Had a query from a client. He and his partner live in a rented council property. Their owned property in another area is up for sale. Two questions.
1) Can the property up for sale be excluded as capital for a period to allow it to be sold if so for how long?
2) Can they use the proceeds of the sale to purchase their council house or is this deprivation of capital?
I've looked in DMG but think i may be missing something.

1. If there is evidence that the property is on the market with one or more estate agents then it can be disregarded for up to 26 weeks, or longer at the discretion of the DM, depending on the circumstances. This is important in a market where there are no buyers ..

2. If sold, the proceeds can be disregarded for up to 26 weeks if the stated intention is to use it to purchase another property. Purchasing the LA property you live in would not be deprivation: with discount, it would be a smart move in fact.

Out of curiousity, how did they manage to get a LA property whilst owning another...?

Thanks. Is there are DMG ref or offical guidance i can quote on what you have said?
The guy's wife is very ill, so i assume they got a LA property because of their needs.

Thanks

I may be missing something, but I can find no disregard in the Pension Credit disregards schedule (or the equivalent for housing/ct benefits) for the proceeds of sale of a house. There is a disregard for monies paid to a person for the sole purpose of enabling them to buy a house, but I read that as meaning from another person who imposes that condition on them.

The equivalent regs in HB are below - courtesy of Rightsnet Toolkit....


Capital assets disregarded for 26 weeks
W1.200 The capital assets listed below are disregarded for 26 weeks or, if it is reasonable in the particular circumstances of the case, for a longer period decided by the LA

any premises acquired and intended for occupation by the claimant as their home. The disregarded period begins on the date the premises are acquired
HB Sch 6 Para 2; CTB Sch 5 Para 2

any sum received from the sale of the former home which is to be used to buy a new home. The disregarded period begins on the date the sale of the former home was completed
HB Sch 6 Para 3; CTB Sch 5 Para 3

Am I being obtuse, then, or is this discussion posted in the wrong place? Becasue it is in the "pension credit" forum, I had assumed that the query was about someone of pension credit age; those are the HB/CTB regs I was referring to.

If the subject of the enquiry is under pension credit age then I agreee with you!

.......1. If there is evidence that the property is on the market with one or more estate agents then it can be disregarded for up to 26 weeks, or longer at the discretion of the DM, depending on the circumstances. This is important in a market where there are no buyers .......

The equivalent to the above Reg in Pension Credit is to be found in the DMG Chapter 84 - sections 84656 to 84665. The actual regulation is SPC Regs - sched V - part 1 - para 7.

This allows for the property to be disregarded as capital whilst up for sale - if all other things are equal and the claimant qualifies for PGC then they will qualify for full HB/CTB.

With regard to the disregard of capital being proceeds from the sale of a property, whiklst not delvinginto the regs again, it would be perverse and totally illogical not to carry over the existing I/S regs into PC.......


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Thanks Mike.