LHA entitlement

spliced

My head is in such a mess right now. I am unsure if I should stay in the area in which I live with the kids or move back to my home town. My dad is in my home town still and he is not happy at all when I said I wont to move back there. I am not going to move in with him so unsure of his problem.
Anyway if I do move back to my home town then I will be claiming IS ( i work at the moment) untill I can find a job to fit in with school and nursery. I will need to rent a house and need to know if I will be able to claim LHA. The reason I am unsure is that I have a house in Manchester which I am currently living in but I am finding it increasing difficult to keep up with payments so when I move on, my ex husband will be paying the mortgage ( it is in joint names). My dad has said I won't get any housing benefit cos I already have house and I am leaving it so they wont pay me anything.
I am not very confident and cant face speaking to anyone about it.

Grateful for any help please:)

dmg24

What will happen to the house you are currently in, will you let it out or sell it? Do you have any equity in your current property?

spliced

My husband ( we are seperated ) will move into it with his friend and pay for the house/ bills etc and the debts we are in.

There is about £20k equity but he will not sell it and I have asked so many times for him to do it. If i go through sols to get it sold - things will get so complicated between us as at the mo, we are on reasonable terms. Also he is from overseas and I would worry that if he is not financially tied to the area then he may take off with the kids - real mess this is!!

Vader123

spliced wrote: »

There is about £20k equity

If you are trying to claim means tested benefits the amount of equity is irrelavant, its about the value of the property.

spliced wrote: »

I have asked so many times for him to do it.

You can force a sale.

In finishing I can't see you expect to claim LHA etc as its mean-tested and you own 50% of a house (of whatever value).

You need to cut the ties for your own sake, this will give you your own money for while and then assess your benefit situation.

Vader

RAS

Does your OH have passports for the children issued by his country of origin?

spliced

Hi and thanks for your replies

Yes he does have passports for the children.

Does this mean that I wont be able to claim any housing benefit then?

Queries

It might be worth contacting the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) for advice regarding your circumstances. Also, some, if not all, Councils have their own Advice services. Good Luck.