Council tenancy and girlfriend Help !!

lazystakes

I'm a council tennant living alone in my own 1 bed flat , i am currently coming to the end of a 1 year period where they put you as a introductionary tenancy with as far as i know i have been a perfact tennant ....... however

i am currently in discussions with my girlfriend about moving in with me , i am quite happy for her to move in . but i am concerned about the effect it would have on my benefits......i cant afford to lose them at the current point in my life

i at the time of writing recieve :

incapacity on long term rate
housing benefit
and council tax benefit

my girlfriend works part-time and earns less than £80 per week
as she is still studying at the local college........i would not be asking her for any money towards bills ,,,,,


Can the council enforce any thing against me
if she just stays 3 or 4 days a week
is there any loop holes
with out becoming a benefit cheat

Can anyone suggest the best option/s to resolve this
apart from her not moving in with me

any advice appreciated

dmg24

Your HB and CTB will be reduced, but so will your overall bills, so you will not be worse off. Stop thinking about losing your benefits and be happy that you will gain more independence as part of couple.

Sam____2

If you can't "afford" for her to move in properly then perhaps wait until her studies are finished and she has a full time job.

and I don't understand why if she did move in you wouldn't expect her to pay her way!!

Jowo_2

Put the new scenario - proposed move in of your girlfriend - into the Entitled to (turn 2 us) benefit calculator to check how this changes your circumstances.

Remember to factor in the savings you can make on many household bills when people share them instead of paying them across two households (such as energy bills, rent, insurance, water, telephone, broadband, tv/cable, food, sometimes saving on travel costs, etc). The budget spreadsheet on the tools section of this website will help you to understand how much you pay separately, and how much you could save together.

Means tested benefits are premised on the recipients being supported by their family or partners - you may not want to share expenses but the state expects you to do this.

Apart from doing the maths on how the changes affect your income and expenses, you have to consider the other advantages, too, such as the fun and company from sharing the same place with another.

lazystakes

Thanks for the replies so far ..............
just to add some addition info
i should of put in the original post

currently she lives with her parents who because she is still studying dont charge her any rent or utility bills , and the part-time money she earns while trying to better her education is minimal so asking her for at the moment for bills after the my housing benefit / council tax benefit has gone up ,, financially wouldn't work

i am worried about my benefits because i am in no position to return to work currently although am in the process of improving my cv with home courses , and free internet tutorials that are widely avalible.
i scrap by as it is ...... and with more removed from my budget would surely put a bigger stranglehold on me

at what stage can a council or DWP enforce that two people live together and benefits need to be assessed

dmg24

lazystakes wrote: »

Thanks for the replies so far ..............
just to add some addition info
i should of put in the original post

currently she lives with her parents who because she is still studying dont charge her any rent or utility bills , and the part-time money she earns while trying to better her education is minimal so asking her for at the moment for bills after the my housing benefit / council tax benefit has gone up ,, financially wouldn't work

i am worried about my benefits because i am in no position to return to work currently although am in the process of improving my cv with home courses , and free internet tutorials that are widely avalible.
i scrap by as it is ...... and with more removed from my budget would surely put a bigger stranglehold on me

at what stage can a council or DWP enforce that two people live together and benefits need to be assessed

£80 a week is hardly pocket money, her parents are silly for not charging her anything.

There is no set point when the DWP declare you a couple, it is all down to individual circumstances.

Oldernotwiser

lazystakes wrote: »

currently she lives with her parents who because she is still studying dont charge her any rent or utility bills , and the part-time money she earns while trying to better her education is minimal so asking her for at the moment for bills after the my housing benefit / council tax benefit has gone up ,, financially wouldn't work

Financially it will have to. If she wants to be part of a proper grown up relationship she will have to pay her share and not to expect to have £80 (!) pocket money. If she's not ready for this then she needs to stay living with mum and dad.

nannytone_2

the way people are thinking now days is getting really messed up! the culture of expecting benefits to help you live is getting way too widespread.

you say your girlfriend currently lives with her parents and they don't take any 'keep' money from her as she only earns £80 a week. thats fine........theyre her parents and it's their choice. but now you want her to live with you and still not contribute towards her 'keep'
the difference is you can't provide for her but would like the taxpayer to provide for her via ctb and hb!
can you not see the moral problem with this scenario?

Jowo_2

If nothing else, by looking into the impact on your benefits and costs to run a joint household, at least you can guage when it makes economic sense to share a household, such as when your health improves and you return to employment, and/or when your girlfriend is in full time employment.

There is not a 'set' number of days when people can live together without being considered in a partnership for the purposes of reassessing means tested benefits - people think there is but it's a myth. it's apparently dependent on a number of factors so hopefully others can give you pointers on how it is judged by the DWP.

ONW does have a good point about your GF and her budgeting skills. If, for example, she completed her course and got a full time entry level job paying National Minimum wage, she'd net about £150 per week. It's unlikely she'd enjoy the greater part of it as disposable income to spend on treats such as socialising and clothes if there are household bills to share like rent, energy bills, council tax, food, water, tv/telecoms. But at the moment she is young and has no dependents or major expenses, so she should enjoy her generous pocket money while she can. My parents didn't take any money from me when I was in sixth form working 20-25 hours per week.

Breast_Cancer_Survivor

If your girlfriend regularly stays over. Eats with you. Goes shopping with you. Goes on holiday with you. Spends all her spare time with you then you are already at risk of commiting benefit fraud in the eyes of the DWP.

Surely it would be better for her to move in legally then constantly having to look over your shoulder worrying that someone might be watching you & that you could be prosecuted for fraud.

All it takes is for a neighbour/friend/family member that you get on the wrong side of to report you & you might be in big trouble.

Better safe than sorry. :A