My Girlsfriends benefit has been refused, I have to cover her expenses?

bielzabob

I need some advice please,
my girlfriend was made redundant and applied for housing benefit, we rent a flat together.

However this was refused on the grounds that i make enough money to cover the rent on my own, the problem is that i have other payments coming out as well and left alone i would quickly be in debt (even cutting down to the essentials)

surely this is not right though? as i understood it we are not married and therefore hold no financial responsibility to each other.
I have heard that i may be eligible for working credits, though when i checked i am not over 25 and have no children so i would also be refused that.

If anybody has ANY help at all then please share, i starting to panic over this.

Horace

If your girlfriend was made redundant - has she signed on for jobseekers allowance? If she gets jobseekers then she may then get some housing benefit. If she hasnt applied for jobseekers allowance then she needs to do so pronto.

If she is living with you as your partner then your earnings would be taken into consideration if she has said that you are her partner.

bielzabob

what's the chances of them believing we broke up then? We've tried the honest route and that got us into trouble. sometimes to survive you need to tell porkies?

woody01

bielzabob wrote: »

what's the chances of them believing we broke up then? We've tried the honest route and that got us into trouble. sometimes to survive you need to tell porkies?

Tell the truth or not only will you be skint, but also have a criminal record.

Benefit fraud is rife and they are hot on catching people.
All you need is for someone to make a phone call and you will be hauled into court.

diddlydum

If she's living with as your partner, which she is, then the couple's income is taken into account when working out how much benefit she's entitled to. You're expected to be looking after each other, seeing as you're living together 'as man and wife'.

You say that you're under 25. If your partner is also under 25 it's touch and go whether she'll have been working long enough to claim JSA based on her NI contributions. If she doesn't have enough NI contributions she'll only be able to claim JSA based on your joint income, so she won't get that either.

You're responsible for her until she finds work. That's what being in a relationship is all about.

angel13

you are a couple so the claim has to be joint so she shouldnt have tried claiming without you anyhow? i guess she was refused as its not a legit claim???
We have huge rent and now on just one wage as i was made redundant and we now qualify for a small amount of housing benefit and council tax help. as for working families tax credit even if you get it (as we do) thats then shown as income and cuts down how much rent and council tax help you get so you are best off just trying to get some rent help initially.

angel13

btw i had to use redundancy pay to cover our rent for 9 months before we actually qualified for help - ie we got nothing until we were literally broke. and i have a child to support too.

diddlydum

If you say you've broken up, you'll need to prove it. You'll need to prove you have nothing to do with each other anymore.

That means:
separate bank accounts;
separate food shops;
separate bedrooms;
separate daily lives.

If they think you're lying, they'll investigate you to see what's happening. So if you're seen in public holding hands, kissing or even going to the pictures together, they'll (quite rightly) get you and your partner for benefit fraud.

zzzLazyDaisy

If you really expect the state to support your partner, then to be honest its not much of a relationship.

If her not paying her way is an issue for you, it would be best if she moves out and gets a room in a shared house (this is all she is entitled to at her age). LHA will pay her rent provided it is below the upper limit for your area, and she will qualify for council tax benefit.

That leaves you with the house house to yourself. From what you say, you won't be entitled to state support on your earnings. So you'll just have to pay your way.... which is really what the issue is, isn't it? You are looking for state support when actually, you are above the earnings limit.

Sorry to sound harsh, but really you need to decide whether you want to be in a mature relationship with all that entails, or whether you'd rather be single.

vegankris

You have my sympathy- I'm in a similar situation(with a few complications) where I have to support my OH, and my single part-time income really isn't enough to pay all the bills either, so we're going to be in debt within a few months if either I don't get a second job or he finds a job in time.

Sadly the information you've been given is right enough, and they don't seem to take individual circumstances much into consideration. I can certainly see why somebody might be tempted to lie when it all seems so very unfair, although I wouldn't risk it.

What are your other expenses?

Have you been to the citizens advice bureau yet at all?

You may be entitled to a discount off your council tax if one person isn't earning anything, so that's perhaps worth looking into.

Oldernotwiser

vegankris wrote: »

You have my sympathy- I'm in a similar situation(with a few complications) where I have to support my OH, and my single part-time income really isn't enough to pay all the bills either, so we're going to be in debt within a few months if either I don't get a second job or he finds a job in time.

Sadly the information you've been given is right enough, and they don't seem to take individual circumstances much into consideration. I can certainly see why somebody might be tempted to lie when it all seems so very unfair, although I wouldn't risk it.

What are your other expenses?

Have you been to the citizens advice bureau yet at all?

You may be entitled to a discount off your council tax if one person isn't earning anything, so that's perhaps worth looking into.

You don't get discounts off council tax unless someone's a student. Council tax benefit is means tested.

Individual circumstances are taken into account but only from a financial point of view; how could any organisation assess whether a couple in a sexual relationship are living as husband and wife or whether they're just shacked up together for convenience? The assumption is that people who are living together are partners, with all that this entails.