Housing benefit after speration

monkeystar333

Hi i have recently split with my partner of 7 years and moved into a rented property and am trying to claim housing benefit. We have a joint mortage on our family home that my ex is staying in as he can afford the mortgage payments. We have two children under 5, however i am unsure of how it works as the property was bought with a £50,000 loan from his parents and the rest on a mortage, we pay his parents monthly repayments on the deposit however we never put an agreement on paper, i now how have to send a copy of our mortgage statement to dwp and am worried that it will affect my claim as will look like there is equity in the house that there isnt and am unsure what to do?

any help/advise would be much appreciated thanks

princessdon

I don't think there is a lot you can do. They will treat it as equity and therefore you can't claim some benefits.

If the parents had a charge on the house this may have made a difference.

You may be best of doing a post in the housing section as they may have suggestions bit from a benefit POV you have capital over £16K in the form of your equity. Your house isn't up for sale and I can't think of a reason why it would disregarded.

BigAunty

I don't know how this works at all, I'm not familiar with this type of application - perhaps you can enclose the bank statements that show a payment to your parents and perhaps a letter from a solicitor outlining your verbal contract for the loan? I really don't know if this carries any weight at all - it is said that ' a verbal agreement is worth the paper it is written on' - very hard to prove.

This link has info on how capital is calculated and HB for owners who do not occupy their property.



We see lots of posts on this forum and the housing forum from lone parents following the breakdown in their relationship who do not understand their rights to the family home. For example that they can get an occupation order that obliges the parent without child to move out and let the parent with children live there until the youngest turns 18, for example, and child support payments from the other parent that will help with the mortgage, etc.

See the Shelter website to understand your rights, his obligations, your options and so on. See a solictor about your options, too - why should you and the children lose a home?

http://www.dwp.gov.uk/publications/specialist-guides/technical-guidance/rr2-a-guide-to-housing-benefit/working-it-out/income-and-capital/

Property you own but do not occupy [HB Sch 6, HB(SPC) Sch 6; CTB Sch 5, CTB(SPC) Sch 4]

The value of this property is counted as capital but you may be able to get HB/CTB even if the value of the property means that your savings are more than £16,000. This is because the value of the property may be ignored when your savings are worked out, in certain circumstances.
If the property is occupied by an elderly or disabled relative as their home, its value is not taken into account for as long as it is so occupied.
If you have recently acquired the property and you intend to occupy it as your home, its value may not be counted for 26 weeks, or for a longer period if reasonable, from the date you acquired it.
If you are trying to sell the property, its value may not be counted for the first 26 weeks after you start doing this. It may not be counted for longer than this if you are finding it difficult to sell the property.
If you are carrying out essential repairs or alterations so that you can live in the property, its value may not be counted for a period of 26 weeks from the date you first arranged for repairs to be carried out. It may not be counted for longer than this if you are finding it difficult to finish the work.
If you are taking legal action so that you can live in the property, its value may not be counted for the first 26 weeks after you start doing this. It may not be counted for longer than this if legal action is continuing and you cannot live in the property.
If you have left the property after the breakdown of a relationship, and it is occupied by your former partner, its value may not be counted for the first 26 weeks after you left. If the property is occupied by your former partner and they are a lone parent, the property will not be counted for as long as it continues to be so occupied.