Moving back from Spain and need help with benefits

needelp

My wife and I have been living in Spain for 5 years and are resident there and claiming Disability Living Allowance (My wife) and Carers allowance (Me) plus my wife's state pension.

We will have to move back to the UK early next year as we will lose our home and cannot afford to stay there.

We will be coming back to the uk with little money, our two state pensions because I will be 65 by then plus my wife's DLA but no carers allowance for me as I will have lost it when becoming age 65.

The Citizens Advice, Age UK and the council's housing people have been of little use advice-wise and are saying we will have to pass a 'habitual residents test'. Having looked at this I can't see we would have much trouble passing as we have children and other relatives living here but don't know for sure?.

One of our children will become my wife's carer and we would hope to live near her in a London borough where we have one other child living also. The housing people say we would have to live in that borough for at least three months first before being able to ask for help from the housing people and/or any benefits agency.

My wife is at present on the middle level of DLA but I am fairly confident she will be put up on the higher rate after a new assessment is sent shortly and I understand a new assessment know as PIPS (I believe) is coming into force soon and would think she will be put on the higher rate of the two when that change comes about.

So I basically need some advice as to what to do and when. Needelp.

Edit: My wife is now on the higher rate of disability as her illness is deteriorating.

miduck

Why are you losing your home?

The HRT looks at your reason for returning to the UK. In your case it appears you are coming back in order to claim benefits, and this means you are likely to fail the test. You need to take specialist advice about this.

With regard to housing, can you not live with family? Your eligibility for housing benefit will depend on you passing the HRT, and I doubt you will be high on the housing register in terms of being allocated social housing.

needelp

Thank you Miduck for answering, we are losing our home as we've been given a years notice to leave, we paid no rent and could afford to live in Spain, we wont be able to afford to rent there.

We also need to return to the UK for family to help look after my wife as I might not be able to help as much as I get older.

There is little or no help available to us in Spain as we didn't pay into the system there.

Basically you are right we would need to claim benefits to which I believe we are entitled to after coming into hard times and after paying into the British system for 45 years and taking nothing out until it was needed. (Carers and DLA) that's surely what the system is for, no?

Needelp.

P.S. Living with family is not an option as they have their own lives and problems and certainly is not any long term solution anyway.

C_Mababejive

#3 Sadly it is a quirk of the UK Tax and NI system that those who pay in are not really meant to benefit from it.

Im no expert but im thinking you might have to rent privately for at least a few months to get your foot in the door.

miduck

The system is there for those that have continued to pay in - you have not done so for five years. I can't believe there is no support available in Spain, you would be entitled to claim there as you have residency.

Edit: There is support available, but only for those that have paid into the system in the past few years.

midnight_express

the council are not obliged to house you. in LOndon people usually wait several years for council housing. You will need at least 2k for deposit and rent on a private flat. Most landlords aren't going to want to rent to people who don' t work. You won't get housing benefit until you pass the residency test.

zoominatorone

How much money are you getting between you a week because you are going to have to start saving like mad to pay for some London accomodation for when you come back.

You say you are living rent free where you are at the moment, so you should be able to put a fair bit away every week.

I'm sure a full year's notice to leave will give you plenty of time to prepare, and I'm sure that because family look after family your kids can start saving to help you as well.

zoominatorone

When is the reassesment coming up? Do they fly to Spain to conduct it?

GlasweJen

The habitual residency test looks at why you've returned to the UK, if the reason for your return is to claim benefits then you will fail.

You're returning because you previously had free housing and now that your housing isn't free you can't afford the rent there. Can you afford rent in the UK without benefits? If the answer is no then you're failing the HRT - you left Spain to claim benefits in the UK.

As you have a years notice and don't pay rent at the moment couldn't you save some money to put towards a deposit and a few months rent?

DannyboyMidlands

"we would hope to live near her in a London borough"

Yeah, I bet you would.

zoominatorone

DannyboyMidlands wrote: »

"we would hope to live near her in a London borough"

Yeah, I bet you would.

I think I would quite like living in London, but to put it bluntly, it'll never happen in a million years, I couldn't afford to.