Getting Housing Benefit when my partner (separated) lives in the house we own together

davidlittlewood

I'm a retired male of 68 years and unfortunately I'm separating from my wife.
We own the home we have shared but I  no longer live there.
I did manage to get myself a little flat and used some of my work place pension to make it a home.
I did pay my rent and council tax from my savings but soon found myself needing some help.
I made application for rent and council tax support but was told that I would not get any help because I have a house and told me to make my wife sell it and give me my share.
This is her home so how could I really do that.

chiarieds

Hi @davidlittlewood - & welcome to the community. This is a difficult situation, & whilst you don't want to force your wife to sell your marital home, it will be considered to be an asset, from what you have said, that you both own.

I was in a similar yet different situation.... I separated from my husband & left our marital home also buying my own property. We also had a rental property in our joint names, &, altho my husband kept all the income from this, in theory, as far as HMRC were concerned, I was advised by my accountant that I would be perceived by them to be getting half the profits. During this time period I couldn't get any additional help, as in theory I was a joint owner of both our marital home, which I no longer lived in, & this rental property from which I received no income after separating from my husband.

You perhaps need to disentangle your finances; if you'd rather not, then you may not be entitled to the support you're hoping for.

calcotti

davidlittlewood said:

I made application for rent and council tax support but was told that I would not get any help because I have a house and told me to make my wife sell it and give me my share.
This is her home so how could I really do that.

If you want to claim HB/CTR you have no choice - although once the house is sold you may not be eligible due to the capital you will then have.

calcotti

Note that if you put the house on the market it can be disregarded as capital for six months while you are trying to sell.

susmac

The above is incorrect information. Martin Ward book states

that property is disregarded if 'the home of a partner or relative of yours or of anyone in your family, if that partner/relative has reached state pension age'. So you can move out and rent another property and enter a claim for HB. It will assessed on your income.

poppy123456

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/965305#Comment_965305

This is an old thread from June 2021 and the advice that was given was correct. Your advice is unfortunately incorrect.

The disregard doesn't apply to those that are either estranged, divorced or had formed a civil partnership that has now dissolved. You can see the HB regulations 2006 here.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2006/213/schedule/6

4.  Any premises occupied in whole or in part—

(a)by a partner or relative of a single claimant or any member of the family as his home [F5where that person has attained the qualifying age for state pension credit or is incapacitated];

(b)by the former partner of the claimant as his home; but this provision shall not apply where the former partner is a person from whom the claimant is estranged or divorced or with whom he had formed a civil partnership that has been dissolved.