Advice on buying property for adult child please

[Penny]

Hi - haven't been on for a while but I wondered if anyone could point me in the right direction please.

We have a daughter with learning difficulties (in her twenties) who lives at home. She gets her DLA and Incapacity Benefit but would like a little job really and lately keeps on about getting her own place. Obviously we would love this too but it may be some time off because she HATES being alone and she would need lots of help.

Anyway, just recently a weeny little place VERY close to our house came on the market and I wondered whether it might be worth doing some sums etc. I knew someone a few years ago in a similar position (but we've lost touch) and they managed to buy a small house which they rented out for several years until she was able to live alone. I seem to remember they didn't put it in daughter's name because she would have lost all her benefits etc.

Now, I am basically an honest person so I don't want to "cheat" as it were. However, when I look back over her life I have had to FIGHT for every single thing and, as everyone on here will understand, it is absolutely draining. Ed Psychs, Teachers, GPS, Nurses, benefits, college courses, funding, appeals etc and now Job Centres and various agencies trying to get help finding her a little job.

We paid off our mortgage about a year ago so we do have some spare cash for the first time in our lives!!

Where shall I start looking? I just don't know what direction to go in really - although I'm sure I can't be the first to be considering this.

I would LOVE her to have a little job, her own place and no financial worries when we're no longer around. Thanks in advance.

[charles47]

I'm aware of carers who have been in this position before. You need to check this with a specialist in benefits in case of changes to the rules but in a couple of cases they bought the property and arranged a rental agreement through an estate agent. This puts it on a proper business footing where the rent is commercial and goes through a commercial agency. This was perfectly legal a couple of years ago and I don't know of any changes - but do check it out first. You never know!

[Papasmurf]

Not sure of the legalities about this rental Charles but if a rental agreement was drawn up I wouldn't have thought you would need to go through am estate agent. As long as a commercial rent was charged, (check with council what this could be, they have department to deal with landlords) and that is then declared to the Taxman then I would not be wanting to pay a percentage each year to the estate agent when they haven't even found the tenant!

Most estate agents find tenants and a Shorthold Tenancy Agreement is then made up. It sounds as if, if it is the right way to go Penny, that an Assured Tenancy Agreement is a better route. That would give your daughter legal rights for the rent to be controlled by a Rent Tribunal.

Penny you need to look into this from a legal standpoint, maybe advice from a solicitor would be in order.

[g.herschel]

Iam no expert bur what about things like claims for say housing benefit ?

[charles47]

Not sure of the legalities about this rental Charles but if a rental agreement was drawn up I wouldn't have thought you would need to go through am estate agent. As long as a commercial rent was charged, (check with council what this could be, they have department to deal with landlords) and that is then declared to the Taxman then I would not be wanting to pay a percentage each year to the estate agent when they haven't even found the tenant!

Most estate agents find tenants and a Shorthold Tenancy Agreement is then made up. It sounds as if, if it is the right way to go Penny, that an Assured Tenancy Agreement is a better route. That would give your daughter legal rights for the rent to be controlled by a Rent Tribunal.

Penny you need to look into this from a legal standpoint, maybe advice from a solicitor would be in order.

It's because of the Housing Benefit angle that it has to be a commercial arrangement, brokered through an independent company such as an Estate Agent - otherwise it's treated as a fiddle, basically. As I said, though - get up to date advice on this.

[g.herschel]

Charles our flat costs £580 per month and we are ok with that no rise since we moved in just over 3 years ago but council have said for housing benefit the rent should be £380 per month the old doll does get housing benefit on her half but what annoys me is our flat is 2 bedroom in block of 4 mind you they are good flats and very good landlord but my brother has council semi 3 bedrooms and he only pays £210 per month his neighbour same type of house 3 bed semi has like me received a letter from council saying his rent for housing benefit should be £360 per month so why dont the coucil charge the right amount .

hope you can understand what iam trying to say we can only claim benefit up to the £380 per month yet we actualy pay £580

brothers neighbour pays £210 per month but can claim benefit up to £360 and he has a better home

wish i had not started this chat iam confused

[charles47]

The benefit system IS confusing, George!

Ever since the benefits system truly started in the early 1900s, the government has tinkered with it and played with it and it is now a patchwork quilt of humongous proportions, which is why most advisers will always check through the manuals for anything slightly out of the ordinary.

Where the Housing Benefit rules come in, it gets even more strange. The government, over a number of years, has made it harder for people to have their full rent paid - because the rent is "too high" or because a person lives alone, etc. It's important to find out why they are not paying the full amount - it may be because of income, or it may be because of the rent being too high. You might want to get someone to work out whether they have calculated it correctly...just in case they owe you any more.

[g.herschel]

OURS IS OK MAINLY BECAUSE MY MOTHERS WAR PENSIONS WHICH ARE ABOUT £1-600 PER MONTH ARE DISREGARDED SO SHE ONLY HAS STATE PENSION OF £35 PER WEEK DUE TO OVERLAPING BENEFITS BUT AS WE ARE JOINT TENNANTS I HAVE TO PAY MY HALF AND POOR OLD ME I GET NOWT.


THANKS FOR HELP AND CO-OPERATION

GEORGE