PIP & ESA - Buying home under Right to Buy Scheme

dewie123

Hi all. My mother in law has received an offer to buy her house under the Right to Buy Scheme. Myself and my husband (her son) are wanting to "gift" the money to her to do this via savings/part home owner loan, but we are wanting to know if this will affect her PIP and ESA. We know that her housing benefit will obviously stop, but unsure on anything else...or whether there is anything else that we need to be aware of that could cause issues with the benefits. Can anyone help?

DaveTheWasp

I'm not 100% sure, but I would have thought that this would only affect means tested benefits. I assume that the PIP would be unaffected as this benefit relates solely to how the condition affects her daily living.  I would have thought that the ESA would depend on whether she's receiving income-related ESA, which could be potentially be affected by savings/money received. 

There are people here that know a lot more about ESA, and hopefully someone will be able to give you some more info soon.

poppy123456

HI,

PIP isn't affected because it's not means tested. If she's claiming income related ESA then it would be better if you paid for it directly rather than "gifting" it to your mother.

If she's claiming Contributions based ESA then savings are not taken into consideration.

dewie123

Hi both. Thanks so much for your responses.
Her ESA is income based, so if I transferred the funds direct to solicitor instead of to her own account, that could potentially work? The solicitor has advised that I would need to sign a form to confirm I am "gifting" the money. Unsure what the best thing is to do. 

poppy123456

As long as the funds do not enter her bank account then yes it will be fine.

dewie123

Thanks so much for your help!! Enjoy the rest of your weekend 

dewie123

Hi @poppy123456

Sorry to bother you.
Just been looking on the gov website and it states "You cannot get income-related ESA if you have savings or investments worth over £16,000" 

Even if I pay the solicitor directly for the full cost of the house (34k) would still this be OK noting the above? I guess she would have an asset not investment but would this matter and cause issues with her income based ESA? 

poppy123456

The home you live in is not classed as capital for any means tested benefits.

dewie123

Again, thanks @poppy123456!!!! 

poppy123456

You're welcome