Hi, my name is notnap! I am looking at moving to my girlfriends council bungalow in Scotland

notnap

I am looking at moving to my girlfriends council bungalow in Scotland and I live in my own flat in Yeovil Somerset that I bought 7 years ago 
we are both on contribution based esa would our benefits be affected 

poppy123456

Is any part of either of your ESA claims Income Related? Does she claim for help with any rent through housing benefit?

notnap

We are both on contribution based and my girlfriend is having help with her rent 

poppy123456

I'm surprised her ESA is all contributions based, if she lives alone, unless she receives a pension. Same for you. Are you both in the Support Group? If so and your ESA is more than £129.50/week (new April figure) then at least part of your ESA is Income Related.  (before the April increase was £117.60/week.

What will happen to your flat if you move in with her?

notnap

bonbon of my esa is income based 
I will be selling my flat 

poppy123456

Sorry but i have no idea what you mean by this.

notnap said:

bonbon of my esa is income based

When you move in with your partner they will need to report the changes to their local Authority. You will also need to tell them that you are in the process of selling your flat and it should be disregarded for a period of time, until you sell it, providing it's up for sale. Once it's sold if you have savings of more than £16,000 then entitlement to all means tested benefits will end.

notnap said:

I will be selling my flat 

They will lose the 25% single person discount in their council tax reduction too, assuming they are living with no other adults at the moment.

If any part of either of your ESA is Income Related then you'll both need to report the changes to ESA.

notnap

We are having a phone call from a local cab to ask what we are entitled to as I have all ready looked at the differences between contributon based and employment based and It said that we would not lose our benefits 

poppy123456

There's a lot of people that get confused between contributions based and Income Related. Without knowing how much ESA you're both receiving each week it's not possible to advise.

notnap

Around £4.30 every two weeks 

poppy123456

notnap said:

Around £4.30 every two weeks 

I’m sure that amount was a typo. Do you mean about £430/fortnight? If so then at least part of that is Income Related.

Do you claim either PIP Daily living or DLA mid/high rate care? Your ESA amount suggests that it includes the Severe Disability Premium.

Does your partner claim a disability benefit herself such as PIP daily living or DLA mid/high rate care? 

notnap

£430 a fortnight and standard pip monthly and neither of us have worked for over ten years due to our health problems 

poppy123456

Then that will include the SDP so as I advised at least part of it is Income Related. What about your partner do they claim a disability benefit? You didn’t answer that question.
I can’t advise without all the correct information. 

The best thing to do is for both of you to ring ESA to ask what your ESA claim is made up of and whether any part of it is contributions based. Once you know this further advice can be given. 

notnap

We are having a phone call with a local cab person and give them all the facts and figures and see what they say then take it from there 

Hannah_Alumni

Hello @notnap

Welcome to the community!  

That's a big move! I hope it all goes smoothly for you!

Just to let you know I popped your post into our Employment Support Allowance section of the forum. In case you have any other questions or queries. I hope the call with CAB goes well!

notnap

Thank you Hannah looking forward to seeing the replies 

poppy123456

Did you receive the phone call from Citizens Advice?

notnap

It’s a week today