Can a holiday park home to live in affect Universal Credit with an SEN child?

[Peachandsour]

I’m hoping someone might have been in a similar situation with a SEN child and can offer some advice pls.

I’m due to receive around £50,000 from the sale of my house (court ordered sale) following my divorce. Unfortunately, because of mortgage arrears caused by my ex, I can’t get a mortgage, and due to the current rental checks I’ve been unable to rent despite trying every option. The council and homelessness team have no suitable accommodation locally, and I’m facing homelessness within the next four weeks with my autistic 7-year-old daughter.

The only realistic option near her school and our support network is to buy a holiday park home, as all the residential park homes locally are over-55s.

My question is: Has anyone bought a holiday home to live in while claiming Universal Credit or other DWP benefits? How did the DWP treat it? Did they class it as an asset even though it was your home, or did it affect your benefits?

Please, I’m only looking for advice from anyone who’s been through this or knows how it works. I know holiday homes have site fees and closing periods as my friend lives there (she doesnt receive UC), and I’ve already explored renting and other housing options.
I’d really appreciate any advice. Thank you.

There isn’t a simple answer to this. Some have issues. Others don’t.

While people living in caravans and mobile homes can be eligible for UC, including sometimes the housing element for site fees (see ADM F2041), it can become complex.

Some sites cannot be used as a permanent address because of local planning rules and the licence it holds. This means that sometimes when UC requests evidence of fees and contract &/or contact the site, they see that it is a holiday home/can’t be the permanent address. This can lead to questions and sometimes problems. Both in terms of UC and in the wider context of the site being used as a residential place which the law may investigate potential breaches of planning and licensing conditions. This Citizens Advice page covers part of the issue with UC.

From an address PoV, not having a permanent address isn’t a problem for claiming UC because you can use a care of address.

Contact Citizens' Advice xxx

There is not a clear answer for this in terms of what UC will accept as a home. Plus if they accept you as a home owner you won’t get the housing element for site fees. It def can’t be a holiday let with weeks of the year you can’t be on site as you won’t be able to claim UC from there and this may also be classed as a deprivation of assets
Once the money comes through you’ll stand a better chance of private rent if you can put forward a years rent . If not the council will have to put you and dad in temporary accommodation until accommodation becomes available. You’ll have to pay for this though as you’d be over 16k
it’s a tricky one with no absolutes and difficult to do as they often don’t give you an answer until after the purchase etc

What a horribly stressful time for you . I’m in a very similar position myself with the family home sold but the equity still awaiting a court hearing before it can be split. My DD and I are currently in an HMO whilst the judge is on holiday (knowing that we were going to be homeless 3 months ago!). Is it worth taking the housing offered temporarily until a nicer rent comes up? Ours is not great but we’ve adjusted ok and know it’s not forever. Sending lots of hugs as I know it’s hideous. Xxx

The Renters' Rights Act changed what is allowed in terms of rent in advance.

Pretty sure you can’t live in a holiday park home year round, usually only 10 months of the year.

So a holiday park is just that, a holiday park which is not residential.
Even in private owners sites, you can only be on the site 10/11 months a year and proof of a residential address with a council tax bill each year is required.

Unfortunately, there are holiday home sites who are unscrupulous, tell people they can live on-site as their main home and just leave for X number of weeks per year. They do it just to get people’s money. They don’t care about the rules.

That's not what shes asking

Do not buy a caravan to live in on a holiday park. The sites dont have a licence for you to live in them unless its a residential site you will be at risk of losing your caravan if the council find out. Visit holiday park action group on Facebook for lots of useful info about caravan ownership

Please check the site licence and make sure you're not walking into a potentially troublesome situation. If the park is a holiday park, it is highly likely you need to have an alternative permanent address, as the holiday park cannot be your primary address. Our park has a maximum 3 week stay, and then you have to leave for minimum one night. This is due to its licence as a holiday park, not a residential park. Also check your groundrent - our site starts at just under £8k a year.
I hope you can find a solution that works for you and your child; what a worrying time. Best of luck.

Sadly op you will struggle to find options that alloe you to keep your £50k asset but allow you to claim uc in full.

If you buy a holiday park home you a) cannot legally live in it which is likely to cause issues b) holiday park homes devalue rapidly, you can only have one a few years before it becomes essentially worthless & sites wont accept it. You are pouring money away.

Do you have parents who'd be willing to buy a home with you & have mortgage in their name and you pay them back? You wouldnt be able to get housing element of UC though.

If your ex caused your mortgage arrears by not paying the mortgage whilst living there, maybe you need to reapply to the court to change the order for sale, as it has potentially harmed your future housing options. Where did you live whilst the court proceedings were ongoing and is there the chance to remain there?

What did the court propose would happen to your daughter’s housing on the sale of the house? It would be unusual for the court to have not considered this.

As the only? child of the family lives with you, I assume that you are receiving all the equity from the house sale? If not, you need to get some decent legal advice to see if it’s possible to return to court.

Unless you weren’t married, in which case I think the position can be less favourable. Were you married?