Housing benefit / accross 2 locations enquiry

emiai

Good afternoon, I was wondering if anyone could offer some advice on the following area

My partner and I currently live in a HA property, with 3 bedrooms and 3children (so we are not subject to any deduction.)

My partner is applying for a doctorate, which means should his application be successful he may have to pay for a room/flat or accommodation (depending on distance being too far to commute daily) for the 3 year duration of his training.

His salary will be approx £26,000. A trainees wage.

I am currently a stay at home mum who is half way through a degree and volunteers to gain relevant experience.

Basically what we want to know, as we will still be a family unit living apart should I be unable to find work, will we be able to have any help towards paying either my rent or his.

(We have a feeling his wage alone will render us unable to qualify as we earn enough.) - which is fine as I am hoping once my youngest goes to school full time, I can find part time work anyway.

Im just wondering if they do take both properties into account when making the calculations, depending on what's best for the children's schools, year of acceptance etc whether its best for us all to relocate etc rather than live separate.

(We will at no time ever suggest we are split, we will simply be a family unit living apart and he will be home each weekend.)

UsetheFORCE

Simple answer is NO.

He is only temporarily away from home. You won't be entitled to HB at home or an away address with the salary he is earning.

The only answer would be the one suggest you won't do and neither would I! Legally and Morally it is wrong!

emiai

UsetheFORCE wrote: »

Simple answer is NO.

He is only temporarily away from home. You won't be entitled to HB at home or an away address with the salary he is earning.

The only answer would be the one suggest you won't do and neither would I! Legally and Morally it is wrong!

Oh we would never do anything against the law. It was just covering all bases so to speak. We need to make preperations well in advance (Saving plans etc) anyway, should we have to either live apart or to relocate.

I am sure we would manage, either way. Ultimately, getting on that doctorate is all we can think of now after all his years of study and hard work.

Thank you for your reply, I really appreciate it xx

fluffymovie

UsetheFORCE wrote: »

Simple answer is NO.

He is only temporarily away from home. You won't be entitled to HB at home or an away address with the salary he is earning.

The only answer would be the one suggest you won't do and neither would I! Legally and Morally it is wrong!

This isn't accurate. I would find the regs but I'm on my phone but have a look here http://www.hounslow.gov.uk/index/advice_and_benefits/benefits/housing_benefit/housing_benefit_on2homes.htm

emiai

fluffymovie wrote: »

This isn't accurate. I would find the regs but I'm on my phone but have a look here http://www.hounslow.gov.uk/index/advice_and_benefits/benefits/housing_benefit/housing_benefit_on2homes.htm

I wonder if this is unique between boroughs though, Thank you for the link. I will have a look on our local council website for information.

mysterywoman10

Fluffy mentioned the regulations, so I think that it is unlikely it is unique to a particular borough

UsetheFORCE

fluffymovie wrote: »

This isn't accurate. I would find the regs but I'm on my phone but have a look here http://www.hounslow.gov.uk/index/advice_and_benefits/benefits/housing_benefit/housing_benefit_on2homes.htm

If you work in benefits then It might reasonably be expected that after looking at the circumstances of the OP, you would conclude that they would not be able to claim.

Anyway, good luck with it. I don't want you to have false hope.

The Housing Regs are standard but the staff who work for the council area I used to live in don't even know them properly, I had to find out and tell them what they should know!

Nada666

As far as I know student couples do qualify for housing benefit at two properties (but only where daily commuting is not feasible).

A trainee wage of £26K. A subsidised social rent plus a shared room rate. Unless you're living in London or somewhere else silly total housing benefit awarded should be about £zero, though.

fluffymovie

UsetheFORCE wrote: »

If you work in benefits then It might reasonably be expected that after looking at the circumstances of the OP, you would conclude that they would not be able to claim.

Anyway, good luck with it. I don't want you to have false hope.

The Housing Regs are standard but the staff who work for the council area I used to live in don't even know them properly, I had to find out and tell them what they should know!

In defence of HB staff, the HB regulations are vast, ever changing and complicated so no, they don't know everyone of them. HB regs, CTRS regs, DMA regs, LHA regs, Welfare Reform, constant DWP changes, caselaw etc etc. It's a complicated field and sometimes, we will miss things.

OP, if you quote Hb Reg 7 (6) (b) it might help but it really comes down to the course. My only concern would be that as it would be a doctoriate, it may be considered that they are not an eligible student but we would have to research caselaw on that.

(6) Where a person is liable to make payments in respect of two (but not more than two) dwellings, he shall be treated as occupying both dwellings as his home only—
(a)for a period not exceeding 52 weeks in the case where he has left and remains absent from the former dwelling occupied as his home through fear of violence in that dwelling or by a former member of his family and—
(i)it is reasonable that housing benefit should be paid in respect of both his former dwelling and his present dwelling occupied as the home; and
(ii)he intends to return to occupy the former dwelling as his home; or
(b)in the case of a couple or a member of a polygamous marriage, where he or one partner is a student, other than one to whom regulation 56(1) applies (circumstances in which certain students are treated as not liable to make payments in respect of a dwelling), or is on a training course and it is unavoidable that the partners should occupy two separate dwellings and reasonable that housing benefit should be paid in respect of both dwellings

emiai

Thank you all for the feedback, it most certainly means It would not hurt to apply should we happen to live apart(if communiting is out of the question). The answer may be no, but it may be worth trying.

I really appreciate the assistance.