How Will Partner Moving In Affect Housing Benefit Entitlement??

ukboxer

EDIT - TO ANY NEW POSTERS

I dont need these original 2 questions answered anymore however, I would be grateful for any comments or suggestions you may have after reading a few postings

With thanks to all :T

Hi,

This posting is on behalf of a friend who has had her Housing Benefit cut by roughly half and is very worried and scared that she will have to move or be evicted very soon.

She has several questions which I will post separately.

Accommodation - 1 Bedroom Flat
Old Housing Benefit payment - £150 per week (since August 2010)
New Housing Benefit payment - £78.50 per week

This is paid monthly so OLD = £600 pm NEW = £314 pm


The first she knew about this was when her letting agency informed her by telephone that her rent was in arrears by £286. She immediately went to the Housing Dept with the Council and was simply told that the new Housing Benefit had been introduced by the Government and that she was now only eligible for £78.50 per week which is the rate for a single person in shared accommodation who is under the age of 35, so she would have to find affordable accommodation. No further help or assistance given nor was she informed about this before today.

This has obviously worried and frightened her and together we are exploring possible options.

1. If her partner moves in and they declare themselves a couple how will this affect Housing Benefit entitlement?

2. They are not married, would this even be possible?

BigAunty

ukboxer wrote: »

...

1. If her partner moves in and they declare themselves a couple how will this affect Housing Benefit entitlement?

2. They are not married, would this even be possible?

1. They will be permitted to have the 1 bedroom rate of Housing Benefit. If one or other gets employment, their LHA rate will change to take into account their income. You can find out the 1 bedroom rate on the local council website.

2. Marital status is a total irrelevance to all benefits. It is the landlords decision to authorise a new occupant (though I'm not sure there's much they can do to prevent it other than serve notice, but they may want to serve notice to her anyway because of the arrears).

bestpud

Does her partner work?

Mara69

Are four threads on the same query really necessary?

ukboxer

The reason for the four threads is that I have specific questions within those threads that I can put in the subject line to attract the right people to answer.

Also, each thread is a completely different matter.

This is stressful enough without over complicating it.

If I make one big thread with a ton of questions I am likely to have people answering some, guessing at others and voicing an opinion etc when what I really need is people who will see the subject line and think "I know that area well so can answer your questions"

ukboxer

Bestpud

No he is also on JSA at the moment but currently living with a relative

enabledebra

I think your post is saying he wasn't planning to move in but if this will increase benefit entitlement he will? Will he become a joint tenant? These aren't loaded questions, I'm asking because it affects the answer and your post seems to suggest it's being considered in response to the new rules rather than being a natural progression in the relationship. The first thing that springs to mind is that the Housing Benefit department might decide to investigate whether he has actually been living there for some time already if he suddenly appears when the shared room rate kicks in.

ukboxer

enabledebra wrote: »

I think your post is saying he wasn't planning to move in but if this will increase benefit entitlement he will? Will he become a joint tenant? These aren't loaded questions, I'm asking because it affects the answer and your post seems to suggest it's being considered in response to the new rules rather than being a natural progression in the relationship. The first thing that springs to mind is that the Housing Benefit department might decide to investigate whether he has actually been living there for some time already if he suddenly appears when the shared room rate kicks in.

Hi,

It is being considered because she will effectively become homeless under the new rules. She has no money to pay for a deposit, month in advance etc and all the financial burdens that come with moving into new accommodation.

She would ask the landlord for permission should they decide to go down that route so nothing would be done without being official

The Housing Benefit can investigate if they wish but her partner currently lives with a family member.

The Council are offering no help with her moving to new accommodation.

enabledebra

ukboxer wrote: »

Hi,

It is being considered because she will effectively become homeless under the new rules. She has no money to pay for a deposit, month in advance etc and all the financial burdens that come with moving into new accommodation.

She would ask the landlord for permission should they decide to go down that route so nothing would be done without being official

The Housing Benefit can investigate if they wish but her partner currently lives with a family member.

The Council are offering no help with her moving to new accommodation.

Ok - it will depend if he becomes party to the tenancy or not. If he gives that reason for entering a tenancy it will be deemed to be 'contrived' and no housing benefit at all will be paid.

They shouldn't be casual about an investigation and should think about the possibility carefully (if they decide to investigate they will talk to neighbours etc -it's not a paper based exercise. In addition you don't even need to be living under the same roof to be treated as a 'couple' for benefits purposes- it's about the nature of relationship so they must consider this risk) Edit = sorry posted without brain in gear- if not married a couple does need to be living under the same roof to be a 'couple' unless it's a temporary measure to live apart. Big difference- apologies

ukboxer

Thank you very much enabledebra for your replies. Unfortunately, she has found herself in this position without any prior warning. Finding all this out only yesterday morning.

The Housing office said that they wrote to her 8 weeks ago to tell her of the change although she didnt receive the letter. I must point out here that she really didnt receive any letter or she would have been straight down to the Housing office then not yesterday morning.

Having said that, if she had received the letter how would they expect her to finance the cost of moving accommodation?

That's one thing I really don't understand. She is on JSA which give the claimant the minimum to survive on fortnightly. It does not include money to be put aside i.e savings. A move would obviously include a deposit and a month paid in advance. Her housing entitlement would be £78.50 so she would realistically need a bare minimum of £628 upfront. Where on earth do the Council think she or anyone else in her position can get that kind of money from?

Personally, I think the new entitlements should be in effect for new claimants from the introduction date of January 2012 not for existing claimants (although I believe prior to April 2008 wont be affected) but what I think is irrelevant.

I have paid her arrears this month of £214 to give her another 4 weeks of breathing space but I cant continue to do so endlessly.

This is down to Government changes being imposed so why are they not helping these people into affordable accommodation? The attitude we got from the Housing receptionist was basically "Its your problem"

Surely, in a civilised Country they cant make someone homeless through no fault of there own??

EDIT - Sorry didnt really reply to your last post and got a bit side tracked in a rant!
I fully agree with you that if they do decide to do a joint tenancy they will need to give a reason other than the obvious. They have been considering moving in together whether that be at her current place or in a completely new place for a few months anyway so it wouldn't be a shock.

Having said all that the priority is either keeping her current accommodation or finding her new accommodation. However that happens is what we are exploring. Every potential option has good and bad points so we are working through many possibilities.

She has been my best friend for 10 years and is like a little sister to me so that's why I am helping and keen to find a solution for her

enabledebra

ukboxer wrote: »

Thank you very much enabledebra for your replies. Unfortunately, she has found herself in this position without any prior warning. Finding all this out only yesterday morning.

The Housing office said that they wrote to her 8 weeks ago to tell her of the change although she didnt receive the letter. I must point out here that she really didnt receive any letter or she would have been straight down to the Housing office then not yesterday morning.

Having said that, if she had received the letter how would they expect her to finance the cost of moving accommodation?

That's one thing I really don't understand. She is on JSA which give the claimant the minimum to survive on fortnightly. It does not include money to be put aside i.e savings. A move would obviously include a deposit and a month paid in advance. Her housing entitlement would be £78.50 so she would realistically need a bare minimum of £628 upfront. Where on earth do the Council think she or anyone else in her position can get that kind of money from?

Personally, I think the new entitlements should be in effect for new claimants from the introduction date of January 2012 not for existing claimants (although I believe prior to April 2008 wont be affected) but what I think is irrelevant.

I have paid her arrears this month of £214 to give her another 4 weeks of breathing space but I cant continue to do so endlessly.

This is down to Government changes being imposed so why are they not helping these people into affordable accommodation? The attitude we got from the Housing receptionist was basically "Its your problem"

Surely, in a civilised Country they cant make someone homeless through no fault of there own??

First - check my edit to my last post- sorry.

Second- the government has implemented this rule with the clear knowledge and stated intention that people will have to move or will be evicted because they can't afford to meet the shortfall. All the housing sector organisations have told them it's not going to save money because people will be homeless and that will cost more to resolve but governments want to be able to tell the voters they are 'addressing' the benefits bill. It's the same with the 'benefit cap' - the government have said people can't get more than £500 pw in total from the benefits system to appease voters but they have just increased the 'discretionary housing payments' fund by millions so that if you do have your benefits capped they will pay the additional money from this fund instead. No savings just spin.
edit-
http://www.housing.org.uk/policy/welfare_reform/next_steps/discretionary_housing_payments.aspx