Moving in with partner

Aruffell

Hi all,

Hoping for a bit of advice.

I'm currently in receipt of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and am awaiting on disability information due to me having sciatica and spinal nerve damage as well as arthritis.

I'm 23 and currently living at home with parents but me and my partner are wanting to move in together.

She currently works full time but lives 28 miles from me, so we are looking for a job closer to me and a home together. We only need something like a 2 bedroom house, nothing too big etc...

My questions are, obviously due to my health conditions i get help with housing benefit and council tax benefit. How does this work due to my partner working, will they still pay an allowance for me and my partner will have to contribute from her wages?

The other question is - Will my benefit be effected as when i used to be on JSA i was aware that my benefit will be taken away due to the wages coming in from my partner, is this the same on ESA?

Once these 2 questions are answered, i'm wondering where we start to look for a place etc... Do we need to get onto a housing register or?

Many thanks in advance.

Andy

BitterAndTwisted

It's my understanding that as soon as you start cohabiting your access to benefits will take into account whatever your partner earns. They take the view that people in a committed relationship should and shall support each other so you may not receive anything at all. I think you might get better informed opinions if you posted this query on the Benefits Forum.

If you haven't got substantial savings I doubt you would be in a position to rent a two-bed property. As you are a couple why wouldn't a one-bed be sufficient?

Aruffell

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

It's my understanding that as soon as you start cohabiting your access to benefits will take into account whatever your partner earns. They take the view that people in a committed relationship should and shall support each other so you may not receive anything at all. I think you might get better informed opinions if you posted this query on the Benefits Forum.

If you haven't got substantial savings I doubt you would be in a position to rent a two-bed property. As you are a couple why wouldn't a one-bed be sufficient?

Will post in there to see what people say in regards to the benefits.

There aren't a mass amount of one bedroom places in my area but i will look, but the main reason is that i am an avid photographer and currently have a room where i do all of my photography work and the plan i have with the job centre is to try and better myself with my condition and hopefully make something out of my hobby and come off of ESA.

Andy

Fire_Fox

Even if you get LHA you won't get a two bedroom rate. I believe your ESA and CTB will take account of your partner's wages but any disability benefit will not be affected. If you have never lived away from home you may be shocked by how expensive it is to run a two bedroom place.

Jowo_2

You are better off posting this on the Benefits forum where some of the members there work in welfare advice, DWP or local council roles. Some benefits are not means tested.

You can model the impact of your proposed move by putting the different scenarios into the Entitled To (turn2us) website which is a benefits calculator.

I'm an avid photographer. My digital equipment (camera, laptop, tripod, printer) takes up part of a PC desk and a cupboard drawer. What is it about your equipment that requires you to have an additional room?!

Housing Register?! Virtually anyone can apply for social housing and very few secure it due to high demand and low supply. The Direct Gov and Shelter websites, plus your local council will explain how to apply for social housing with the local council and housing associations. They do tend to award extra points to disabled applicants. I'm not aware whether it is the condition itself or receipt of DLA that determines if a person has a higher priority but the council and housing associations will be able to advise how they calculate a person's priority.