Sale of a jointly owned house due to hardship.

A relative bought a house jointly with a girl friend on a mortgage. The property has equity although the mortgage is in arrears as they had been only paying off interest. 2 years ago at 62, he suffered a heart attack and brain damage so is unable to work again and is on PIP only. He cannot claim any other benefit as he is seen as 'owning a house'. He was totally neglected whilst under her care and we had to bring him to stay with us on, which now appears to be the long-term as she is refusing to sell the house. Their relationship has broken down. He has no money except this benefit as his capital went into buying the house so consequently is suffering financially and having to accept our help. I am registering made his POA and Social Services have told me to get the house sold as he can have no help till this happens. She refuses to sell and has moved in tenants to live with her to pay the bills. There are no children and she is in her mid 50's. I cannot fund his legal fees. Can we get the house sold as he is suffering severe hardship. There should be at least £70k equity in the house and I am waiting for a mortgage statement to show the position with the mortgage. How can I proceed as I am out of my depth.

Welcome to Wikivorce.

If the other joint owner won't agree to a sale, then you may have to consider making an application to court and request that the court orders the sale of the house. You (and your relative) would really benefit from specialised legal advice about this situation, both about your relative's option and where he stands legally, and throughout the complicated process. I appreciate you can't afford to pay his legal fees; some solicitors may be willing to wait for payment until the sale has taken place and payment to be made out of his share of the proceeds.

Maybe Im not up to scratch on current benefits but if a person has cash (up to £16k I believe) they get help. If however as you say you might get £35k or spmewhere between that and the limit (£16k). That could stop benefits until the cash has reached below £16k.

On a more important level the other owner cannot have a secure tenancy with the tenants as a tenancy must be signed by both owners.
If however the 'tenants' are paying rent for a room under the 'rent a room scheme' then your friend is entitled to a share of this.
www.gov.uk/rent-room-in-your-home/the-rent-a-room-scheme

This means your friend is probably deemed to be getting an income and although this doesn't prevent him getting pip it might count against him getting benefits.

With reference to council tax a single occupant gets a discount so by taking in a rentaroom lodger the single owner is paying full council tax and your friend as owner might be affected.

You also add that his capital went into the house so the shares at point of sale might not be 50/50 and might be in your friends benefit.

PIP isn't a means tested benefit, so having a lump sum from the sale of the house shouldn't affect that benefit.

I thought equity in the family home did not count. You should be applying for ESA

The equity will only come into play when property is sold and then there will be more than 16k available.

That's my understanding.

It wouldn't count if the person was living in the property, however from the original post they have moved out, so it does count.

My mistake. I know benefits are a complicated business.