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Will help to take on a mortgage improve your life?

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There has been a great deal of publicity this week about the government’s plans to help claimants to take on a mortgage.  However, no-one seems to have asked claimants what they think of the idea . . . so we thought we would.   Please take part in the poll below.

The plans announced include:

  • Extending the right to buy to 2.5 million housing association tenants.
  • Turning ‘benefits to bricks’. This proposal involves changing benefits rules so that the 1.5 million people who are in work but also on housing benefit will be given the choice to use their benefit towards a mortgage, rather than automatically going directly to private landlords and housing associations.
  • Changing universal credit (UC) rules so that claimants can save more than £16,000 without it affecting their UC, so long as they put it in a Lifetime ISA to go towards a deposit on a house.
  • A review of the mortgage market to try and increase availability of low cost, low deposit finance such as 95% mortgages.

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Thérèse Coffey said:

“For too many people the aspiration to own their home has been taken away. By turning benefits to bricks, we are opening the door to home ownership for those on the lowest incomes.

 “By removing barriers and allowing people on benefits to save into a Lifetime ISA, they will be incentivised to put aside a deposit to buy their home.

 “And we are also giving people the choice to use their benefit towards their mortgage rather than on rent that pays a buy-to-let landlord.”

Will these new ideas improve your life?  Vote in our poll and leave a comment to explain why you voted the way you did.

 

 You can read more about the government’s mortgage plans in their press release.

Comments

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  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    Palg
    · 2 years ago
    I am a Housing Benefit assessor and I do not think that is viable. There is a reason for mortgage payments never been allowed by HB legislation
  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    C. Gallagher
    · 2 years ago
    I can't see having a mortgage, will help anyone. I had a mortgage years ago when I was working and it was the most stressful thing ever. Never knowing if interest rates would rise. Being on a low income would freak me out completely now I'm disabled.
  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    Caz
    · 2 years ago
    It would be helpful to have benefits taken into account however I can’t see many mortgage companies going for that and for the majority of benefit claimants I can’t see it helping service a mortgage. If the aim is for those in social rented housing to purchase their property again I can see it being useful but then the country loses rented  social housing. Rental & property prices are climbing all the time.
  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    Erik
    · 2 years ago
    I agree with previous comments that this could end badly for the disabled and others on long-term support if the goalposts are moved later or something else happens to screw people over.

    Also, all this talk about 95% mortgages and letting people use Housing Benefit / UC payments for a mortgage is all a moot point anyway because we still can't get a mortgage for the average priced property in this country. As a disabled person my monthly income is about £1060 UC + £400 part-time employment and according to Barclays' mortgage calculator they will only give me about £55k, which means I could purchase up to about £68k with the 5-10% deposit. Well, in England if you are lucky you can buy one of the few bottom-of-the-market one bedroom flats for about £60k with that. I couldn't even have the basic luxury of a 1-2 bedroom bungalow with garden, as they tend to be in the £100-150k range at least.

    So the idea that disabled people can become homeowners and have the extra security of owning their home and not being able to be evicted is still a pipe dream that is not achievable for most of us.
  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    Alan A
    · 2 years ago
    Apart from taking on the mortgage payments, the "new homeowners" will need to budget for any day to day repairs and annual maintenance requirements.  In addition the mortgage provider will no doubt require that the property is fully insured.  A furtperson buying the property loses their benefits.  Also would benefits keep up with any changes in mortgage interest rates?
  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    Helen C
    · 2 years ago
    Using HB towards mortgage payments only seems to be for those in work.  I am unable work so it doesn't help me at all.
    Selling off even more social housing is insane when there is already a massive shortage of this type of housing.
  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    Gail
    · 2 years ago
    It would of helped us years ago. We have been through alot of heartache trying to keep our house because of my long term illness and disability. The government would not give us anything towards our mortgage to help, when if we were renting they would have had to pay out alot more because of the renyal market being so much more expensive and gap is getting wider. They would rather pay some stranger more than double , dead money effectively, than pay a little off your mortgage to keep your roof over head, and one less familu homeless and needing to find alternative emergency accomodation for, and believe me , we thought that was going to happen a few times. We were only saved by an inheritance and now, I thank god, and appreciate my home every day, that it is now fully ours. Thank you government for nothing!!! 
  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    Sarah
    · 2 years ago
    How on earth does this plan help people who cannot work because of disability when benefits already fail to meet basic needs? It just encourages selfishness because there will yet again be even less homes at genuinely affordable rents for the many, including families with children, who desperately need them. But hey, home owners are more likely to vote Tory so money well spent by this rancid government!
    • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
      P Willson
      · 2 years ago
      @MrFibro Oh I think it has been very well planned out by the tories. They are wanting you to use the money they give you now in housing benefits to buy a property. Then when you need help with care in the future they will use your home to fund your care . So really it’s like a savings plan they are putting money in now but they will want it back later 
    • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
      MrFibro
      · 2 years ago
      @Sarah Hi Sarah,

      This is a typical tory carrot being dangled at the low incomers of our society.

      It's purpose is get more votes at bye elections, and the coming GE in 2024.

      It has not been planned thoroughly out by the Tories, it will cause more misery and harm to our lower incomed society.
  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    nona
    · 2 years ago
    Rent to buy will reduce rental stock as it did under Thatcher and is open to abuse.  Additionally it is not feasible to sell a house at 70% market value and housing associations will need to be recompensed for the loss from the public purse.

    If a person is renting a house and gets housing benefit for the rent, how can he keep the benefit towards a deposit and continue to pay rent from it? Its not likely that the benefit will increase to incorporate both rent and deposit. It is unrealistic to expect no rent to be payable.  What happens when they buy the house and have to pay the mortgage repairs etc - would they still get housing benefit to pay the mortgage and this at a time of cost of living crisis.

    The ability to save a substantial amount in an ISA may help people like my grandson who lives at home,but I would be concerned about what happens if he had saved a lot but is still unable to afford to buy a house as the housing market will always rise.  He may lose UC or even have to repay it.


  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    SD
    · 2 years ago
    Totally support it! I know it won’t suit everyone but having a home that I could potentially own and pass down to my children would be wonderful. Why shouldn’t benefits be seen as income to
    secure a mortgage. I agree with many other who have posted about mediocre repairs on properties so you are reluctant to fork out of your own pocket because ultimately it’s not yours! Knowing you could buy the place might discourage others from trashing properties simply because they don’t care. I’ve have personally seen these too many times, beautiful properties are given to people and they ruin them. Their behaviour towards their neighbour and property is disparaging at best. Plus being able to own your home might give you the chance to sell and leave neighbours where antisocial behaviour is rife! I endured 10 years of hell at the hands of neighbours and even had symptoms of PTSD. We should have the right to progress if our personal circumstances allow it and maybe it will be the incentive for others to aspire to buying out their HA Home. 
    • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
      MrFibro
      · 2 years ago
      @SD Hi SD,

       so the disabled people in our society, who live also in social housing homes, and through no fault of their own have become disabled and had worked most of their lives, should surely be allowed to have a mortgage paid for by their HB right if it's no then that's blatant discrimination once again to disabled people of Britain.
    • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
      Caz
      · 2 years ago
      @SD Only, if you are unlucky enough to have care needs when older, then the property will be used to pay for those, so handing down to your children may not be an option 
  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    Stephen Baxter
    · 2 years ago
    People on Social Security are already treated badly when seeking to rent a property by Landlords. I think it unlikely lenders will be attracted to someone with a low and uncertain income. The Government is on cloud nine!
  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    Sheila Burton
    · 2 years ago
    What would change my life is improving access to and more social housing NOT encouraging more people to increase their personal debt. 

  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    elizabeth
    · 2 years ago
    I'm a Council tenant and a pensioner it will do nothing to help
    • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
      MrFibro
      · 2 years ago
      @elizabeth elizabeth exactly it wont help you, or millions of disabled people to be able to buy their own home with housing benefits.

      sadly but reality is, its called discrimination, and we have to suffer again.
  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    Sue
    · 2 years ago
    I have lived in my home for 13 years, the repairs are always behind schedule, the do the bare minimum. The hose has been flooded on two occasions and they patch the work and I have to redecorate at my own expense. I would like a conservatory, not allowed. I want to own my house but, on disability, this has never been an option. I know there will be a catch as I think there is no benefit offer by the Government that does not have a catch. I think that the discount should be 50% if you have been living in a property for 12 years or more. and 80 percent if you have lived there over 20 years. I believe that the rent and home improvements should bring a hefty reduction. I am certain the reduction will be follow by hefty taxes on home owners or some other deceitful nonsense as soon as we buy them but, I think we all should have an option. I have been maintaining my home for years but, it's not mine. The jungle that the presented as a garden is tamed and beautiful, but it's not mine, I would love to see that change with a small mortgage for 15 years or so. The interest should be no greater than the rate we receive for our savings. That is my uptopia, doubt very much if it will happen.
    • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
      Stephen Baxter
      · 2 years ago
      @Sue First I agree that many landlords provide a poor service to their customers. Mortgage lenders are very selective in who they lend to and that may well exclude a significant proportion of those in principal could purchase a property that they rent. Next is the property under consideration in good condition ie what does a surveyor say and how much will it cost for repairs?
      There a lot better ways to help those on Social Security and a good starting point would to treat people with care, compassion and generosity. 
  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    Tony Greenstein
    · 2 years ago
    We should be totally opposed to this.  Selling off council houses was an absolute disaster reducing local authorities stock of housing for people who are homeless, i.e. claimants.  Most of it found its way to private landlords and buy to let schemes.

    Destroying Housing Association stock will compound this.  And why the need to buy your housing association house anyway?  If you go into care it will be taken from you anyway.

    It's not just the present occupants one needs to think of but future occupants.

    If the government were really interested in helping claimants with housing they would introduce rent controls and security of tenure and abolish s.20 of the housing Act
    • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
      Pete
      · 2 years ago
      @Tony Greenstein I am sympathetic to rent controls but the evidence suggests that they don't work but no doubt would help some people. 

      We do kinda already have them for social housing but that's a bit different. 
    • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
      Stephen Baxter
      · 2 years ago
      @Tony Greenstein Tony,
      I agree with a lot that you say.
  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    Steve vizard
    · 2 years ago
    Having a mortgage is a big commitment. If payments aren't made you can loose your house.
    I could  be very stressful.  Unless you have lots of money. I would advise to look into it.   Like how long would you be paying your mortgage for.
    Also house and buildings insurance.

  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    louise
    · 2 years ago
    Not many people receive housing benefit anymore,  a recent change to uc from esa stopped mine! Now I get "housing costs paid via uc, and deducted from it). Why can only working people do this? Surely my rent of approx £400 a month would cover a mortgage.  And also why is there a need to pay into a lifetime ISA,? A mortgage on my property ( with discount applied) of approx 25 years  would be approximately £200 per month so I could cut that to 12.5 years if I continued to pay the same amount as my rent! And then my children would have an asset to use to start to buy thier own property. 
  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    Alison
    · 2 years ago
    If tenants are struggling to pay their rent, where is the rest of the money coming from to pay additional costs of running a household?
  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    Just me
    · 2 years ago
     This who;e idea is doomed to put us back into a resecion like under Thatcher and then the banking crises caused by the USA by giving out laons to ppl who couldn't really pay etc. So while I love the idea we know for anyone on benefit we will more than likely lose everything, all it would take is 1 or 2 sanctions and people would lose their homes for sure and this is even more likely due to the way any benefit claimant is treated and deomonised 
  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    Klaus
    · 2 years ago
    Sure, it is a great idea. Put chains on already disadvantage and in the future introduce policies to take the properties back. 'You will own nothing and be happy'

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