggling to make ends meet, many of whom either do actually work or can't work for a plethora of reasons. Sad and ignorant.

This!! Also, since UC has been introduced, not many people will be receiving just HB. I haven't looked in detail but is the proposal to allow money received from HB only to be used or if you receive the housing element in UC you can include that?

This sounds like another Tory soundbite to me.

Lenders are regulated so they could be given no choice. Just as they’re no longer able to disbar benefit claimants as a condition of BTL mortgages.

You can't - that's the point

Oh wow, great.

Many, many people are too tied to their job in a particular place, in the sense that moving a long distance to afford the home would mean a whole job uprooting, often then changing whether they'd afford the mortgage payments home insurance, life insurance, potential ground rent and maintenance fees (both separate payments for us, neither cheap), and so on.

Hopefully I don't need to explain in further detail why many people can't just do that. My partner's income is directly dependent on one organisation existing in one city. We had £15,500 through his savings and my parents gifted ten grand of that - I'm exceedingly fortunate.

If we upped and moved to where homes cost closer to half of what they are here, with my likelihood of paid employment through multiple disabilities causing his income to support us alone, he wouldn't get a job which would afford everything I listed above. And I don't know what universal credit top up would change in regards to any of that, except to add a whole bunch of admin and farce which neither of us (both adhd, struggle with paperwork and so on) cope with.

I wouldn't expect a tory to understand any of this, it's very unlikely to have been their lived experience. So do listen to those of us who do have that lived experience.

And DFOD to those of you who think all the many full or part time WORKING and/or DISABLED people shouldn't be able to access secure, safe and stable housing. Because come on, Wayne and Trish at number three who don't work but claim full benefits but have those parties and clearly aren't unfit to work in your opinion, are not likely to ever have savings in the first place to create the deposit, nor will their full benefits afford all the items previously listed (plus the usual monthly home and family bills) on top. It just won't happen. You are getting knickers in a twist over regular people genuinely trying to make ends meet and achieve a standard of stable and appropriate housing.

Don't listen to Boris. He was born into a family who could wipe their arses on dollar bills every day and still afford luxuries.

We receive some benefits as our children have disabilities. My husband works full time many hours we will never be able to get a deposit but I wouldn't begrudge others using benefits if they get them to own something rather than renting, many people do work and receive a little help. Others may be disabled and never be able to work like one of our children.

Some Lenders use universal credit, child benefit, DLA, tax credits and pensions already. You can’t save more than 5k without having your benefits affected.

Houses are unaffordable for many earning 50k a year.

This has been the case for a while. We have a council house and can purchse our home for a £84,000 discount currently (40%). So that would be considered immediate equity. With the mortgage being so low risk there are RTB rates that don't require deposits.

How would that help anyone? Not everyone can move (jobs, schools, caring responsibilities), and moving costs alone are stupidly high at the moment too. The other costs in selling a house might be unaffordable too. And it ignores people like my neighbour, who is living in a mortgaged house but can't sell as her partner recently left her and is refusing all communications. She's struggling to afford everything as a single parent.

It's not a race to the bottom.

Absolutely.

So, ub gives tenants housing benefits to pay the mortgages of landlords - and this is fine but... it's a moral outrage for ub to give home owners housing benefit to pay their own mortgages?

I mean, it's an administrative shitshow in waiting and it is never going to happen but it seems the only principle you are against op, is the one in which would like to see landlords being the exclusive long term winners of the benefit.

It's all bullshit, typical Boris deflection that he's conjured up overnight.

@Artwodeetoo I didn't mention people on benefits at all, let alone "punch down" to them.

I cant see how this would work really .HB being used for a MG ? Not many lenders would be happy about this! What happens if the interest rate rises for example .People on benefits would find it hard to cope

I live in a real shit hole of an area and 10k still isn't enough for a deposit .