Failed Habitual Residence Test- Can I still claim Housing Benefit?

remembe

I just was informed that I have failed the Habitual Residence Test, so my claim for Jobseeker's allowance is not allowed for 3 months.
Does this mean that I cannot get Housing Benefit either?
Or Income Support?

I found this on the housing-rights.info site ,but not sure how to interpret it.

How the test applies to different rights and benefits

Most applicants for local authority housing or welfare benefits have to pass the habitual residence test, although there are important exceptions. All of the rules on this page apply equally to housing applications and to claims for housing benefit and other passport benefits (e.g. income support, state pension credit, etc.) but with the following exceptions:

• entitlement to a passport benefit (income support, income-based jobseeker’s allowance, etc.) only provides exemption to the test for housing benefit; and
• for jobseeker’s allowance claims only, the claimant cannot be habitually resident during their first three months’ residence in the common travel area.

I returned to UK last week, after a few years in Asia, was able to stay with someone for a week, but now am homeless. I have no money either, no more credit nor overdraft,
I called shelter, CAB etc but am getting nowhere.

thorsoak

1. Are you/were you a UK citizen, holding a UK passport?

2. How long have you been absent from the UK?

3. Do you have family here in the UK?

remembe

UK citizen, away 6years, dont really have family here, lost touch, noone in a position to help

thorsoak

remembe wrote: »

UK citizen, away 6years, dont really have family here, lost touch, noone in a position to help

And you haven't kept up on your NI contributions? How many years' NI contributions did you make prior to moving abroad?

TELLIT01

NI contributions wouldn't be relevant after 6 years away. Entitlement to Contribution based benefit looks at the last 2 complete years i.e. 2013 and 2014.
As a single adult you are very unlikely to qualify for Income Support.
The qualifying period was brought in to prevent people arriving from abroad and claiming benefits immediately. The rule applying to UK nationals is in part down to EU legislation as it breaks their rules to differentiate between UK and other EU nationalities.

remembe

remembe wrote: »

All of the rules on this page apply equally to housing applications and to claims for housing benefit and other passport benefits (e.g. income support, state pension credit, etc.) but with the following exceptions:

• entitlement to a passport benefit (income support, income-based jobseeker’s allowance, etc.) only provides exemption to the test for housing benefit; and
• for jobseeker’s allowance claims only, the claimant cannot be habitually resident during their first three months’ residence in the common travel area.

This is the part I find confusing.
Does it mean that the Housing Benefit claim is NOT dependant on having resided in UK for 3 months?

So I can make a new claim for HRT for Housing Benefit?

NYM

According to CAB site UK & Irish Citizens Returning from Abroad...

The DWP, your local authority or HMRC will decide at what point you can be viewed as habitually resident, depending on how long you have been away, why you were abroad, and what ties you kept with the UK during this time.

Rules that came into force on 1 January 2014 mean that, if you're claiming income-based jobseeker's allowance and do need to show that you are habitually resident, you cannot be viewed as habitually resident until you've been living in the UK or elsewhere in the common travel area for at least three months. This means that if you claim income-based jobseeker's allowance immediately on your return to the UK from outside this area you won't receive this benefit for at least three months.

I think that means unless you do meet the HRT, then you won't be entitled to make a claim for JSA nor Local Housing Allowance for 3 months.



...might be wrong though

sleepless_saver

As far as I can see it means that if you are getting income related JSA or one of the other benefits listed, then you don't have to meet the habitual residence criterion for housing benefit. Otherwise you do.

There is nothing to stop you applying for housing benefit even if you've been turned down for JSA - but you would still need to show that you met the habitual residence criteria described in your link. If you've only just arrived, have no family links here, no job and no accommodation it will be hard to do this in the short term.

tea-bag

I hope not you left and paid nothing for 6 years and now times are tough you come home and try to claim.???

remembe

The second point
"for jobseeker’s allowance claims only, the claimant cannot be habitually resident during their first three months’ residence in the common travel area."
implies that there is no requirement to be habitually resident for 3 months.
Would you agree?

Actually I'm more interested in avoiding sleeping rough this winter, than making a claim
All my family are/were british

Topcat1982

Did you go to the council and tell them you're homeless?