Thank ypu for your response. I have never had to claim any benefits before and this is all new to me. I did ,of course, know that I would need to declare all assets,including the rental properties. Although they are worth more than £16000 cut off limit, the outstanding mortgages on them outweigh their market value. In addition they are in the North of England and we know no-one as all our life has been spent in Essex, where we have the support of our family. The stress of the last few years has affected my wife quite badly and I dont think we could face a move away from all we know at this time in our lives. We were hoping there may be another solution

Can anyone offer some advice please. Until a couple of years ago I owned my own house and ran a successful business in Essex. I also bought 4 properties in the north of england which were rented out and managed by an agent. They all have mortgages on them. Due to the recession my business failed and rather than go bankrupt, I sold my house to pay off my debts and now live in a rented flat with my wife. However the houses are all in negative equity and the rental income just about manges to pay the mortgages and agent fees. I am 60 and have been unable to find any employment that is not zero hours and have not earned anything in over 6 months. My wife has a part time job which doesnt even cover our rent of £750 per month. We have now gone through nearly all of the money we had left from the sale of our house, down to under £2000 now . Would we be able to claim Housing Benefit?