Housing Benefits question

[Pawslikepaddington]

When can I apply for HB? I received some money when my mum died in June and left me £10k, and so they stopped all my benefits. I used it all to pay off debt and live on for three months, paying my (£900 pm) rent and the £300 mortgage on mum's house each month each month, which I have now rented out. It has now all gone, can I claim HB? Or will the fact I am renting the house to cover the mortgage (literally, I get £330 pcm for it and the mortgage is £327 pcm) mean I can't have benefits? I literally have no money whatsoever, well, I have my student loan but I can ONLY pay my rent with that without HB .

hi...no sure how much help i will be but try this website it will possibly answer your questions, if not call the citizens advice. do you have children? if so you should get some help.
www.entitledto.co.uk

sorry to.co.uk

www.entiltedto.co.uk

hope that helps...god im rubbish at links!

Do you own your mum's home now? If so you won't get HB

Hi,

Sorry, didn't realise I had had replies for this! I do own mum's house, and I know I sound like a spoilt brat, but if I was able to live in it I would, but it is 300 miles away and I tried to sell it and was just getting crippled as noone wanted to buy it, and I was paying the mortgage and my rent, so had to take it off the market. Thank you both of you.

No you don't sound like a spoilt brat. But there's no way that you'll get HB if you own an assett worth tens/hundreds of thousands of pounds I'm afraid. They'll make you flog it, at any price, and live off the proceeds from that, before you will be eligible for state help.

P.S. why are you paying the mortgage on the house? did your mum not have mortgage-linked life insurance that paid it off? Most mortgages do.

No, no life insurance, as mum dropped it in order to pay the mortage payments. I rang them and they said there was no way we were eligable, Really maddening tho as I could have received HB when it was on the market, but at the time they said I couldn't, so I took it off. At least I will have it in three years, and will be in a much better position than I would be if I sold it. Thank you all xx