What is my legal housing status?

[AngeloMysterioso]

I’m 20 weeks pregnant and have been unemployed since my last fixed term contract ended in April. I’ve been applying for jobs left right and centre and haven’t even had a nibble, and to be honest at this point even if I got an interview, who is going to hire a woman over halfway through her pregnancy? I will continue to look, but I don't expect to have any luck.

So I’ve been begrudgingly considering applying for benefits. I live with my DH but our home, mortgage etc is all in his name, we're currently in a shared ownership flat but moving to a mortgaged flat in the next few months, and currently he’s not getting any money from me, because I don’t have any.

So I am looking on the entitledto website but I don’t really know how to define my housing status?

The options are-

• Council or housing association tenant
• Tenant- private sector
• mortgage or owned outright
• shared ownership
• boarder or lodger
• supported accommodation
• temporary accommodation
• living rent-free with friends/family
• homeless

I thought it would be living rent free with friends/family, but then the definition says "Select this option if you live with a relative or friend on an informal basis, without a contract to pay rent. You may have an informal arrangement to pay money to stay there, but you do not have a formal contract to pay rent or invoices for rent paid."

I mean, I live with my husband, so that doesn't really apply either?

I'm genuinely thrown- help!

You are shared ownership. Definitely not living rent free. Yours and your husbands' income will be considered jointly.

The benefit system treats you as one household, even if you aren't married. So you can't claim any benefits as a single person. You have to claim as a couple based on joint income. Your housing tenure is therefore shared ownership.

You are a married woman, which in law effectively means you are considered as one person. It is his duty and obligation to support you so you, won't be entitled to benefits.

You can’t claim help with when younger live with you dh. You could claim contributions based JSA.

As pp say entitlement to means tested benefits (ie, Universal Credit and Council Tax Reduction) is addressed on a household basis so both your and your husband's incomes and savings would be counted.

However you may be eligible for contribution-based JSA and later, possibly Maternity Allowance as these are based on your NI record/work history rather than being means tested.

O how and you tick mortgage.

(Contribution-based JSA is now called "new style JSA")