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Will owner-occupier service/maintenance charges be covered by HB or only by UC?
- Spaceman
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2 days 11 hours ago #303370 by Spaceman
Will owner-occupier service/maintenance charges be covered by HB or only by UC? was created by Spaceman
I'm thinking of buying my council flat so I can adapt it to make it safe for my disabilities, as the council has refused to help me for the last 12 years even after they settled a court case by admitting that it was unsafe for me. They've sent me an estimate of the service/maintenance charges for the next five years.
The charge for maintenance and services (excluding repairs and improvements) is £1,333.80/year. The service charge as a tenant is £572/year, so I'm not sure why this is nearly double for owner-occupiers, but maybe some of these charges are covered by the rent for tenants. I know that building insurance isn't eligible under UC.
The itemised repairs estimate is £231,000 over five years and my contribution would be £5,214.90. There is no estimate for non-itemised general repairs.
ibb.co/ZRpxQdPt
ibb.co/WvRCkdVG
The itemised improvements estimate is £354,000 over five years and my contribution would be £6,562.90. ibb.co/b5nnpxsL
ibb.co/kshkvmxW
ibb.co/bgVQG5dP
So the total would be £1,333.80 + £2,355.56 = £3689.36/year or £307.44/month.
Looking at the UC guidance and regulations, it appears that all these charges, other than building insurance, would be eligible under UC as the right to occupy the property depends on paying them, and they all come within Categories A-C in Schedule 1, paragraph 8 and none of them are accommodation-specific charges.
Schedule 5 paragraph 4 says that these housing costs are not payable in any period where the owner-occupier has any earned income, and paragraph 5 says they're not payable not for the first 9 months after making a claim for UC (at least I think that's what it means, but I'm not certain if that 9 month period restarts if the owner-occupier earns even £1).
At the moment, I'm still receiving HB and haven't heard anything about being migrated to UC, so my questions are:
1) will these charges be covered whilst I'm receiving HB?
2) when I'm migrated to UC, will these charges be covered straight away or will I have to be receiving UC for 9 months before they can be covered?
The charge for maintenance and services (excluding repairs and improvements) is £1,333.80/year. The service charge as a tenant is £572/year, so I'm not sure why this is nearly double for owner-occupiers, but maybe some of these charges are covered by the rent for tenants. I know that building insurance isn't eligible under UC.
The itemised repairs estimate is £231,000 over five years and my contribution would be £5,214.90. There is no estimate for non-itemised general repairs.
ibb.co/ZRpxQdPt
ibb.co/WvRCkdVG
The itemised improvements estimate is £354,000 over five years and my contribution would be £6,562.90. ibb.co/b5nnpxsL
ibb.co/kshkvmxW
ibb.co/bgVQG5dP
So the total would be £1,333.80 + £2,355.56 = £3689.36/year or £307.44/month.
Looking at the UC guidance and regulations, it appears that all these charges, other than building insurance, would be eligible under UC as the right to occupy the property depends on paying them, and they all come within Categories A-C in Schedule 1, paragraph 8 and none of them are accommodation-specific charges.
Schedule 5 paragraph 4 says that these housing costs are not payable in any period where the owner-occupier has any earned income, and paragraph 5 says they're not payable not for the first 9 months after making a claim for UC (at least I think that's what it means, but I'm not certain if that 9 month period restarts if the owner-occupier earns even £1).
At the moment, I'm still receiving HB and haven't heard anything about being migrated to UC, so my questions are:
1) will these charges be covered whilst I'm receiving HB?
2) when I'm migrated to UC, will these charges be covered straight away or will I have to be receiving UC for 9 months before they can be covered?
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- David
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1 day 22 hours ago #303383 by David
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
Replied by David on topic Will owner-occupier service/maintenance charges be covered by HB or only by UC?
Hi Spaceman
You are at present thinking about buying the flat. So I expect that exchange of contracts won't take place for several months by which time you will probably be on UC.
If you were to earn the illustrative £1 then yes the 9 month clock would restart again.
You will have to wait 9 months unless your new UC claim links with a New Style ESA or NS JSA claim.
I have not had any training on Housing Benefit rules on this so your research would be as good as mine.
Hope this helps
David
You are at present thinking about buying the flat. So I expect that exchange of contracts won't take place for several months by which time you will probably be on UC.
If you were to earn the illustrative £1 then yes the 9 month clock would restart again.
You will have to wait 9 months unless your new UC claim links with a New Style ESA or NS JSA claim.
I have not had any training on Housing Benefit rules on this so your research would be as good as mine.
Hope this helps
David
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
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