Forced to move home due to disability - can partner get assistance??

I-Owe-You · 27 January 2010 at 2:46PM

Hello all,

I'd really appreciate your advise.

Both me & My partner work full time (both earn around 17k a year each)
We lived together in a one bedroom flat on the 2nd floor which is unlifted for around a year. I am disabled (Meniere's disease) and progressively transfers and stairs became a struggle on my bad days. Getting in and out of our flat became a problem for me as there our no lift facilities...we decided reluctantly that I should move back with my parents who are on the ground floor until we can find somewhere more appropriate. (we are now on the council waiting list but unfortunately working, childless couples are not deemed priority in my borough!)

Anyway, My partner continues to live in this flat on his own and the rent is £860 a month (supposedly subsidised as he is a keyworker) & £1200 a year in council tax... He has two children from a previous relationship which he pays £300 a month to his ex partner and everything is civil and fantastic there.

Money is really tight, I do help out where I can and am also in receipt of DLA. My partner has been my rock through my recent health deteriration and whilst he has never complained, I know the change in MY situation is beginning to have an affect on him, especially financially...which is upsetting for me. I hate that fact he is penalised because of my disability (I am also profoundly deaf)

I am new to benefits, neither of us, nor our parents have ever claimed before. Can someone tell me whenever my partner would be entitled to any financial support, as we no longer live together at present although remain "a couple?"

He is quite a proud person, and as we come from an area where a lot of people take advantage of the benefit system, and perhaps use it as a way of life, it would take a lot for him to ask about finacial assistance... I am angry at him for this as we have both worked since leaving school (I still work despite my disabilities)

Because we are in a relationship and both working would the onus be on me to also pay a % of the bills? As I said I do help out where I can, but cannot afford to pay 50% of rent for somewhere I am not living. (as well as pay my parents for my keep at their house) Would I be expected to pay for the flat by the DWP?

Before you tell my partner to move house, we live in London so most rent is astronomical unless you are able to get social housing (which we wont - we have tried for prioritisation on health grounds) My partner is also a nurse at the local hospital so we need to stay within the local area for work. To address our frustration further we also spent a small fortune on furniture and decoration (although I know this is the least of our worries - just frustrating)

Can my partner claim any benefits as a short term solution until we find or are offered somewhere suitable - or are we penalised as we are a couple who both work full time, despite no longer living together?

I just want to stress that I didnt just move out and leave my partner in the lurch, we wanted to stay living together but it became psychically impossible for me. We decided together and agreed that I would be best off back at my parents..

Any advise would be appreciated. Thank you in advance.

Jowo_2 · 27 January 2010 at 2:57PM

If you are not a tenant at your boyfriend's property and don't have a lodgers agreement, there is no obligation for you to contribute to the rent.

Put your partners details into the Entitled To website to understand if he is eligible for any benefits, such as LHA. At the very least, he should get a 25% discount for council tax.

£860 is still a high rent for a 1 bed flat in London and he should look to find cheaper accommodation. If he cannot afford the £300 contribution to his children, then this is something that could be looked into.

Run your circumstances past Shelter to understand if your application for social housing is being correctly assessed and make sure you apply to all the relevant housing associations, too.

Jowo_2 · 27 January 2010 at 3:25PM

Wow. I've just had a look at a PAYE calculator - your partner earns around £1150 after tax but his rent is £860 and his council tax will be around £100, plus he's paying his ex £300 pcm towards the cost of his children.

His monthly outgoings are greater than his income - just those 3 expenses exceed his income, and don't include utility bills, telecoms/tv, travel and food which are going to be at least a few hundred pounds more.

He should think about finding cheaper accommodation, even a room in a shared flat or a studio flat, rather than spend 80% of his income on his rent. This is a shocking ratio and must be one of the main reasons he is struggling.

This is really quite a simple matter of your boyfriend living outside of his means and he needs to change his circumstances to ensure his outgoings are in step with his income.

karenx · 27 January 2010 at 4:55PM

Can I just say well done on continuin to work full time despite being disabled! Alot of people would of given up long time ago and just went on benefits!

bunny999 · 27 January 2010 at 5:19PM

Why is he only earning £17k - this seems very low for a nurse in London. I've got a friend who is a nurse in London (very experienced) and she earns well over £30k. Has he considered doing extra agency work - it can be very well paid.
If he is going to go on living on his own he really needs to move to a cheaper place - probably a flatshare.

Best wishes

I-Owe-You · 27 January 2010 at 6:11PM

Hello all,

Thank you for your replies.

My apologies, my partner is a nursing assistant - he has been the past 6 years. Hense why wages are not particuarly great - he is not a fully qualified nurse.

He/we have looked at other properties; at lot of the keyworker schemes are flat shares or shared kitchens with studio/box rooms...certaintly most are also in high rise blocks and without disabled access.

I know it is a case of needs must, but he is used to having his own space and has acumilated many possessions. I would feel tremediously guilty if he had to revert back to living like a student in his late 30s because of me.

Standard one bedroom private rental is around £900 a month for our area... and social housing is impossible as childless couples are never a priority. (We live in a high area for jobless single parents claiming benefits)

I have applied for priority due to my disabilities, but have been turned down despite these non-medical assessors never coming to visit me, and despite having various confirmation of my condition from my specialists and GP.

My name is and has never been on the tennancy agreement of the flat he is currently living in the (the one we lived in together) so perhaps he is elidgable for council tax assistance.

It makes me angry that jobless people on state hand outs can live comfortably in 3 bedroom council housing when we both work and are stuggling due to my disability which is brought on through no fault of my own.

Thanks Karenx - sometimes I wonder if I am better off working. I am sick of paying £7 monthly for my perscription which I need - just because I work!

Thank you very much for your advice and taking the time to respond to me, I will speak to my partner about claiming council tax benefit to assist with our troubles. Hopefully in appealing for council housing their original decition will be revised.

Thanks again, and best wishes.

bunny999 · 27 January 2010 at 6:22PM

It sounds as if your best option would be to get a flat together. What area are you in now? Have you considerd a different area ? You can get flats in Walthamstow from about £600 a month. Other parts of East London are also relatively cheap. Have look on www.rightmove.co.uk .

Jowo_2 · 27 January 2010 at 7:43PM

The crux of the matter is that your boyfriend has a lifestyle he can't afford and he will be entitled to little or no state support. There will be hundreds of rooms, bedsits and studios within 5 miles of his work that are more in line with his budget or further afield for the cost of a bicycle.

Therefore his only options are to increase his income and decrease his expenses - the only changes that can stop burdening him must be done at the personal level since the state is not going to help him with his unsustainable lifestyle.

Since the rental property is frankly completely unaffordable, he should find a property that is more suited to his income. He should take responsibility for the rather poor decision in finding accommodation that swallows up most of his income. He can put his goods into storage. Paying to decorate and furnish a place on top of an unaffordable lifestyle also strikes me as a dumb move.

It isn't your fault he has chosen an expensive property far outside of his budget, so don't feel guilty. I think the rule of thumb is that the outgoing on rent should not exceed around a third of a tenants income. He may be able to free up 50% of his income once he gets rid of the albatross of a property whose rent and council tax take up 90% of his net earnings.

It is the accommodation that's the bottleneck. He may well be paying the average rate for the 1 bed in the area but he can't afford this on his low salary so will have to live away from his place of work or move into a cheaper (therefore smaller) digs.

Being envious of those in social housing is a waste of time and energy - he needs to slash his outgoings and/or get a better paying job and you need to stop being wistful about state support which isn't likely to materialise for your boyfriend who needs to get over his sense of of entitlement to having a place of his own near to his work but doesn't have the means to pay for it.

Perhaps on a joint basis you could find a ground floor property together for similar or less cost to what he is paying for his flat now - you'd have a joint monthly income of around £2300, plus your DLA (guestimate of approx £220 pcm) and the bills will be much more affordable split across two people. How is your search going for this? good luck.

Jomo · 27 January 2010 at 8:52PM

I think in this case your boyfriend should move to a less expensive area or you could both share a ground flat together?

rockinrob · 28 January 2010 at 12:46AM

He might be able to claim LHA for help with his rent and CTB for his council tax as long as he has no savings above £6000

Speak to the Local Authority in his area I believe the allowances are quite high in London due to the Broad Market Rental Allowance

At least seek advice outside of this forum as there are a lot of crolls(sic) on here who love to vent and judge

Good luck to you always

Robbie x

Indie_Kid · 28 January 2010 at 1:11AM

rockinrob wrote: »

He might be able to claim LHA for help with his rent and CTB for his council tax as long as he has no savings above £6000

I believe he can also claim it's over £6k and under £16k? But it gets reduced after £6k. (£1 for every £250 or part of)

Forced to move home due to disability - can partner get assistance??

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