Will I be able to claim universal credit

[Itsmeagainyes]

I'm in a very awkward situation. I am splitting from DP and will have care of my disabled child. I work part time and have a large amount of savings, which i have had for many years but intend on using most of them towards a house deposit as I can't get a big mortgage due to my low income. Would this be classed as deprivation of assets if I applied for universal credit? The rules seem complicated.

It is around 80k for context.

If you've spent it on the deposit I can't see why you wouldn't be able to claim. If it's in your bank then no.

If you use the capital for your primary residence (i.e. your only home) then it isn't deprivation of capital.

It will be for our only home. A universal credit top up would make a substantial difference to my finances, although it is all pie in the sky at the moment because I have to find somewhere suitable to buy on a tiny budget first.

No. If you have 80k in the bank you will not get universal credit.

Any savings of over 16k mean no universal credit, rightly so.

If you have spent the money on buying a house before you make a claim then that isn't deprivation of assets, but you won't be able to claim UC if you have that money in your account when yiu claim.

It will count as savings until its spent no matter what the reason, so no you won't be able to claim with that amount in the bank.

That's a different matter though, isn't it? I thought the OP was asking if spending £80k towards a house would be regarded as deprivation of capital when she makes the claim for Universal Credit.

That is exactly what I was asking. I am claiming nothing now, actually never have but have to put a roof over mine and my child's head. Due to my child's disability a number of safety modifications need to be made to keep them safe so private rent isn't a good option and council/ha wait list is huge. I can only get a small mortgage as my income is quite low so would be using the savings as a deposit but it will leave me with virtually no savings.

I enquired about this when I bought my house after separating from my husband. Once the house had been transferred over to him (he bought me out) I was left with 100k in my bank account for a few months while my house sale completed.

When I enquired, they confirmed that as the money was for a house purchase, it wouldn’t affect my claim (I was already claiming at the time I received the money).

That's a different scenario again. If OP buys the house first then she'll be able to claim but she can't keep savings that were never part of a house purchase and claim UC .