What counts as "living together as partners"

Money_Saving_Dilettante

Hi everyone,

This is my first post at moneysavingexpert, and I'm asking here because no 'official' websites seem to be much help with my benefits query.

Unfortunately, I am currently unemployed. The up side of this is that I have no commitments stopping me from moving two hundred miles across the country, to be with my long term, long distance girlfriend.

However, until I find enough work down there, I will need to claim JSA and Local Housing Allowance. But with my partner working full time, it wouldn't be possible to be "living together as partners", and lawfully claim.

Does anyone have a better definition of what "living together as partners" actually means in practice, so we can stay within the law? Obviously, she'll be coming round sometimes, and even staying the night!

Thanks in advance.

Sixtails

If you & your partner are maintaining seperate properties & each living alone then you will not be "living together as husband & wife", even if you stay overnight a couple of times a week. If you're spending more than half of your week at your partners property then your centre of intererst is going to be there rather than your own property & you will probably be falling into dodgy ground with your claim.

dmg24

Sixtails wrote: »

If you & your partner are maintaining seperate properties & each living alone then you will not be "living together as husband & wife", even if you stay overnight a couple of times a week. If you're spending more than half of your week at your partners property then your centre of intererst is going to be there rather than your own property & you will probably be falling into dodgy ground with your claim.

There is no time limit on spending time together - someone could spend everyday together and not be found to be a couple, or only one day but due to other factors be determined a couple. There is guidance on the DWP website, which I'll find when I've had my breakfast.

Sixtails

It's based largly on finances as well to as time spent together. If bills are shared etc. then this points towards living as a couple. There are also cases where 2 people are living in the same house & not found living together because they maintain seperate lives within the same household (obviously this is people who aren't a couple).

What i meant in my previous post is that if you're spending more time at your partners house it will stir interest & dwp will want to investigate the situation in more depth, where as if you are only spending a small number of nights in the household then dwp won't look into it.

Edit - this may be the link you were referring to http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/dmgch11.pdf

ajones28

I have always been led to believe that 3 nights a week is allowed. Anything more than this would be deemed to be living together as a couple. As Sixtails said though it could also be the case that you are classed as being a couple by the DWP if you share bills at either of your properties. From what you are saying though you are only likely to be spending the odd night together. As long as this remains this way they are unlikely to deem you to be a couple.

Caz3121

ajones28 wrote: »

I have always been led to believe that 3 nights a week is allowed.

Complete urban myth

danyjb123

ajones28 wrote: »

I have always been led to believe that 3 nights a week is allowed.

Well you have been led to believe wrong!

dookar

Money_Saving_Dilettante wrote: »

Hi everyone,

This is my first post at moneysavingexpert, and I'm asking here because no 'official' websites seem to be much help with my benefits query.

Unfortunately, I am currently unemployed. The up side of this is that I have no commitments stopping me from moving two hundred miles across the country, to be with my long term, long distance girlfriend.

However, until I find enough work down there, I will need to claim JSA and Local Housing Allowance. But with my partner working full time, it wouldn't be possible to be "living together as partners", and lawfully claim.

Does anyone have a better definition of what "living together as partners" actually means in practice, so we can stay within the law? Obviously, she'll be coming round sometimes, and even staying the night!

Thanks in advance.

You won't be living together? And never have?

debrag

Money_Saving_Dilettante wrote: »

Hi everyone,

This is my first post at moneysavingexpert, and I'm asking here because no 'official' websites seem to be much help with my benefits query.

Unfortunately, I am currently unemployed. The up side of this is that I have no commitments stopping me from moving two hundred miles across the country, to be with my long term, long distance girlfriend.

However, until I find enough work down there, I will need to claim JSA and Local Housing Allowance. But with my partner working full time, it wouldn't be possible to be "living together as partners", and lawfully claim.

Does anyone have a better definition of what "living together as partners" actually means in practice, so we can stay within the law? Obviously, she'll be coming round sometimes, and even staying the night!

Thanks in advance.

If you were to live together you wouldn't need LHA, what is her income? you might be able to get c-jsa or i-jsa.

So you'll move all that way and get your own place? Why not stay where you are till you have a job there even if it's part-time to start with.

Money_Saving_Dilettante

Sixtails wrote: »

It's based largly on finances as well to as time spent together. If bills are shared etc. then this points towards living as a couple. There are also cases where 2 people are living in the same house & not found living together because they maintain seperate lives within the same household (obviously this is people who aren't a couple).

What i meant in my previous post is that if you're spending more time at your partners house it will stir interest & dwp will want to investigate the situation in more depth, where as if you are only spending a small number of nights in the household then dwp won't look into it.

Thanks for that, and to everyone's who has offered their opinion. From those DWP guidelines then, it seems that there's no exact definition of 'living together as a couple', but it's mostly down to Decision Makers to interpret circumstances, with no single factor being conclusive proof. This is all very confusing!

Paragraph 11047 says that DMs should consider: "the sexual relationship of the two people...the relationship of the two people concerning money...the general relationship of the two people".

That's all incredibly vague, and how exactly would a DM find out about the sexual relationship?! :eek:

Money_Saving_Dilettante

debrag wrote: »

If you were to live together you wouldn't need LHA, what is her income? you might be able to get c-jsa or i-jsa.

So you'll move all that way and get your own place? Why not stay where you are till you have a job there even if it's part-time to start with.

We're not really far enough into the relationship to live together. We've been in a long distance relationship for a while, but LDRs are strange things, and it's not the same at all as if we'd been a couple in the same city.

Your other suggestion is a possibility, but it would be much easier to get work down there if I had a base. Travelling backwards and forwards to interviews etc would really take a chunk out of my budget right now.