Not entitled to income support or housing benefit.

[trix11]

I applied for income support and housing benefit and have been told Im not eligible for either as I have my name on mortgage with ex partner who i left 6 months ago because of domestic violence. The only money I have coming in is family allowance. I was working but was made redundant two months ago. How can i keep a roof over my childrens head now.

Can anyone advise on this please?

Can you apply for a break in your mortgage payments whilst you look for work?

You need to get your name taken off the deeds as soon as you can.

If you were made redundant and have sufficient NI contributions you should be able to receive contribution based JSA, which is not means tested.

This will apply for 6 months, during which time you can try to get more work.

Also, despite the violence, your ex is still required to pay to support his children.

If your children are aged 7+, you might be entitled to income-based JSA after the contribution-based one runs out.

Three children are all under 9 years. The mortgage company would not agree to a break in the mortgage.

You might be entitled to contribution-based JSA for 6 months.

Again, the rules are changing for Income Support, with the age being lowered to 5.

So it's probably in your best interest to scramble for work if at all possible.

trix11 I'll be honest and straight with you about this, I am not sure at all that my views are correct, so I don't want to give you false hope, but I think their decision may not be correct.
My advice: go to your local Citizens' Advice Bureau and ask them.

You need to sell the house

who says that expat? at my work focused interview yesterday i asked,they said it was only rumour and nobody had officially said this was to be changed to age 5

It was in the emergency budget

a definate move to 5 years then? or proposed....

C&P from Citizens advice PDF

From October 2010, all lone parents and partners of benefit claimants will have to look for work when their youngest child reaches seven. The budget announced that from October 2011, parents will be expected to actively seek work and claim JSA when their youngest child reaches age five. Jobcentre Plus must ensure that all initial Jobseeker interviews are carried out by specialist lone parent advisers to ensure that action plans accurately reflect the parent?s childcare needs. Changes to JSA regulations in 2009 allow a parent to limit their job-search to work that fits around school hours. These restrictions on availability for work may inevitably extend the time it takes to find an appropriate job. If they are unable to find a suitable job within a year, they will now face a 10 per cent cut in their housing benefit after 12 months on the benefit, which would very likely force them into financial hardship, poverty and debt.

From what I can remember if you split form a partner because of DV you had 6 months where the value of your joint home wouldn't count as capital for the purpose of means-tested benefits (IS and HB being 2 of these). There may be some discration ofr extending this but you will have to show that you are making every effort to sell or remove your name from it.

I could give you more detail on your rights in this situation but I'd need to ask a lot of questions. I think there have been similar threads on this in the past so maybe scour old threads. Otherwise you really need to see a good benefits adviser, either through CAB/Shelter/Local Authority or other org.

It would appear that you have been turned down for I.S as they have considered you to have notional capital - ie your half of the house. This decision would only have been made if you were nnot taking steps to realise that asset.

What steps are you taking to get your half of the property? Are solicitors involved. Could you take the matter to court so you can return to house and have him ordered to stay away.

Sorry foreverastudent completely missed your post- which actual is bascially what I said!

Please appeal decision and take specialist advice. The disregard can sometimes be applied for up to 52 weeks from date of seperation.

Also does he have any children living in the property with him?