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Moving house while on UC
tyllwyd
Posts: 5,496 Forumite
A family member is receiving UC and ESA because she can't work due to mental health problems. She's in the middle of a divorce, and she has a fixed deadline when the family home will be sold, so the original plan was to sell the old house and buy the new one on the same day, so that it wouldn't affect her benefits.
The house purchase has just fallen through, and she is worried that she won't be able to find a new property in the remaining time. If she starts privately renting with the proceeds of sale from the family home, obviously that money will be spent pretty quickly. Is it possible for her to leave the money with her solicitor and move in with family for a few months until a new house can be bought, or does the money need to be transferred into her bank account and declared as savings as soon as the house is sold?
The house purchase has just fallen through, and she is worried that she won't be able to find a new property in the remaining time. If she starts privately renting with the proceeds of sale from the family home, obviously that money will be spent pretty quickly. Is it possible for her to leave the money with her solicitor and move in with family for a few months until a new house can be bought, or does the money need to be transferred into her bank account and declared as savings as soon as the house is sold?
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Comments
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Do you know what UC elements she is claiming and what ESA is being claimed ? You can't claim 2 income related benefits at the same time, otherwise a debt may be created which would need to be repaid.
Who is living in the house being sold ? Can they not delay the house sale, due to the purchase falling through ?
Whether the sale proceeds are held by a Solicitors or in the claimants account makes no difference. It is still capital available and would affect benefits. However there are rules regarding capital disregards, which might be useful. I.e they may be OK, if another property bought within 6 months with the sale proceeds. Your relative would need to put their case to DWP and ask for a decision to be made, so they know how to proceed.
I will add a link shortly to info regarding capital disregards.
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/687077/admh2.pdfThe comments I post are personal opinion. Always refer to official information sources before relying on internet forums. If you have a problem with any organisation, enter into their official complaints process at the earliest opportunity, as sometimes complaints have to be started within a certain time frame.0 -
Thank you! To be honest, I'm vague about what exact benefits are being claimed, so that's probably my misunderstanding. She's living in the house, and she's tried to get her ex to agree to delay the sale but they are saying no.
Thank you for the link about capital disregards. It looks to me as if H2119 might cover the situation, which would help enormously.0
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