Universal Credit claim as homeowner.

andymoss123

Sorry for all the questions...

poppy12345

andymoss123 said:

The house is tiny with the boys sharing a tiny bedroom. Which was fine when they were 2 and 4, but is becoming unworkable now. We have a 6 x 10 bedroom, a bathroom, and a kitchen/diner/lounge/bedroom. In all, it's smaller than a static caravan, but it's a roof! We'll never be able to afford another house, or any kind of inheritance for the kids, or a bolt hole if the !!!!!! falls out of the world again. The wife's work is seasonal, which UC really wasn't made for.

How small the house is, is irrelevant for UC purposes. If the children won't be living with her then she won't be entitled to claim for any child element with UC. Living alone she will only be entitled to the single person allowance of £368.74/month. Earnings received will see a deduction of 55% as I previously advised. 

andymoss123 said:

Say she did make a claim, do I need to tell them about the house on my claim? And if, say, in 18 months time, she becomes no longer eligible, do they then come back to me about selling it, lest it affects my claim?

If she's living in the house then as advised, unless it's put up for sale you will not be entitled to UC with capital of more than £16,000. 

peteuk

andymoss123 said:

Say she did make a claim, do I need to tell them about the house on my claim? And if, say, in 18 months time, she becomes no longer eligible, do they then come back to me about selling it, lest it affects my claim.

Not sure you fully understand the advice given. So forgive me but I put them all together. 

If you claim UC at any point after leaving the house, it will be expected to be sold.  You wont be able to claim UC with assist worth over £16K.  This is because you have a property that you are not living in.  As suggested it will be disregarded for 6 months and then any proceeds from the sale can be further disregarded for 6 months if you intend to buy another property.  

Just to be clear if you sell the property and both end up with over £16K in savings/capital then there is no entitlement to UC by either party. 

If you sign over the house to your wife it may be seen as deprecation of capital. 

If you move out and dont claim, as your ex-wife is living in the house it wont effect her UC claim, what will effect this is her income.  She will be given a year before the minimal income floor is put in place.   

If after 18 months she is found no longer eligible, the fact that she is still in the house, implies you haven't claimed so no it wont affect you as you have no claim to UC.  

I would suggest that as you are parting ways get a financial  agreement/settlement in place. This may save a lot of issues further down the line for you both.  

poppy12345

@peteuk seems like you quoted the wrong comment...

andymoss123

Thank you all. I think I better speak to UC themselves. Getting a bit of conflicting info. I appreciate your help.

poppy12345

andymoss123 said:

 I think I better speak to UC themselves. Getting a bit of conflicting info. I appreciate your help.

Not the best idea in the world to have in all honesty. When speaking to the helpline you're speaking to someone from a call centre who have very little knowledge of benefits, other than to read from a screen in front of them. Definitely not something any here would advise you to do. I've known them give some shocking advice many times in the past. 

I don't see any conflicting information here at all. You've been given the same advice by everyone that's commented. 

Spoonie_Turtle

andymoss123 said:

Thank you all. I think I better speak to UC themselves. Getting a bit of conflicting info. I appreciate your help.

Which parts here are conflicting?

The people administering UC don't always know the rules.  The people answering the phones most certainly don't, so at best you're likely to get useless information and at worst you could be given incorrect advice that leads you to claiming in good faith then having to repay everything once people who know what they're doing find out your situation.

Muttleythefrog

As above U/C themselves.... if you contact them about policy it is very likely you'll be engaging someone with less knowledge than the first result of a google search but worse... often happy to give you incorrect information. The decision makers at U/C are very clued up but getting decisions in advance is a luxury few will get. I think the advice you've received seems correct.

peteuk

poppy12345 said:

@peteuk seems like you quoted the wrong comment...

When I went to edit it the quote I wanted was there…odd think cause I’ve used your quote to quote the OPs then its was showing yours but not the second one.   Hopefully Ive sorted it now. 

Alice_Holt

andymoss123 said:

Thank you all. I think I better speak to UC themselves. Getting a bit of conflicting info. I appreciate your help.

      Unfortunately the DWP does not give benefit advice.

     If you ring the UC line, you will speak to an untrained call handler (possibly employed by Capita, etc), who have targets re phone call numbers and times. They are unlikely to know the details of capital disregards (which forumites here have outlined for you), and may give you incorrect info.

See below for info on capital disregards:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/654111fb1f1a60000d360b54/admh2.pdf

 
  I don't see any conflicting info. 


  How much is your equity in the house worth ?

  What is the value of your savings ?