Terms & Conditions

[Anonymous]

I wonder if anyone can please help me we have recently received an appeal regarding our decision to refuse housing benefit as the claimant is residing with a former partner in the home they previously shared and where he is now a lodger.

However, if they ceased to be partners prior to December 2005 (i.e. when Civil Partnership came into force) would we still treat them as former ‘partners’?

I do not know at the moment when their relationship ended but would appreciate any comment if that were to be the case.

Thank you

[David]

I’m sure that you can’t treat them as former partners if relationship ended before Dec 2005. There was no provision before this date to recognise same sex couples – indeed, if the former partner had a HB claim prior to this date, the ‘partner’ would be a non – dependant for HB purposes. Therefore they could not ahve been partners in HB terms.

[John Boxall]

While the regulations may not allow them to be treated as former partners, the first question is who is the owner of the property? If the claimant is renting from the ex partner, either could the property be in joint names or could they be said to have an interest in it as they contributed towards it’s purchase?

If it is rented, what names is the tenancy in?

The other questions that I might be looking at are contrivance & ‘living together’ – irrespective of the emotional arrangements, what about food, finances etc?

John

Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen and six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery. The blossom is blighted, the leaf is withered, the god of day goes down upon the dreary scene, and—and in short you are for ever floored.

Wilkins Micawber, Ch12 David Copperfield

[Author]

Posts