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Council Housing Entitlement When Seperating - Please Help!
19 replies
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anastasia666
Forumite 43 posts
Hi,
I'm trying to get some advice for my husband. We have decided to split up. I own the house (well, I have a mortgage), and work full time. We have savings of around £12,000 (most of it in my name). He has no income at all. He's signed off work sick but has used up all entitlement to SSP and I've been trying to get him to apply for ESA for a while now.
I need him to move out as we both need to move on with our lives, but I need to know what sort of options he has.
I was hoping he would be able to get a council flat, but I'm not sure where we stand because we're married and I own this house. Will that make him low priority, even if I give him a deadline by which I want him to move out?
He has health issues. He has chronic fatigue that is related to another condition, but has not been formally diagnosed with chronic fatigue. He is not in a position to work again due to his condition, and has applied for medical retirement (still waiting to hear about that).
I am worried about how he will cope and where he will end up, but I cannot live like this anymore and so really need to try to help him sort this out. He hasn't got the money for a private rented flat (well he has no money at all) and I cannot afford to run 2 homes.
If anyone could help that would be great. I tried to ring CAB to make an appointment this morning, but they won't make an appointment for us to come in unless he rings up to make the appointment, because I'm a third party or something. Which was really irritating given how long it took to get through to them and how little motivation my husband has to do anything anymore.
I'm trying to get some advice for my husband. We have decided to split up. I own the house (well, I have a mortgage), and work full time. We have savings of around £12,000 (most of it in my name). He has no income at all. He's signed off work sick but has used up all entitlement to SSP and I've been trying to get him to apply for ESA for a while now.
I need him to move out as we both need to move on with our lives, but I need to know what sort of options he has.
I was hoping he would be able to get a council flat, but I'm not sure where we stand because we're married and I own this house. Will that make him low priority, even if I give him a deadline by which I want him to move out?
He has health issues. He has chronic fatigue that is related to another condition, but has not been formally diagnosed with chronic fatigue. He is not in a position to work again due to his condition, and has applied for medical retirement (still waiting to hear about that).
I am worried about how he will cope and where he will end up, but I cannot live like this anymore and so really need to try to help him sort this out. He hasn't got the money for a private rented flat (well he has no money at all) and I cannot afford to run 2 homes.
If anyone could help that would be great. I tried to ring CAB to make an appointment this morning, but they won't make an appointment for us to come in unless he rings up to make the appointment, because I'm a third party or something. Which was really irritating given how long it took to get through to them and how little motivation my husband has to do anything anymore.
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Replies
Your OH has 'matrimonial home rights'.
http://england.shelter.org.uk/?a=333768
You need to get some professional advice about this either with a solicitor or start with CAB.
Since your OH has no income whatsoever, then if he is unfit for work then he needs to start a claim for ESA.
If he is not entitled to contribution based ESA because he has not paid sufficient NI contributions, then while you are still together he will not be entitled to income based ESA because you are working full time.
If you separate and he leaves the house and relinguishes all entitlement to his 'rights' then he could apply for income based ESA. (means tested so would depend on savings etc) If he received this he would be entitled to full HB and CTB for a one bedroomed flat.
He could make an application for housing but single men do not come high on the list. Private accommodation would probably be the route to take and he could get advice about this from the council housing department.
Everything hinges on the financial settlement that is agreed to if you end your marriage. (you also mention savings)
This is a complicated situation so I would urge you to get professional advice.
I didn't think about private rental, as I wasn't sure if there would be anything with low enough rent that would be covered by housing benefit. And yes, I'm more than happy to help him out financially with all this, but I can't afford to run two households indefinitely.
I'm trying to get him to ring CAB and make an appointment to discuss everything. I tried this morning but they wouldn't make an appointment as he has to ring. Pehaps I should've just made an appointment for me alone to discuss the situation.
We're going to see if we can get a CAB appointment next week to see what the options are. At this stage I didn't want to have to start divorce proceedings etc, but if that's how it has to be then I guess I will have to. I wanted to get him living independantly (and to live independantly myself) and then see if we could rekindle the relationship.
All of this is incredibly daunting.
Will he receive a pension?
I know this is old news but cant see it changing much. If he was older he might have stood a better chance on elderly accommodation but as he is only 43 whe probably fall well short
http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-news/regional-news/2009/02/17/wirral-council-house-waiting-list-trebles-92534-22943183/
WIRRAL has the highest waiting list on Merseyside for families trying to find a home, according to figures released by the Conservatives.
The data, based on Department of Communities and Local Government information, reveals more than 15,000 households are waiting to find a home, while at the same time there are 4,000 empty properties.
I probably sound like a heartless cow, but I have been unhappy for a ling time & have tried to tell him, but nothing changes. I am at the end of my tether & he has pushed me to the point where I no longer feel the same about him anymore. I have spent half my life with him, & thought we would always be together, but for ny own mental health, I cannot stay like this. his own father has told me he doesn't blame me.
he will get a very small pension. waiting for the amount to be confirmed.