Hi, Does anyone have a clue please

PostmanPat

Hi All,
Untill last week i lived with my partner, I was her carer ( carers allowance) and she claimed standard daily living and enhanced mobility, all going well but sometimes as relationships do , they break down and she has left the property we shared , my Question is as we were Tennants in Common , ie she inherited some cash and put it into  my mortgage.

my ex seems to believe that if she was/went/had to on UC they might pay her housing costs, or my question will it affect the amount she could claim on UC Due to her actually owning half a property.............admittedly not living in it
She works from home very small business earning 80 p/w

I am asking my dads solicitor about this  too , but wondered if anyone here knew the answer

Thanks all in advance

Ripples

Does she jointly own the property as in her name is on the mortgage and or title deed? if she has an interest in a property I will assume she will be renting privately  When claiming UC  I am fairly certain that a half share  in a property that  she does not live in will be treated as capital but there are exemptions.  You are better off taking legal advice on this

PostmanPat

Hi Ripples, no her name isnt on the mortgage or deed, and yes shes renting privately, yes thats the thing , it might be  only when.if she goes on UC  that the ( interest) in the property comes to light, i too would have thought that it would be classed as capital as she did invest in the property, mmmmm legal advice , my parents say well ask our solicitor, what with all the confusion, im not sure even he wil know , hes about 93yr lol
Another scenario is ofcourse shed like her money out of the property, if its sold or I can remortgage, shed then definately have CAPITAL to the tune of about 55k, so i cant really see UC paying her rent then, its very confusing as in her new area, it might still be normal tax credits re the roll out delay etc.
And my angle well........ being out of work as i was prev her carer, bit of a pickle re--remortgaging/selling the house, obv if i have a job , i should be able to remortgage, im seeing her Friday and solicitors following tuesday, a poss legal delay to stop her making me sell the house would  be ideal for me obviosly, but as its all amicable at moment, dont want to rock the boat so to speak

Thanks for imput, if you have anymore thoughts on this, please let me know, ill update when i know more

poppy123456

HI,

All areas are now a full UC area. If she has less than 2 dependent children then she won't be able to make a new claim for housing benefit.  I can't answer your question about the property and claiming a means tested benefit but you/her really do need to get expert advice regarding this.

If in the future the house is sold and she receives her share of the profit, if it's more than £16,000 this will end her entitlement to any means tested benefits.

PostmanPat

hi Poppy, 
Thanks for the imput,but from whom???
( I can't answer your question about the property and claiming a means tested benefit but you/her really do need to get expert advice regarding this. ) is there a UC helpline
Im trying to help her here you see

So all areas are live now? so lets just say she was living in shropshire ala the previos scenario with tax credits etc etc and moves to exeter, if she claimed it would automatically be a UC  claim?

poppy123456

Local CAB or any other advice centre will do.

All areas are now full UC, not live and have been since mid December. A new claim for housing benefit will not be possible, it will have to be UC.

Ripples

@PostmanPat  The reason I asked about whether her name was on the deeds is because they can check land registry details. At the moment  it would depend on disclosure by her when making any application. Should the situation change and her interest in the asset becomes liquidated then she will have savings over the threshold.
As regards the house if you were unmarried the issue can appear more problematical but you have acknowledged her contribution to the property and if you happy with that situation and wish to keep it amicable then I can see why you are exploring your options.  If the house was without mortgage you could release  funds by selling equity whilst staying in the property I'm not sure that is the case whilst someone else has a charge on it.   A longer term option would be to remortgage or sell. I should finish by saying that if social housing ever became part of the equation that many social housing providers will not add people to their common register whilst they part own property. 

PostmanPat

Mike,
Thanks for that i just checked the (the deed of declaration of trust ), and it doesnt actually........... say my ex will be on the land registry with an interest in the property, ill order a copy tomorrow and see if she is, if she is , then i guess thats a problem if she registers  willingly or is transferred onto UC etc