Claiming Universal Credit...advice please.

[NeverGuessWho]

I have looked on websites but can’t find this information.

In approximately two months, maybe less, I will be moving out of the family home. My DH and I are separating, and our DCs will split their time between our two homes.

I have calculated my entitlement to benefits, but can’t find out when I should put my claim in.

Does anyone know long it takes to process a claim?

If I wait till I move in to my new address, I will be in dire straights.

I don’t have a moving date yet.

Can anyone advise?

Thank you.

Before anyone flames me - I do work full time, I’m just on a low wage.

@UndertheCedartree if you leave the mortgaged family home and move into rental accommodation then claim UC to help with those rental costs the benefit office view it as a deliberate deprivation of assets (much like parents signing their houses over to their children to avoid the care home fees). If you had a mortgage on your property before you started claiming and you still live there then that's different.

Brummie UC will pay for rent if it's because of a relationship breakdown but they do expect the claimant to take steps to sell the property within 12 months.

Have you had any professional advice, OP?
Have you spoken to Citizens Advice and a solicitor?
Do you have children and if so are you the primary carer; will they be living with you?
If there are marital assets (equity in the property, savings, pensions) you really need legal advice.
Before you move out.

As for when to claim UC, that depends on too many factors to be able to advise without more info. Mainly your salary and whether you have children. It might be that you are entitled to some UC now (the standard element plus child element) and you can claim as a single person provided you and your husband are living separately, ie sleeping in separate rooms, not doing food shopping and cooking for each other, and running separate finances ie separate not joint accounts etc.

As PPs have pointed out, you are going to have problems claiming the housing element if you rent from a family member. You should seek more advice on it.

Hmm. I've looked it up and it would be an issue if you were living with your father (in his home) and paying him rent as a lodger. But if he is not living there, he's just the landlord and you have a tenancy agreement, I think it would be ok. Do get more advice to check, though. You could try the Help to Claim helpline or webchat:
www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/universal-credit/claiming/helptoclaim/

I've been separated but living under same roof as ex. I be claimed uc from the day after we split. They just took my word for it.

Claim now. I didn't know they take it from when you split regardless of living situation. I didn't claim for over 3 months after ex and I split as he hadn't moved out and I assumed I'd have to wait. My claim all went through whilst he was still living here.

They don't ask for any proof.

@Elephantonascooter you're incorrect about £800. You can have as an advance your full entitlement which is worked out individually, we were able to have £1,400 as an advance when we claimed. Not sure where you got £800 from

@ivykaty44
Thank you for all your advice.

However, from my point of view, me staying in the house is not an option.

This is potentially outing, but I’m past caring! The family home has a lot of land - it needs proper management, field rotation, specialist knowledge of how to treat it, qualifications in the use of chemicals to maintain it, knowledge of how to use tractor & equipment, when to seed it & how long to rest it. On top of that, there are several horses - again, I don’t have the time or knowledge or inclination to run a yard. I can’t afford to run the house even without all the land, and most of all don’t want to.

In your experience as an advisor, would those factors justify me needing to move out of the family home & finding alternative accommodation? TIA

LakieLady Is the benefits advisor and posted a very comprehensive post outlining the situation

@Qwerty543

Thank you.

@ivykaty44

Thank you. I think as it’s my post though, I can ask further questions, surely? Or was your post at 20:45pm aimed at another poster? Apologies if it was.

Ah I see what you mean!

Apologies @ivykaty44!

I meant to add @LakieLady’s name before I posted about the particulars about the situation, but realised that I forgot to add it. The last part of my post was aimed at @LakieLady.

@LakieLady sorry. I really do appreciate the time you, and all other posters have taken to respond to my post.

If you have a mortgage on your current property its seen as an asset, you wont get anything until that has been sold/hes bought you out.

I would need to check that UC rules reflect legacy benefit rules (this is not something I've had to advise on yet under UC), but under legacy benefits:

1. It is disregarded for a year if it is to be sold, and I have succeeded in convincing DWP that one party buying out the other's interest should be treated in the same way as a sale.

1. The 12 months can be extended if you can convince them that you are taking genuine steps to dispose of your interest in it, and

1. The capital received from the sale/settlement can also be disregarded if it is earmarked for the purchase of another property.

Why can you not get UC if landlord is related to you, the rent is still due isn't is?

Because that's what the rules say, is the simple answer. What the intention behind the rules is can only be speculated about.

My guess is that it's to stop the taxpayer effectively funding the purchase of a valuable asset for a close relative.

If you are now separated but living under the same roof, you can claim now.

Good luck with that. I can't begin to imagine what sort of evidence the DWP would need to have to satisfy them that you were genuinely no longer living as a couple.

I (and my colleagues) would never give that advice. I daresay it might be possible if you have got a deed of separation, if you can do that while still living in the same home.

@NeverGuessWho, yes, I would advise staying elsewhere temporarily.

If your father was to buy a property and rent it to someone else for a year or so, then rent it to you, he would have established that it is a business arrangement.Then they would, in all probability, be ok with paying the housing costs.

But nothing is guaranteed and UC is so new, and so complex, that there's a big lack of consistency in DWP decision making.

Anecdotally, I have heard of someone whose parents bought a property for her to live in and the client just lied and said they weren't a relation. Because they had different surnames (and it was mother and stepfather, so the names weren't even the same as the client's maiden name), it didn't ring any alarm bells.

She got away with it, but I couldn't possibly advise such a course of action. It would be unprofessional!

I've just looked up the decision-maker's guidance on this, and it seems that there may be more scope than there is under HB.

"There must be a valid reason for believing that a liability to pay rent has been created to take advantage of Universal Credit.

If claimants are renting from a former partner or relative this doesn’t automatically mean the arrangement is contrived.

If the arrangement is a commercial one that has not been established solely for financial gain it may be allowed"

data.parliament.uk/DepositedPapers/Files/DEP2017-0556/64_Housing_cost_Contrived_Tenancies_v4.0.pdf

So basically, it would depend on whether your claim lands on the desk of someone who is a bastard or not!

It would make a very interesting test case. It might be worth talking to Shelter or CPAG on this point. I'll raise it with the rest of the team on Thursday, and see what my colleagues think.

You really, really, really need legal advice before benefits advice. The old system was very different and this one is a bit more complex and usually not as generous. It is also designed to be much, much better when used as a top up benefit to work and/or childcare assistance. It's designed to stop the state being the first port of call in cases like relationship breakdown.

If you are separated you can claim now. As long as you are living lives separately

@LakieLady thank you so much for going to such lengths to help me. 💐

Do solicitors know the benefits system inside out though?
My plan is to go to citizens advice to get all the benefits advice, then to my solicitor.

I thought this would be the logical order, but maybe I’m wrong?

I work for citizens advice and I would tell you to consult a solicitor. (I'm pretty sure that's what I already advised on this thread.)

You need advice from both, but citizens advice won't know whether you are entitled to a financial settlement in the divorce and if so how much. You need to discuss that with a solicitor. Depending on the likely outcome of a divorce settlement your benefit situation might be affected.

PS It is a good idea to contact citizens advice first as they might be able to point you in the direct of family law clinics or solicitors offering a free initial consultation - we do.

@NeverGuessWho, I'd do it in the order you suggest!

Otherwise, you'd be paying the solicitor good money for advice that might not be appropriate when the benefit position is known for sure.