Universal credit and Tenancy agreement

[sshah20]

Hi all,

Asking on behalf of friend. He wants to claim UC. his wife is on spouse visa. Tenancy agreement is on both husband and wife name. His wife is not working at the moment.

Will the joint name on Tenancy agreement affect his UC claim? Or he must have to change the Tenancy agreement to his name only.

Please guide me what is the best option for him

[Amber]

If the UC claimant is a joint tenant with a partner who has NRPF, their assumed 50% share of the rent is used to calculate the ‘core rent’ for the housing costs element. As the person with NRPF is not part of the UC claimant’s ‘benefit unit’ they are arguably treated as a ‘joint tenant’ rather than a ‘joint renter’, even though they are not separately liable to make the ‘relevant payments’. However, both are ‘listed persons’ as they are a couple, so the UC claimant is entitled to 100% of the ‘core rent’. Therefore, insofar as the partners are joint tenants together and not with other people, being a joint tenant should not result in a breach of conditions when claiming UC.

[sshah20]

Many Thank Amber

[JB007]

Hi all,

Asking on behalf of friend. He wants to claim UC. his wife is on spouse visa. Tenancy agreement is on both husband and wife name. His wife is not working at the moment.

Will the joint name on Tenancy agreement affect his UC claim? Or he must have to change the Tenancy agreement to his name only.

Please guide me what is the best option for him

You should always ask for links.

From a Citizens Advice Welfare Benefits Expert with imput from an Immigration Expert

Otherwise, if the UC claimant is a joint tenant with a partner who has NRPF, their assumed 50% share of the rent is used to calculate the ‘core rent’ for the housing costs element. As the person with NRPF is not part of the UC claimant’s ‘benefit unit’ (see UC guidance on ineligible partners) they are arguably treated as a ‘joint tenant’ rather than a ‘joint renter’¹⁴, even though they are not separately liable to make the ‘relevant payments’. However, both are ‘listed persons’ as they are a couple, so the UC claimant is entitled to 100% of the ‘core rent’.¹⁵

However, as noted in CPAG Benefits for Migrants, where the the UC claimant and the partner with NRPF are joint tenants with other joint tenants, the calculation could result in extra housing costs being payable to the claimant due to the presence of the partner with NRPF.¹⁶ In which case specialist immigration advice would be needed before making a UC claim.

[Amber]

JB007 have you actually read what the OP has stated? They are a joint tenant with their partner not someone else so it’s not an issue.