Will I lose UC if my mum stays with me temporarily?

[Pebblybeachwalker]

I'm a single parent and receive UC to top up my part time earnings. Obviously get single person discount on my council tax too. All in all I manage OK if I'm careful with my money.
My mum is planning to leave her husband (long history of coercive control and mental abuse spanning decades). They live in the same area as I and I thought about offering my mum my spare room till she gets herself sorted. It's not viable for her to stay in the marital home, she has no other family to stay with, wont consider a refuge and doesn't have the funds for her own place, not even to rent. She's retired and considering getting a little job to get some independence.
If she comes to stay at mine temporarily for a few weeks, would I have to declare it to the UC people and the council tax department? It wouldn't be a long term arrangement, a few weeks at most and I wouldnt be taking any money from her.

If she's visiting/temporary no.

If she's living with you then you need to at least discuss the circumstances with the Council.

Speak to CAB or similar for whether there are concessions in either UC or Council Tax for people escaping bad relationships.

OP. Ask yourself (and her) this. What are her "plans" exactly for leaving? Because it seems to me she has none.

She won't consider a refuge? If she qualifies for one and has nowhere else to go, then she'll have to. Don't risk your financial circumstances bailing her out. And potentially bringing trouble to your DCs home when your mum's abusive partner, who lives in your town, comes looking for her at your place. Your DC deserves better than that. That's who you need to focus on protecting, not DM.

She has options, she needs to take them and be independent, not sponge off her DD. For one thing, if she can't afford private rental, how is this situation "temporary, for a few weeks"? How is she ever going to "get sorted"? Reality is, she isn't.

If she goes into a refuge she'll be officially homeless and on the list for a council flat, which she can either afford herself or at least get UC to pay the rent for. Unlike private rental, where even the maximum UC housing costs isn't likely to cover the rent.

It takes far longer than a few weeks to get "a little job" that's big enough to pay the rent on a flat and even longer to find a landlord that'll accept her on a low income (with no or trashed credit rating, too?). You're deluding yourself that you can fix this for her. You can't, she needs to take the proper measures and sort it out herself. Don't get involved with housing her yourself.

I have a friend staying for a few weeks rent free as she is having a crisis. I have reported it to universal credit in my journal and they haven't changed my payments but I dont claim the housing element. I think if you claim the housing element of universal credit then this may be reduced by about £97 a month while your mum is staying with you.

Excellent advice - i'd take it if I were you.

I would help her find the job, everything will be easier with some income, whether that be finding her own home or contributing to the extra costs at yours whilst she is there.
I'd be honest with DWP & let them decide.

Get mum to talk to Citizens Advice office and Local Council. Citizens advice can advise on benefits and give her details of Soliciters who deal with domestic abuse. Local council can advise on her housing options and if she can get on the housing list.

That’s a really generous thing you are offering. However, be aware, ‘a few weeks’ can often turn into several months.

I know shes probably in an emotional state now, but have you discussed her long term plans - where’s she going to live? Finances? Etc. what sort of job is she planing to get etc?

Lots of relevant information that needs to be considered:

What's the situation with the marital home, do they own or rent it? You say 'her husband' so I assume he's not your DF? Is she looking to get divorced and will she receive a financial settlement from their home/pension/savings?

It sounds like she's retired? Does she get the full state pension? Is LA/HA housing for older people available where you live? That's often easier to get and if she has a low income, she'll get help with the cost of rent if she doesn't have any money. She needs to run the numbers through a UC calculator to see how she stands.

But how do you feel about her living with her, especially if it's more than a few weeks? Some people would be fine with that, or at least accept it, rather than see a relative in a bad situation, others would find it too difficult to cope with.

But if it's more than a very short term arrangement, I'd expect that you'd lose the second adult discount and your UC will be reduced due to having a non dependent adult in the house, so for you to not be worse off than you are now, you'll need her to make up for this, plus pay for her food and any increase in utilities.

You'll only attract a non-dependant deduction if you pay rent. In UC it's a fixed amount of a little over £90/month. The principle of course is that it represents what the rules think a non-dep should contribute.

You'd lose some council tax credit too, it would drop by 50% because she'd be considered liable for half of the council tax. You'd lose the 25% discount for being the only adult in the house if mum's living there. So that's 50% of the total without discounts, that she'd have to pay.

If you're currently entitled to the maximum council tax credit and that covers the entirety of your council tax bill, your 50% would still be covered by your council tax credit. If your council tax credit amount currently covers only 90% of the council tax, it would cover 90% of that 50% that you're liable to pay.

This is because your mum isn't going to be there for a few weeks. That just isn't going to happen. She's going to move in effectively permanently. Then take months to find a job and a landlord that'll accept her as a tenant, if those things happen at all.

She's already being picky. Doesn't want to live in a refuge and refers to working as "getting a little job", showing she's got no idea whatsoever of the hoops you have to jump through to get a job or secure a rental. This isn't the 1980's, which is how she's talking. So you'll find that once she's got her feet under the table at your place, she's not applying for anything and everything, either with jobs or housing. Because getting a job and moving out won't be her top priority, finding something she likes will. And that's totally unrealistic.

With her attitude, you'll find she's barely applying for anything work wise, giving poor applications and interviews and saying things like she can't afford to move out - because she can't afford the type of property she'd like to live in, in the area she'd like to live. You'll be back on here in a year's time bemoaning the situation and looking for tips to get her out without actually kicking her out, because she's your mum and you can't bear to do that. Which means you won't be able to get her out.

If she asks about council housing she has to make it clear she's fleeing domestic abuse and is therefore homeless. NOT saying stuff like she can live with you temporarily. The minute they hear that, they'll wash their hands of her. If she's going to apply as homeless she's got to accept she's going to end up in temporary accommodation, which she'll have no choice over what it is and might mean a refuge (and that would be a darned sight better than a hostel) or a B&B, until she's successful bidding on a one bedroom HA flat (which is all they'll give her).

Honestly, I don't think she's got any realistic plans other than playing on your heart strings and moving in with you permanently, at your expense.