Hi My Client had her Housing Benefit stopped,10.11.05 as she did not provide info to HB about her change of Circs.(HB had received information from the DWP that her IS had stopped 9.9.05).

Following her marriage on the 9.9.05 her claim for Income Support was changed to a joint claim with her new husband. Before the marrage they had both lived separately each with dependant families claiming I/S and HB.They married without telling their families,and had intended for all to move in together. However due to familiy differences, they didnt move in together and remained separate families.

However they advised the DWP that they had got married but that they were still living separatly,and as a result DWP made their claim for IS a joint claim from Mr address. Therefore Mrs HB stopped at her address.

The Housing Benefit Section have indicated that they would be unalbe to pay HB on two homes as the family size did not not require two homes.

The family have now all moved in to Mrs home,and are in reciept of HB but are left with no HB and therefore arrears for the period of time the families were living separatly.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to tackle this one.

Thanks

Jackie Dale

recently did an appeal over a situation where my client got married, but his wife could not join him until her visa was sorted.

The DWP terminated his IS claim, and I did a late appeal.

A couple is defined in S137 of the Social Security (Contributions and Benefits) Act 1992. The definition is linked to other definitions surrounding that of a family.

The definitions are as follows

“family” means–
(a) a married or unmarried couple;
(b) a married or unmarried couple and a member of the same household for whom one of them is or both are responsible and who is a child or a person of a prescribed description;
(c) except in prescribed circumstances, a person who is not a member
of a married or unmarried couple and a member of the same household for whom that person is responsible and who is a child
or a person of a prescribed description;.....
<“married couple” means a man and woman who are married to each other[br />and are members of the same household;

“unmarried couple” means a man and woman who are not married to each
other but are living together as husband and wife otherwise than in
prescribed circumstances."

In order to be a couple, the two people must also be living in the same household. Household is not defined in the legislation, but there are a number of Commissioners decisions that shed some light on it. The most comprehensive and authotiative in my opinion is CIS/671/1992, but CSB/463/1986, R(SB)4/83 and R1/91(IS) are all worth looking at.

At the risk of oversimplifying the issue, membership of a household is a matter of fact to be determined by considering the domestic arrangements.

I have argued successfully on a number of occasions that it is not possible to become a member of someone’s household until you move in with them. Getting married to them before moving in does not make you a couple until you move in. Similarly, it is not possible to be temporally absent from someone’s household, unless you were first present in the household

I would certainly submit appeals/late appeals against both the IS and HB decisions to assess them as a couple before they moved in together