Universal Credit Couple’s Clarification

awomancalledlucy

Hi all, I’m wondering if anyone is able to provide some advice or clarification on Universal Credit and claiming as part of a couple, as I’m finding the HMRC guidelines to be vague.

My boyfriend and I currently live separately. Right now I’m receiving Universal Credit as a single person (I lost my job due to COVID-19) and he has his own business, paying himself £1,000 each month during the pandemic; normally this would be about £3,000 (including dividends).

Late last year we made a decision that in the summer of 2020 we would temporarily move out of London and into a house together, for about a year - to try a very different lifestyle to London and be closer to family members, especially one who is very (terminally) ill. We have lived independently for over 10 years and want to keep some independence, so we’d each have a separate bedroom within the house and won’t share finances. We would split the rent and bills between us, just like if we were living in a houseshare. 

The HMRC definition of a couple is:

• married to each other

• civil partners of each other

• living together as if they were married

They also state that if any of the above definitions apply to you, you have to claim as a couple. I currently need to claim, however my boyfriend doesn’t want or need to be involved with UC.

I’ve got all of this information from the UC “Further Information For Couples” page (sorry, the forum isn't allowing me to post the link).

To me, the description of “living together as if they were married” doesn’t fit our plan that I’ve described above, especially as we will each continue to be financially independent of one another and won’t be sharing a bedroom.

In this situation do I continue to claim as a single person, or will we need to be as a couple? I want to be fully informed about these rules before we make a decision. I expect to be earning later this year, so we could wait to move, but for various reasons (especially being closer to family at a difficult time) we’d really like to move as soon as possible.

If you have any useful knowledge or advice please let me know - I’d really appreciate the help!

Thank you

 Lucy 

[Deleted User]

My suggestion is repost this in the benefits section, there are some very knowledgeable individuals on there who could help. Sorry UC isn’t my strong point. 

Comms69

awomancalledlucy said:

Hi all, I’m wondering if anyone is able to provide some advice or clarification on Universal Credit and claiming as part of a couple, as I’m finding the HMRC guidelines to be vague.

My boyfriend and I currently live separately. Right now I’m receiving Universal Credit as a single person (I lost my job due to COVID-19) and he has his own business, paying himself £1,000 each month during the pandemic; normally this would be about £3,000 (including dividends).

Late last year we made a decision that in the summer of 2020 we would temporarily move out of London and into a house together, for about a year - to try a very different lifestyle to London and be closer to family members, especially one who is very (terminally) ill. We have lived independently for over 10 years and want to keep some independence, so we’d each have a separate bedroom within the house and won’t share finances. We would split the rent and bills between us, just like if we were living in a houseshare. 

The HMRC definition of a couple is:

• married to each other

• civil partners of each other

• living together as if they were married

They also state that if any of the above definitions apply to you, you have to claim as a couple. I currently need to claim, however my boyfriend doesn’t want or need to be involved with UC.

I’ve got all of this information from the UC “Further Information For Couples” page (sorry, the forum isn't allowing me to post the link).

To me, the description of “living together as if they were married” doesn’t fit our plan that I’ve described above, especially as we will each continue to be financially independent of one another and won’t be sharing a bedroom.

In this situation do I continue to claim as a single person, or will we need to be as a couple? I want to be fully informed about these rules before we make a decision. I expect to be earning later this year, so we could wait to move, but for various reasons (especially being closer to family at a difficult time) we’d really like to move as soon as possible.

If you have any useful knowledge or advice please let me know - I’d really appreciate the help!

Thank you

 Lucy 

Realistically, most couple who move in together broadly dont share finances and split bills and rent to start with. You will be sharing a bed. You will be cooking meals together. Who will be a couple living together; and that is what DWP will believe. 

KatrinaWaves

When you move in you 100% will be living as a couple. Your individual desires for financial independence and space don’t change that. 

TELLIT01

Many people who live together still keep finances separate and share bills.  Having a spare bedroom doesn't change that.  They are still a couple.  I think the OP would have great difficulty convincing DWP that they are not living as a couple.

jazzyja

Not sure how you could prove it? I mean even to me i can see you're a couple no matter how you explain your reasoning behind living together. Even if you're living together temporarily i would still class that as a couple living together. 

anmarj

HMRC don’t deal with UC, so you need to start looking at DWP UC site, as there are differences 

https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit/eligibility