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How is a property treated when a claimant is unable to return due to

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  • September 8, 2023 at 10:38 am #284544
    NicolaStallard
    Participant

    Hiya,

    A housing provider has contacted us with a query around a tenant and potential HB claimant.

    A tenant has been referred to the housing provider as he is in need of immediate accommodation due to being homeless. He is a homeowner and has been for 30 years, however he is unable to return to his own home as he is currently under a restraining order and restriction zone in the area of his home, making him homeless.

    He believes he should be able to return to his own home in March 2024 when the restraining order is lifted.

    The housing provider wants to know whether the home would be taken in to account as capital as he is not living in it.

    After looking up around capital regs, he doesn’t meet any of the criteria where the property would be disregarded for any period of time, but i was wondering whether anyone knows of any example where the property is disregarded in these circumstances before i go back to say we would take the capital of the property in to account.
    Thanks

    September 8, 2023 at 11:09 am #284545
    Peter Barker
    Keymaster

    If he is temporarily absent from the home within the meaning of Hb Reg 7, it would be disregarded as the dwelling normally occupied as the home. Except that conflicts with any claim for HB or UC housing costs on wherever he is at the moment – no obvious way of treating him as occupying two homes. Fear of violence is hardly appropriate if he is the perpetrator or alleged perpetrator.

    Other options:

    Does anyone live there – especially a lone parent ex partner (and remember ex partner in this context means for benefit purposes, so if he and the occupier consider themselves an item in real life but are no longer aggregated for benefit purposes, that would be a former partner when it comes to the capital disregard).

    He could put the property on the market and then pull out next March. Cynical but it works for me.

    September 8, 2023 at 11:41 am #284546
    NicolaStallard
    Participant

    His son lives there but no partner. i think it would have to be taken in to account as i dont think HB on 2 homes would be suitable in this situation.

    Thanks for your answer

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