What happens when you retire if you rent privately?

[1stlifeline]

Just a quick question. If you have to sell your house then you dont qualify for council help and so have to, or choose to, rent from a private landlord. The rent is around 550 and so affordably whilst working but what happens when you retire and your income drops rapidly. Are you going to find yourself homeless or would you be able to get help?

[Joa]

When renting privately you may be entitled to Housing Benefit, regardless of age or work status. HB is an income- assessed benefit. If you are UK resident and have savings below certain level, you can apply and be awarded some payments towards your rent. These payments can be made directly to you, so the landlord doesn't have to be involved.
Please see for selection of links about HB:
Advicenow: independent law and rights advice, legal service providers, advice service alliance, UK - Search

Please do not dismiss the idea of getting help from the council just because you have sold your home. Get further advice from Community Legal Advice about your housing.

[1stlifeline]

Thank you JOA. At the moment it wouldny apply but I was just wondering what would happen in the future. Our house is for sale so we can get rid of the morgage and secured loan which are crippling us. We will be able to rent somewhere decent and still be better off each month. We have been looking at some of the new build apartments in the area and they are fantastic. What worries me is that in 10 years when I reach retirement age we will be managing on other halfs wage. (He is younger than me by 11 years so will be working after me although I hope to be able to carry on working for as lond as poss) My brother is disabled and unable to work and lost his home 8 months ago. He has found a place to rent but because he is on benefits the place is the pits but all he can afford.

I guess what Im really asking is. When the time comes where the rent may be unmanagable on our income and we apply for benefit could they turn round and say 'you can rent cheaper than that so find somewhere else' or, do they take it that as you have been renting long term and that is your home you can expect to stay put. We have been looking at the new build because if we rent a private house we may have to move on in a few years if they want to sell or use the property themselves. If we go into purpose built new flats then hopefully we could put down roots long term. I just dont want to find myself having to leave when our incone drops at retirement.

[Joa]

If i were you, I would hold on to property you own for as long as heavenly possible. This is because the security of standard tenancy is never great. You may find yourself having to move every 6 or 12 months (the standard tenancy periods) and there is no such thing as "putting your roots down" once you are a tenant. Please re-think your options carefully. Having to move, never knowing what in next 6 months, arguing over deposits, disrepairs etc not a future I would wish on anybody.
But if you have to move, and you apply for Housing Benefit, you will be assessed on your income and savings, which will be then compared to "local reference rent". LRR may be lower then your actual rent if your accommodation is more expensive then the average in your locality. The Rent Officers who seem to be oblivious to property market prices explosion decide what is appropriate local average rent. The outcome is that the assessment for benefit may not calculated on your real rent but on the LRR, leaving you to pick up the difference.
Often though the LRR equals the actual rent.
Please check this link for more info:
DWP - Advisers - Technical guidance - RR2 - What you can claim for
and promise me you think verrrry carefully before you sell your home.

[1stlifeline]

Thanks Joa.

We have thought long and hard about it but there dosnt seem to be any option. We have a morgage and secured loan on it (we should NEVER have taken the loan out but hindsight is a wonderful thing and I hadnt found this site then!) The payments are crippling us every month and we have also got other debts and people threatening to put charges on the house and force us to sell. At the moment we are struggling to make every payment on the house and have had a repossession hearing , the outcome was a suspeded order as long as we keep paying. The thing is that if we sold and then rented we would be about 300 a month better off. I really dont want to let the house go but cant see an alternative.
Also, I divorced my ex and now live with a new partner who is 11 years younger than me so the morgage has only been running 7 years and so will be round our necks till Im nearly 70. I cant see a way round this without selling, not if we are ever to have any quality of life again.