House advice, impact on benefits with friend moving in

ElizabethA

Hello,

Can anyone advise me on a potentially new situation as follows?

My brother and I inherited our childhood home 50% each when our mother passed away. I’m disabled and I live in the house. My brother now wants his share of the money but I’m unable to get a mortgage as I can’t work.

I’ve got a friend who is happy to get a mortgage to buy my brother’s share and then move in, which is fine by me. But I’m in receipt of ESA (income based) and PIP.

So my question is, how would my friend moving in and paying towards the bills affect my benefits?

Thanks for any help and advice.

Morgan_Scope

Good morning @ElizabethA.

I'm afraid I'm not 100% certain of the answer and would not want to misadvise.

I have marked your post as 'unanswered' and will speak with a colleague to see if I can find more information out for you.

Morgan_Scope

Afternoon @ElizabethA.

Thank you for your patience. I've double-checked and I don't believe this will impact your benefits. Sometimes people who get the Severe Disability Premium with their ESA can lose it if other people move in. However, it won't be affected if you live with a co-owner who is not a close relative, so in this case if you are receiving SDP, you should be able to keep.

Your friend contributing to the bills won't affect your benefits either. 

ElizabethA

@morgan_scope

Thank you so much for your help. I can’t tell you how relieved I am! It means I can stay in my home and not have to move away from all my friends and my support network.