Mature Student.

As a mature student at Grimsby College, I have found myself in a difficult situation. I home school my autistic teenage daughter, and now we are living in a respite with a view to moving to social housing.
I have no wish to sell the family home as my hubby still lives there and the place is adapted to suit his needs. We are happily living apart, because of his life saving medication which he needs to take to regulate his condition is now effecting his emotional state and he cannot regulate his emotions, so this causes our family terrible stress.
Both him and myself agreed that we should not suffer because of this so we are living apart but on amicable terms.
Universal credit will be payed to me for six months only because we have assets.
To sell our family home would be traumatising.
Could I stop the housing benefits of Universal credit, and try to pay my own way, so that my husband can keep the house?
Anybody had experience of this?
Thanks.

Reply 1

Anonymous #1

When you say you are living in respite, do you mean that you are living in a refuge or respite care?

Do you own your home outright or is there a mortgage on it. If there is a mortgage, whose name is it in?

Is your husband on UC with Limited Capability for Work?

Does your home ownership prevent you from applying for social housing or are there grounds that exempt you from thecgeneral bar that stops home owners from securing social housing? Many social housing landlords will not accept applications from homeowners. Are you waiting to apply for it when you no longer sell the house?

Do you receive the housing element of UC or housing benefit from the council that gets paid to the refuge? if you are in what is classed as supported housing?

Who advised you that there is a capital disregard for your property and what are the specific grounds? Is it because your family home is currently up for sale?

As you are a student who is currently reliant on benefits, how do you propose to pay your living expenses including rent once the 6 month period is up?

I ask this because you say you want your husband to stay in the family home. Is what you are asking 'can I still receive the standard and child elements of UC if I sign off from the housing element of UC?'

Reply 2

UID27117

Thanks for your reply,
I'm in a womens refuge and I will get universal credit later this month.
In the meantime I am using student finance to pay rent here.
After six months universal credit will review the situation, so does that mean I would have to sell the family home?
Our home is owned outright and its in both
My husband and my name.
I fear is they will force him out.
However the house is adapted for his disabilities and I do not want this to happen.
I'm paying my own way and I wish him no trouble because the reason we moved out is because of his temper, due to ptsd and chronic illness.
He is retired.
The money he earns goes towards his bills and needs so that is why I do not want to make life any more difficult than it already is.
My priority is my daughters safety.

Reply 3

Anonymous #1

You say that your husband is retired but earns money which is confusing.

Are you saying your husband receives the state or occupational pension? Is he working in a job at all? Does he receive any health or disability benefits? Did he receive disability benefits before retirement?

Reply 4

UID27117

My husband has state pension and occupation pension.
He doesn't work as he is retired.
His is nearly seventy and has COPD, Angina, PTSD and Thryoid and Hypontremia.
He has PIP.

Reply 5

Anonymous #1

You will need to check the position with a trained welfare rights advisor. Your refuge may have one, refer you to one or you can book with Citizens advice. Benefit rules are complex and subject to frequent changes.

From CPAG

When the value of property can be disregarded

There are some circumstances when the value of your property can be disregarded. These include, for example:

the home you live in – if you own the home you usually live in, its value is ignored. This includes if you are temporarily absent from the property, for example due to fleeing domestic abuse, but you are intending to return;

your former home, if you have left it following relationship breakdown – the value of your property is ignored for 26 weeks (or 6 months, for UC) from the date you left the property, if you left it following the breakdown of your relationship. If your former partner still lives there and is a lone parent, the value of the property can be disregarded indefinitely;

if the property is occupied by your relative who is over pension age, or who has limited capability for work or, for IS, income-based JSA, income-related ESA, HB, and pension credit is ‘incapacitated’ – in this case the value of the property can be disregarded indefinitely if your relative continues to occupy the property and meet the criteria. ‘Incapacitated’ is not defined but guidance suggests that it includes anyone who receives or would be entitled to employment and support allowance, attendance allowance, disability living allowance or statutory sick pay. It may also include those entitled to personal independence payment, adult disability payment or child disability payment, although it may be arguable that a broader interpretation should apply;

Reply 6

Anonymous #1

Have a check of these links

https://askcpag.org.uk/link/208265/universal-credit-for-survivors-of-domestic-abuse-can-the-value-of-your-property-be-disregarded-

https://cpag.org.uk/welfare-rights/key-topics/survivors-domestic-abuse/value-property-and-its-effect-means-tested-benefits

Reply 7

Anonymous #1

A website called Universal Credit Essentials covers this and expands upon it a little.

Ultimately it will be a DWP Decision Maker who will make the decision whether the capital from your house will be disregarded or you will not be entitled to receive means tested benefits due to this.

Other Capital Disregards

Included below are other common situations in which capital can be disregarded. If any of these should apply to you then you should explain this to Universal Credit when reporting the capital and provide any further relevant evidence.

Property
If you own a property and live in it as your home, the capital will be disregarded. There are certain circumstances that a second property can be disregarded as capital (see below)

Premises occupied by former partner

Premises that are occupied by a former partner as their home are disregarded indefinitely if it is their only home and:
the person and their former partner are not estranged but are living apart by force of circumstances, for example where the person is in long-term care
the person’s former partner is a lone parent and occupies the premises as their home

Premises no longer occupied

If a person no longer occupies premises as their home following separation from their former partner, those premises can be disregarded from the calculation of capital where they have stopped living in those premises within the past 6 months

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Disregarded capital
Unless capital is specifically disregarded by law, it will be taken into account by Universal Credit. There are various disregards on capital so if capital is a concern on your claim, it is advisable to get independent advice.

The following is some common types of capital which can be disregarded in full:
the property occupied by the claimant as his or her main home
personal injury compensation payments placed in trust funds
certain other compensation payments
personal pension schemes and retirement annuity contracts
life insurance policies
funeral plan contract
business assets
capital belonging to a relevant child dependant within the assessment unit
personal possessions
This list in not exhaustive.

Other Capital Disregards
Included below are other common situations in which capital can be disregarded. If any of these should apply to you then you should explain this to Universal Credit when reporting the capital and provide any further relevant evidence.

Personal Injury Payment (including Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund)
A Payment received as consequence of a personal injury can be disregarded for 12 months from the day it was paid if any of the following apply:
it is not held in trust (see below for held in trust)
it has not been used to purchase an annuity
it has not been otherwise disposed of
The amount is disregarded as capital indefinitely if the sum is either:
held in trust
administered by the court
Payments made from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund will also be disregarded.

Arrears of benefit or compensation for late payment
Any payment received within the previous 12 months by way of arrears of or compensation for late payment of certain benefits is disregarded. Those benefits are:
Universal Credit
an abolished benefit, namely:
income-based Jobseeker Allowance
income-related Employment and Support Allowance
Income Support
Housing Benefit
Council Tax Benefit
Child Tax Credit
Working Tax Credit
a Social Security benefit which is not treated as unearned income for Universal Credit including Personal Independence Payment and Disability Living Allowance.

Arrears of benefit and tax credits
Arrears of benefit, Tax Credits or compensation for non-payment of £5,000 or more paid due to official error or error of law can be disregarded for the length of the Universal Credit award. The disregard applies to claimants who receive a payment of arrears or compensation:
whilst in receipt of Universal Credit or
whilst in receipt of a Legacy benefit and migrate to Universal Credit with a gap of less than a month between awards of benefit
This longer disregard will only be available on a transitional basis and will only apply to payments of arrears or compensation which relate to a period before Legacy benefits are abolished.
Once migration to Universal Credit is complete and Legacy benefits are abolished, a standard 12 month disregard will apply to all new benefit arrears and compensation payments whether or not they are due to official error or errors of law.

Amount to be used to purchase premises
If a person has received an amount within the past 6 months which is to be used to purchase premises that the person intends to occupy as their home, that amount can be disregarded from the calculation of the claimants’ capital where it:
comes from the proceeds of the sale of premises formerly occupied as the person’s home
has been deposited with a housing association as a condition of the person occupying premises as their home, or
is a grant made to the person for the sole purpose of purchasing a home it is reasonable to disregard the amount for a longer period if, for example:
people have tried but not found premises which are suitable for their or a member of their family's needs (in particular, if one of them is disabled and needs a certain type of accommodation)
the person has found premises and the
sale has not been completed, or
the seller later decides not to sell

Property
If you own a property and live in it as your home, the capital will be disregarded. There are certain circumstances that a second property can be disregarded as capital (see below)

Premises lived in by a close relative

Premises that are occupied as a home by a close relative are disregarded indefinitely if it is their only home and the close relative has:
Limited Capability for Work, or
has reached the qualifying age for State Pension Credit

A close relative means:
parent
parent-in-law
son
son-in-law
daughter
daughter-in-law
step-parent
step-son
step-daughter
brother
sister
or where any of the above is a member of a couple, the other member of the couple.