Housing benefit with flrm

Hello everyone. I'm currently on flrfp 10year partner route with a british partner .. I'm planning to switch to flrm but the problem

1) my partner, our kids and myself stay in a coucil house and she gets full housing benefit along with our children.. Will these be a problem and that's the only benefit she gets.

2)i now make above the 18600 and I'm the only one working but as a self employed worker getting stamp from agency in these covid times might be a little tough. How strict is the home office with these things.
Thank you.

Joshugo wrote: ↑

Mon Aug 24, 2020 8:34 am

1) my partner, our kids and myself stay in a coucil house and she gets full housing benefit along with our children.. Will these be a problem and that's the only benefit she gets.

2)i now make above the 18600 and I'm the only one working but as a self employed worker getting stamp from agency in these covid times might be a little tough. How strict is the home office with these things.
Thank you.

How can she receive full Housing Benefit when her partner is working?

I should imagine she is claiming other benefits too, Tax Credits, Child Benefit , Council Tax Benefit/Reduction and maybe Income support too? Has she told the agencies of all the benefits she is claiming from, that she has a partner with her? And that her partner is working?

Have you registered with HMRC as self employed?

JB007.. you are coming in too strong and slightly rude but I'm gonna answer your question.
Like i mentioned she doesn't claim any other benefit apart from housing benefit..uc hasn't really rolled out other benefits where we live..
My income was taken into account before moving in and yeah I'm registered with hmrc working for an agency and if you know how they work, your would know they do work with payrolls and your pay is automatically taxed and sent to the taxman.

Joshugo wrote: ↑

Mon Aug 24, 2020 1:42 pm

JB007.. you are coming in too strong and slightly rude but I'm gonna answer your question.

You haven't answered the question of how your wife is claiming "full housing benefit" when you are working and "make above the 18600"?

Joshugo wrote: ↑

Mon Aug 24, 2020 1:42 pm

Like i mentioned she doesn't claim any other benefit apart from housing benefit

No Child Benefit? Council Tax Benefit/Reduction? The Tax Credits welfare benefit?

Joshugo wrote: ↑

Mon Aug 24, 2020 1:42 pm

..uc hasn't really rolled out other benefits where we live..

That's not how UC works, UC is replacing 6 low income benefits that are already being claimed. UC is replacing the low income welfare benefits known as
- Housing Benefit
-Child Tax Credit
-Working Tax Credit
-Jobseeker's Allowance
-Income Support
-ESA.

Universal Credit has different rules and requirements to most of the benefits it replaces. e.g. UC requires both parents to work, except in some circumstances.

Are you claiming UC, or Housing Benefit?

Joshugo wrote: ↑

Mon Aug 24, 2020 1:42 pm

My income was taken into account before moving in

Your wife has to update you income to your Council's Housing Benefits office, every time you increase your income, not just when you move in. You say you "make above the 18600", so the question of how is your wife getting full housing benefit, is valid.

Joshugo wrote: ↑

Mon Aug 24, 2020 1:42 pm

and yeah I'm registered with hmrc working for an agency and if you know how they work, your would know they do work with payrolls and your pay is automatically taxed and sent to the taxman.

You said you were self employed.

The reason is the place we stay hasn't got jobs let alone the job i do,so i have to travel to another city. Where in some cases if the agency tells me how long a particle project will last. I either rent a shared house, hotel or hostel sometimes and come home weekends which i have done so in the entirety of my working hours and all of that comes from my paycheck not to talk about the very expensive train fares etc.

You might ask why?. Well if i am to perfect my trade i have to travel that far in search of work and skilled people who are willing to train me and the same time pay me as am way above an apprentice age. Which is quite hard so hence all the sacrifices.

Going on the dole is not an option even if i wanted to so even if i have to spend all i have now on commute and things ..i know it will pay off in the future

So all of the expenses were all presented to the council.

Child benefit is a standard benefit. Except if you earn a certain amount.
I dont know why uc aint taking over housing benfit here but like i said the only benefit we get is housing benefit. Whether you believe that or not.

Like i said I'm self employed. So hopefully your questions are answered.

Now you have to answer my questions or I've just wasted my time explaining all this to you.

As you are concerned about Housing Benefit affecting an FLR(M) application, to make this simple how much is the total of the household income as declared to the benefits office

Joshugo wrote: ↑

Mon Aug 24, 2020 4:46 pm

The reason is the place we stay hasn't got jobs let alone the job i do,so i have to travel to another city. Where in some cases if the agency tells me how long a particle project will last. I either rent a shared house, hotel or hostel sometimes and come home weekends which i have done so in the entirety of my working hours and all of that comes from my paycheck not to talk about the very expensive train fares etc.

So all of the expenses were all presented to the council.

...
Like i said I'm self employed. So hopefully your questions are answered.

So now you are saying you are self employed and not PAYE? And therefore used expenses as a self employed person, to claim low taxable income, to get more Housing Benefits? Which means your taxable income declared is very low if you get full Housing Benefit.

If you are going to use your self employment to reach 18,600 to sposoner yourself, to change to the 5 year FLR(M) route, you have to meet certain requirments as a SE, one of which is having a taxable income of 18,600 - others will be able to confirm.

Joshugo wrote: ↑

Mon Aug 24, 2020 8:34 am

2)i now make above the 18600 and I'm the only one working but as a self employed worker getting stamp from agency in these covid times might be a little tough. How strict is the home office with these things.

I don't understand what you mean by "getting stamp from agency in these covid times might be a little tough"

Casa wrote: ↑

Mon Aug 24, 2020 5:03 pm

As you are concerned about Housing Benefit affecting an FLR(M) application, to make this simple how much is the total of the household income as declared to the benefits office

They took 6months worth of payslips from my payroll. I was paid weekly about 300plus. But if you calculate it before payrolls cut, tax, yearly should be 19000.

JB007 wrote: ↑

Mon Aug 24, 2020 5:34 pm

Joshugo wrote: ↑

Mon Aug 24, 2020 8:34 am

2)i now make above the 18600 and I'm the only one working but as a self employed worker getting stamp from agency in these covid times might be a little tough. How strict is the home office with these things.

I don't understand what you mean by "getting stamp from agency in these covid times might be a little tough"

It means as i work for agencies. For some reason they use different payroll companies and even whenever i ask for my statement of income from the agency They direct me to these payroll companies they put me on in the first place to sort things out and they do take their time..i have read on this forum of homeoffice wanting only stamped payslips do if that's the case I'm gonna have to chase these companies down to have them stamp my payslips..it's just headache especially now.

JB007 wrote: ↑

Mon Aug 24, 2020 5:14 pm

Joshugo wrote: ↑

Mon Aug 24, 2020 4:46 pm

The reason is the place we stay hasn't got jobs let alone the job i do,so i have to travel to another city. Where in some cases if the agency tells me how long a particle project will last. I either rent a shared house, hotel or hostel sometimes and come home weekends which i have done so in the entirety of my working hours and all of that comes from my paycheck not to talk about the very expensive train fares etc.

So all of the expenses were all presented to the council.

...
Like i said I'm self employed. So hopefully your questions are answered.

So now you are saying you are self employed and not PAYE? And therefore used expenses as a self employed person, to claim low taxable income, to get more Housing Benefits? Which means your taxable income declared is very low if you get full Housing Benefit.

If you are going to use your self employment to reach 18,600 to sposoner yourself, to change to the 5 year FLR(M) route, you have to meet certain requirments as a SE, one of which is having a taxable income of 18,600 - others will be able to confirm.

The bottom line is i have been transparent with the local housing about my total income.
My partner and kids are british and they are entitled to whatever benefits they choose to claim and get. I cant tell her what and what not to claim. I have done my part as a part of household resident by declaring everything i get.

Joshugo wrote: ↑

Mon Aug 24, 2020 6:50 pm

JB007 wrote: ↑

Mon Aug 24, 2020 5:14 pm

Joshugo wrote: ↑

Mon Aug 24, 2020 4:46 pm

The reason is the place we stay hasn't got jobs let alone the job i do,so i have to travel to another city. Where in some cases if the agency tells me how long a particle project will last. I either rent a shared house, hotel or hostel sometimes and come home weekends which i have done so in the entirety of my working hours and all of that comes from my paycheck not to talk about the very expensive train fares etc.

So all of the expenses were all presented to the council.

...
Like i said I'm self employed. So hopefully your questions are answered.

So now you are saying you are self employed and not PAYE? And therefore used expenses as a self employed person, to claim low taxable income, to get more Housing Benefits? Which means your taxable income declared is very low if you get full Housing Benefit.

If you are going to use your self employment to reach 18,600 to sposoner yourself, to change to the 5 year FLR(M) route, you have to meet certain requirments as a SE, one of which is having a taxable income of 18,600 - others will be able to confirm.

The bottom line is i have been transparent with the local housing about my total income.
My partner and kids are british and they are entitled to whatever benefits they choose to claim and get. I cant tell her what and what not to claim. I have done my part as a part of household resident by declaring everything i get.

The point I was trying to make was that to use your Self Employment to go onto FLR(M), you need to meet certain requirements, one of which is at least £18,600 taxable income declared to HMRC. I don't know those requirements but others on here will do.

For benefits, for the old (legacy) benefit Housing Benefit, each council seems to decide.

When you are moved on to Universal Credit, the claim is dealt with by the DWP and not the councils.

For Universal Credit, Self Employed have a MIF (Minimum Income Floor), which in your case would likely be 35 hours at National Minimum Wage; which this year is £8.72 per hour. 35 x £8.72 = £305.20 per week. For the SE, their UC claim is based on their MIF (even if they don't earn that much/don't decalre that much to HMRC) or based on what they do earn, whichever is the higher.

Unlike the old legacy benefits, which Housing Benefit is, with UC, both parents are expected to work. Your wife's expected earnings for UC, will be based on the age of your youngest child.

Joshugo wrote: ↑

Mon Aug 24, 2020 6:50 pm

My partner and kids are british and they are entitled to whatever benefits they choose to claim and get. I cant tell her what and what not to claim. I have done my part as a part of household resident by declaring everything i get.

Except some low income benefits are made as a joint claim and you are jointly responsible for what is declared. You also need to make sure that your wife does not claim extra public funds for you. Your visa states No Recourse to Public Funds.

JB007 is correct regarding self-employed income. The qualifying level of self-employed earnings to meet the minimum income level is the amount remaining after all allowable business expenses have been deducted. In other words, the amount on which HMRC will calculate for tax due.

However, it appears from the information given in your posts that you work as a contractor through an Agency and are paid by an Umbrella Company. Anyone working through an umbrella company is by definition employed, and not self-employed.

Hopefully you have been made aware that the regulations changed in 2016 which mean that umbrella employees can no longer receive tax deductible travel and subsistence expenses.

Casa wrote: ↑

Mon Aug 24, 2020 8:55 pm

JB007 is correct regarding self-employed income. The qualifying level of self-employed earnings to meet the minimum income level is the amount remaining after all allowable business expenses have been deducted. In other words, the amount on which HMRC will calculate for tax due.

However, it appears from the information given in your posts that you work as a contractor through an Agency and are paid by an Umbrella Company. Anyone working through an umbrella company is by definition employed, and not self-employed.

Hopefully you have been made aware that the regulations changed in 2016 which mean that umbrella employees can no longer receive tax deductible travel and subsistence expenses.

Thank you for explaining that Casa.

For the (legacy) benefit Housing Benefit, the employed cannot make deductions of expenses to increase their/their partner's Housing Benefit claim.
https://www.cornwall.gov.uk/advice-and- ... g-benefit/

Self employed can make deductions for Housing Benefit.
https://www.cornwall.gov.uk/advice-and- ... -employed/

JB007 wrote: ↑

Mon Aug 24, 2020 7:43 pm

Joshugo wrote: ↑

Mon Aug 24, 2020 6:50 pm

My partner and kids are british and they are entitled to whatever benefits they choose to claim and get. I cant tell her what and what not to claim. I have done my part as a part of household resident by declaring everything i get.

Except some low income benefits are made as a joint claim and you are jointly responsible for what is declared. You also need to make sure that your wife does not claim extra public funds for you. Your visa states No Recourse to Public Funds.

We are unmarried partners. You say "extra" like she was doing it for me..i didn't apply for the housing, she did and is entitled to it..everything council asked of me i gave them and that was through my partner and not me directly.. infact council took photocopies of my brp which boldly states no recourse to public funds but as her partner and I'm on the flrfp which means I'm legally bound to to live together with her as long as we are still in a relationship..try telling a woman who before the kids has worked all her live and paid her taxes and just only wants help with her housing. With or without me she would do whats best for her and our kids.

Jb007 and casa. Thanks and I appreciate both your comments but it seems to me that you guyz dont really know how the construction scheme works.. i keep repeating this and it keeps get thrown back that i might be a paye employed worker....YES AGENCY CAN FIND A JOB FOR YOU AS A SELF EMPLOYED WORKER, REGISTER YOU ON THEIR PAYROLL AND PAY YOU THROUGH THAT.. i just dont get where the doubts is still coming from. I have got tax letters, file my tax returns, registered with the CIS(construction industry scheme)..with the furlough going on hmrc contacted me and had used my tax year for 2018/2019 as a SELF EMPLOYED to still pay me as i am eligible so how is that being a paye worker..

Something doesn’t seem right here. Single mother who doesn’t work, housed by the council and gets all her rent paid though Housing Benefit and I assume Council Tax Reduction too. For cash, she could claim Income Support for herself. For the children she would claim Child Benefit and (for the largest amount of cash) Child Tax Credit.

You go on the 10 year route as her spouse.

Child Benefit - doesn’t change by moving in a partner. You said she still claims that.

Council Tax Benefit/Council Tax Reduction . - she can no longer claim the 25% single discount. As Council Tax is a Public Fund, you, a NRPF being there, is likely to reduce the Council Tax Benefit/Reduction amount given to her on the property.

Why did she stop claiming the Tax Credits benefit? Would you moving in, have triggered a move for her to Universal Credit?

A partner leaving or joining the household

If you...

-are a lone parent on Income Support and Child Tax Credit and you form a couple with a partner working less than 24 hours a week
be asked to claim Universal Credit as a couple
-are a lone parent on Income Support and Child Tax Credit and you form a couple with a partner working more than 24 hours a week
be asked to claim Universal Credit as a couple
https://www.entitledto.co.uk/help/chang ... sal_Credit

Did she have a Tax Credit claim but stopped that to avoid a move to Universal Credit?

A Housing Benefit only claim and moving in a partner, does not seem to trigger a move to Universal Credit.?

From what you have said, she doesn’t seem to be claiming low income benefits for your children. Has she contacted Citizens Advice and asked them to do a benefits calculation if she was on Universal Credit?

Yes, on Universal Credit she would be required to work so many hours a week, but you both might still be better off financially as UC has a child allowance and the Universal Credit taper is good. UC also helps towards the cost of childcare.

As you will be declaring you are gainfully self employed, on Universal Credit, unlike Housing Benefit you will have a MIF (Minimum Income Floor) which will reduce her monthly Universal Credit payment, but you are still allowed to claim a slight reduction on your monthly MIF as you are SE.
https://revenuebenefits.org.uk/universa ... mployment/

You could still claim your allowed expenses back from HMRC. Tax rebates on UC, unlike on the old legacy benefit Housing Benefit, are counted as income and not capital. Meaning her monthly UC payment would be reduced slightly the month you receive a tax rebate as you had extra income in her UC assessment period.

Those on UC have a higher work allowance if they have children (can earn more before the UC payment starts reducing on the taper). Citizens Advice will be able to give you an idea of how much you would get on Universal Credit and if you would be better off financially if you claimed UC.

Eventually, all claimants of the 6 low income benefits that Universal Credit replaces, will be moved to UC, unless they trigger a move themselves.

JB007 wrote: ↑

Mon Aug 24, 2020 7:43 pm

Joshugo wrote: ↑

Mon Aug 24, 2020 6:50 pm

My partner and kids are british and they are entitled to whatever benefits they choose to claim and get. I cant tell her what and what not to claim. I have done my part as a part of household resident by declaring everything i get.

Except some low income benefits are made as a joint claim and you are jointly responsible for what is declared. You also need to make sure that your wife does not claim extra public funds for you. Your visa states No Recourse to Public Funds.

Are you paying your share of the Council Tax? Council Tax Benefit (replaced by the benefit called Council Tax Reduction) are Public Funds.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... blic-funds

Council Tax is based on two people living in a property. A single person (no partner) can ask for a 25% discount on their council tax bill.

As your wife could take public funds, was single, not working and therefore low income, she could claim Council Tax Benefit/Council Tax Allowance for her 75% Council Tax bill.

Once a partner moves in, that single person discount is lost and both pay 100% of the Council Tax bill. A person who has a visa that is No Recouse to Public Funds, cannot take Council Tax Benefit/Council Tax Reduction.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/public-funds