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advice needed on housing benefit

charlieparker
charlieparker Posts: 3 Newbie
edited 26 April 2010 at 1:02PM in Benefits & tax credits
help!!!
I'm in a really difficult situation, and wonder if anyone would know anything about this or have any advice they can offer. I own a property with my ex partner who i split up with last year, since then have had no permanant home.
I am in the process of trying to claim housing benefit to rent privately and now need to provide details of capital and am worried about how this will affect my claim, i am also on incapacity benefit due to a long term health problem. My ex partner still lives in the property and pays the mortgage. Can anyone offer any advice !!

Comments

  • zzzLazyDaisy
    zzzLazyDaisy Posts: 12,497 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    You should declare that you are a joint owner of a property, but that your ex partner lives in the house and pays the mortgage and all associated bills/costs.

    This should not prevent you from claiming LHA/HB as you are not expected to continue living in the house after the relationship has broken down.

    There may come a point when you are expected to put the house up for sale to release the cash locked up in it, but if there is little or no equity in the house, you should also state this.
    I'm a retired employment solicitor. Hopefully some of my comments might be useful, but they are only my opinion and not intended as legal advice.
  • AngelBadger
    AngelBadger Posts: 413 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    As above. There's a section at the back where you can explain certain details so if you fill out the capital section then at the back explain in full detail what is going on.
  • Macro_3
    Macro_3 Posts: 662 Forumite
    You should declare that you are a joint owner of a property, but that your ex partner lives in the house and pays the mortgage and all associated bills/costs.

    This should not prevent you from claiming LHA/HB as you are not expected to continue living in the house after the relationship has broken down.

    There may come a point when you are expected to put the house up for sale to release the cash locked up in it, but if there is little or no equity in the house, you should also state this.

    Not strictly true. The house can be disregarded for 26 weeks from the date of estrangement (which may already have passed, given that the OP split with his partner last year). If the OP's partner has dependent children living with her, is over 60 or or is disabled it can be disregarded indefinitely.

    The property would then have to be valued and the value of the OP's share taken into account as capital. If it were worth more than 16k he would not qualify.

    There are other disregards, but these don't appear to apply to the OP
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