I'm posting on behalf of my friend, who currently lives with her boyfriend of a few years and her kids (none are his). She is finally thinking seriously about leaving him, but wants to know if there's a way she can do this without her having to move. Basically, he has mental health issues and won't leave if asked (she has asked him to before) but obviously she doesn't want to uproot the children and leave with nowhere really to go (he could easily stay at his sister's or his mum's, but as she has the kids, who have to go to school, it's a lot harder).
They currently claim benefits as a couple and the housing benefit is paid into his name, but goes straight from the HA to the landlord (it's not a council property). Her name though is down as the person renting the house. These details may be slightly wrong as I've never dealt with this stuff before but I can get more details from her if necessary to make things clearer.
So, is there any way she can legally get him to leave, if he won't go of his own accord? Or does she just have to leave herself and then be left trying to find a place for herself and the kids?