owning home but on esa and thinking of moving in with partner

markyt1974

Hi,
I'm after some help / advice.

atm i live in my own house and rent a room out to help pay the mortgage as i'm unable to work, I wish i was fit to work as i have a job waiting for when i'm ok but atm i'm not so i get esa work based i think and a small amount paid towards the interest side of my mortgage.

I've been dating my partner for awhile now and trying to decide which would be better, for me to move in with my partner or for her and her 2 children to move in with me. One of her children is 16 and disable so she is a full time carer for him and claims which ever benefits she is allowed to claim for them and herself atm.

I was thinking that if i moved in with her then i could rent out the whole of my house then move in with her but then as i own my home i'm not sure if she would still be able to claim HB and CT anymore as i'm sure me owning a house other than where i would then be living would have some effect on her claims.
another option would be for them to all to move in with me but then i wouldn't be able to rent out a room that allows me to be able to pay my mortgage payments so i'd end up getting in arrears like i did with my ex when she used to live with me when i first became ill.
The only other option i think is i sell my house but i'm trying to avoid that if i can as atm there's not really a great deal of value in it and i think there's upfront cost like searches etc that need to be paid up front that i can not afford atm

thanks for any information and help given.

HappyMJ

If you're going to be a landlord you need to have some cash behind you to meet expenses that may occur and you're going to need that money in a hurry. If the boiler were to become beyond economical repair could you quickly get £1,000 to replace it. I think that's a non starter.

I would write down all the scenarios and figure out for yourself which one will be the best for you as a couple.

I would guess that moving in with your partner would be the easiest and selling your property. You have a period of time to sell your property and during that time the equity you hold in it will not count and you will get HB in your partners existing rented property. If the equity you eventually realize by selling is under £6,000 then you and your partner will continue to get full benefits but at the couple rate.

If your partner's property is not big enough then rent somewhere bigger. I would prefer that option as you can then call that property "our house" rather than yours or mine as it currently stands.

If your partner moves in with you then as you say you'll have no way of paying the mortgage if she refuses to help you out with the bills due to them previously being covered by housing benefit so that's a non-starter.

TELLIT01

If you move out of your own home you will not get any support from ESA with the interest on your mortgage. If you move in with your partner or she moves in with you, you will need to make a claim as a couple. If she is in receipt of Carer's Allowance that will be taken into account on the joint claim but you will also get a Carer Premium added.
It's not straight forward to decide which would be your best option.

pmlindyloo

I think a lot depends on the prognosis of your illness.

If you will be able to return to work then it seems daft to give up your house.

If your girlfriend moved in with you then she could be added to your ESA claim or you could be added to her Income Support claim. Either of the claims would mean that you would get support for mortgage interest. Would your mortgage company be happy with your just paying the interest?

Renting out your property would be a non starter IMHO as the equity would be treated as capital and the rent as income ( minus the mortgage payment).Either may make you ineligible for means tested benefits.

If you hope to return to work soon then you may be better off waiting until then to make a decision as then your choices will be greater.

If you think this may not happen then selling up seems the realistic option.

[Deleted User]

Remember you will get a lot less as a couple than as two single families/people. When my unemployed partner moved in (I was a carer then too) my income support was increased by £40 a week, which in no way covered even his personal costs (he had a car as well).

I too suggest that you might be more sensible to wait until you are working. Your gf will still get DLA for her children but even carers allowance will disappear as long as you are earning over £100 a week. Tax credits will be reduced too.

Use this website http://www.entitledto.co.uk. Feed various scenarios into it and then look at budgets and see what is possible.

HappyMJ

pmlindyloo wrote: »

I think a lot depends on the prognosis of your illness.

If you will be able to return to work then it seems daft to give up your house.

If your girlfriend moved in with you then she could be added to your ESA claim or you could be added to her Income Support claim. Either of the claims would mean that you would get support for mortgage interest. Would your mortgage company be happy with your just paying the interest?

Renting out your property would be a non starter IMHO as the equity would be treated as capital and the rent as income ( minus the mortgage payment).Either may make you ineligible for means tested benefits.

If you hope to return to work soon then you may be better off waiting until then to make a decision as then your choices will be greater.

If you think this may not happen then selling up seems the realistic option.

The rental income minus expenses is not counted as income as the income has already been deemed from the capital calculation made. That capital calculation is property valuation less 10% (for selling expenses) less redemption figure of mortgage. It could be that nothing counts but that is unlikely as equity of 20% is usually required to get consent to let or to convert the residential mortgage to a BTL mortgage.

deannatrois wrote: »

Remember you will get a lot less as a couple than as two single families/people. When my unemployed partner moved in (I was a carer then too) my income support was increased by £40 a week, which in no way covered even his personal costs (he had a car as well).

I too suggest that you might be more sensible to wait until you are working. Your gf will still get DLA for her children but even carers allowance will disappear as long as you are earning over £100 a week. Tax credits will be reduced too.

Use this website http://www.entitledto.co.uk. Feed various scenarios into it and then look at budgets and see what is possible.

What if the OP can never work?

It also depends on the houses the OP and his partner have available to them. I would imagine a single person would have a small house/flat and a single mother with 2 children would have a larger house so it would make sense for OP to move in with the mother of the children rather than moving the children into a completely new environment. If it doesn't work out it's much easier for the OP to move out and back into his own house (if kept empty and it's still on the market) or into a rented flat very quickly. If the OP's partner and her children moved in it's now very difficult for them to leave and go back to a home of their own. I wouldn't want to be seen as the guy who kicked her and the children out on to the street....and the stress in waiting for housing whilst being in a property with someone who is no longer your partner would be far too much.

sammyjammy

I assume you are declaring income from your lodger?

Housing_Benefit_Officer

Rental income is treated as income minus mortgage and expenses.

Property is also treated as capital minus mortgage and 10%.

markyt1974

rental income is declared. IF i was into committing fraud i wouldn't be asking here to make sure all is above board and just move in with her but not declared it
Trust me, i do not like being ill and as said in my OP i have a job waiting for me to return to as soon as i am fit but atm as much as i wish i was, it is not possible

my house is big enough for my new partner and her family but i know from before when i was with my ex that i will need to pay100 per week towards my mortgage which is really hard to do on esa and child support alone which is why i have to rent a room.
I'll have a go on he entitled to site and try a few things out.
Just out of curiosity, if i was to use the 26 week thing to try and sell my house, if things didn't work as well as i hope they will with my new partner, could i go back to my old house and not have to sell it and claim for myself again?

sammyjammy

markyt1974 wrote: »

rental income is declared. IF i was into committing fraud i wouldn't be asking here to make sure all is above board and just move in with her but not declared it
Trust me, i do not like being ill and as said in my OP i have a job waiting for me to return to as soon as i am fit but atm as much as i wish i was, it is not possible

my house is big enough for my new partner and her family but i know from before when i was with my ex that i will need to pay100 per week towards my mortgage which is really hard to do on esa and child support alone which is why i have to rent a room.
I'll have a go on he entitled to site and try a few things out.
Just out of curiosity, if i was to use the 26 week thing to try and sell my house, if things didn't work as well as i hope they will with my new partner, could i go back to my old house and not have to sell it and claim for myself again?

Yes you could put the house up for sale using the 26 week rule and then change your mind.

I wasn't suggesting you were committing fraud but checking you knew you needed to declare the income from your lodger as you hadn't mentioned it.

markyt1974

sammyjammy wrote: »

Yes you could put the house up for sale using the 26 week rule and then change your mind.

I wasn't suggesting you were committing fraud but checking you knew you needed to declare the income from your lodger as you hadn't mentioned it.

sorry, just so used to people thinking the worse, worked hard to buy my home and lucky to be able to keep it after my divorce.