One household or two – UC clarification

sgthammer

The first time I was on the dole was when I was looking for work after university. I got something like £25 a week just to cover the costs of doing that, and no Housing Benefit as I was living with my mum and wasn't the tenant.

Cut to thirty years later. I'm now Mum's carer. She's on a decent pension, I get Carer's Allowance topped up with Universal Credit. For practical reasons we're looking at consolidating our living situations and renting somewhere together. But it's just struck me that my mental model of how that would work may not be correct: I've been assuming I'd lose most or all of my UC based on her income – but obviously we're not a couple, so would we still be considered a single household? Or would I still be eligible for Basic UC and half the Local Reference Rent as a joint tenant?

The move is going to happen either way, but it could be a gamechanging difference to how it operates. Not sure I want to get my hopes up though.

Spoonie_Turtle

You're definitely not living together as a married couple so your single UC claim will continue. 

How the rent works out depends on whether you're joint tenants (in which case yes you'll get half) or if one of you is the tenant and one a non-dependant living with them

sgthammer

Thanks Spoonie.

Yeah, it was thinking back to my old JSA days that was the lightbulb moment.