Benefits advice please........anyone?

Silver_123

Hi - I wonder if anyone could tell me the answer off the top of their head........I have done the benefits calculator and it says I'm not entitled to anything - maybe I'm not, but perhaps more experienced people could spot something obvious that I have missed.

I work 20 hours a week at £10 an hour - so - take home varies, but approx £800 pcm.

Homelife is unbearable, I want to leave my husband. We jointly own a house with about £50k equity - this has to be sold eventually/or him buy me out - early days yet.

I want to find a flat to rent, a flat costs around here £450-ish - bearing in mind my my wage is my only income. I spoke to a divorce solicitor last week who told me I would be entitled to some tax credit help, but when I did the calculator it said I wasn't entitled to anything. So, do I just assume that I have to find somewhere to rent on my salary - which is almost impossible. No children as they have grown up and moved away.

Life is quite unbearable........another Sunday/another row! We both agree we should separate. We have a HUGE mortgage which he says he will take on short term until the house is sold.

I have previous posts if anyone can be bothered to read them!

NOTE TO SELF!!! Never ever ever ever do this again!!!!

nannytone_2

if you have no kids and only work 20 hours a week you get no tax credoys. yjr minimum is 30 hours.

you may get housing benefit but only for a limited period and only if the property you co own is up for sale

pmlindyloo

I have read your other thread and in the circumstances I think you should be seeking an occupation order so that your OH has to move out of the home and you remain in it until it is sold.

Have you told your solicitor about the current sitution and how difficult it is to remain in the house with your OH acting as he does?

Would your husband agree to his moving out without having to 'force the issue'? If he is working full time then this would seem the best solution anyway.

If he left then it may be difficult to pay the mortgage as he would presumably be renting himself so a telephone call to the lender to discuss your options may be sensible.

Arrangements for him to buy you out could drag on for a long time. Has he got the money or is he thinking of extending the mortgage?

In the circumstances it would be best to put the house on the market and for you both to 'start again'.

From your previous post you clearly need to end this relationship.

Your working part time means you are not eligible for much help.

If the suggestions I have made are not feasible then the only other option is for you to increase your hours or find a second job.

PippaGirl_2

Fifi, I highly recommend Wikivorce for all advice wrt divorce, separation including housing and finance. With their help I knew far more than my solicitor.

Silver_123

PippaGirl wrote: »

Fifi, I highly recommend Wikivorce for all advice wrt divorce, separation including housing and finance. With their help I knew far more than my solicitor.

Yes that is whom I spoke to, they were very helpful. I have an appointnmet at the cab this week with a benefits advisor, Thank you,

Silver_123

pmlindyloo wrote: »

I have read your other thread and in the circumstances I think you should be seeking an occupation order so that your OH has to move out of the home and you remain in it until it is sold.

Have you told your solicitor about the current sitution and how difficult it is to remain in the house with your OH acting as he does?

Would your husband agree to his moving out without having to 'force the issue'? If he is working full time then this would seem the best solution anyway.

If he left then it may be difficult to pay the mortgage as he would presumably be renting himself so a telephone call to the lender to discuss your options may be sensible.

Arrangements for him to buy you out could drag on for a long time. Has he got the money or is he thinking of extending the mortgage?

In the circumstances it would be best to put the house on the market and for you both to 'start again'.

From your previous post you clearly need to end this relationship.

Your working part time means you are not eligible for much help.

If the suggestions I have made are not feasible then the only other option is for you to increase your hours or find a second job.

Thank you - I have been looking for another job - it's very difficult to find something to fit in with my current job - we live in a very rural area.

Absolutely this relationship is destroying us both. My son now lives in Australia partly due to his relationship with my husband, and my daughter told me she has not visited me for nearly a year because of the atmosphere with my husband, I had no idea and feel immune to the atmosphere.

He cannot afford to rent somewhere and pay the mortgage on here. There is equity so I suppose he could take up extra mortgage and buy me out. I just want us both to be happy - right at the moment I can't see any light at the end of the tunnel!!!!

McKneff

Clould he rent somewhere else and pay half the mortgage.

Why not live completely seperate lives in the same house till it is sold, it is doable.

Silver_123

McKneff wrote: »

Clould he rent somewhere else and pay half the mortgage.

Why not live completely seperate lives in the same house till it is sold, it is doable.

He doesn't want that! It's just horrible - all of it!

BigAunty

The Shelter website has excellent info on your housing rights, they have a relationship breakdown section which includes a section for joint homeowners.

Is a valid option to sell the property and split the equity? Would he even be able to take over the mortgage in his sole name to remortgage and pay you your share? Find a mortgage calculator to find out if he'd even be granted a mortgage this way.

He seems keen not to share the property until the split is formalised and he's offered to pay the mortgage in the short term (which sounds like he's encouraging you to leave) but if he can't afford to buy you out and he has no inclination to sell, then you end up losing your home and not getting any money.

If this happens, your only options are to move back in (which he will obviously frustrate) as a joint owner is entitled to occupancy or get a court order to sell the property (which is expensive and he can still frustrate would be buyers and sabotage the process).

As per the previous post, working tax credit is only paid to single people without dependents and disabilities if they work 30 hours per week. Should you be able to find another 10 hours with your current employer, with another part time job or self employment, then you can enter your new salary into it and see if you qualify for any WTC.

Silver_123

BigAunty wrote: »

The Shelter website has excellent info on your housing rights, they have a relationship breakdown section which includes a section for joint homeowners.

Is a valid option to sell the property and split the equity? Would he even be able to take over the mortgage in his sole name to remortgage and pay you your share? Find a mortgage calculator to find out if he'd even be granted a mortgage this way.

He seems keen not to share the property until the split is formalised and he's offered to pay the mortgage in the short term (which sounds like he's encouraging you to leave) but if he can't afford to buy you out and he has no inclination to sell, then you end up losing your home and not getting any money.

If this happens, your only options are to move back in (which he will obviously frustrate) as a joint owner is entitled to occupancy or get a court order to sell the property (which is expensive and he can still frustrate would be buyers and sabotage the process).

As per the previous post, working tax credit is only paid to single people without dependents and disabilities if they work 30 hours per week. Should you be able to find another 10 hours with your current employer, with another part time job or self employment, then you can enter your new salary into it and see if you qualify for any WTC.

Thank you - so hypothetically if I found a job for 30 hours a week, paying the minimum wage or there abouts which would mean I would earn about the same, I would then qualify? is it paid depending on the hours you work as opposed to your income? thank you.

BigAunty

fifi_browne wrote: »

Thank you - so hypothetically if I found a job for 30 hours a week, paying the minimum wage or there abouts which would mean I would earn about the same, I would then qualify? is it paid depending on the hours you work as opposed to your income? thank you.

Why is so hard to split the property while you both live there, having a separate bedroom, perhaps using another spare room as a second lounge if you've got the space? Do you have a second bathroom? Would this work for you (ignore his opinion on the matter for the moment, you are fully entitled to stay in the property and configure it how you like).

The risk is if you leave it and he cannot or will not take over the mortgage in his sole name and then refuses to sell up, you will need to spend thousands and many months forcing a sale which may still not go to plan (for example, he'll be rude to viewers or won't sign estate agency and solicitors docs as part of the conveyancing process and make the sale fall through). Realistically, could he be this vindictive?

Also, if he stops paying the mortage, you still remain jointly and severally liable - the mortgage company doesn't care who pays or the share they pay, they'll go after any name on the account when there are arrears.

No, WTC takes into account current income levels and it is a criteria for eligiblity that a single non-disabled person without dependents to work 30 hours a week.

I don't think that WTC is particularly generous for single folk on NMW anyway - play around with that benefit calculator on the Turn2us website or find a table on the HMRC website.

Housing benefit (local housing allowance) for the private sector is based on income - find the maximum 1 bedroom LHA (housing benefit) rate on the local council or direct gov website - your income will be taken into account.

It is irrelevant how much decent flats cost - LHA is set at the bottom third of local rents. If the rent is above the LHA rate, the council will ignore this - it's up the occupant to find the extra from their existing income. Do enter the LHA info on the Turn2us online benefit calculator to see what you would be due. Some tenants move into properties far more expensive than the LHA rate and struggle to pay the balance between the rent and HB they recieve.

Note that capital above 6k starts to reduce HB and after 16k rules it out so if you do get a payout, note how this affects means tested benefits, including council tax.

I haven't read your historic posts but if you are in an emotionally abusive relationship, do read the Womens Aid website - they have advisors that can help with housing/benefit matters.