Civil Partnerships

Civil Partnerships for same sex couples and the impact on Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit

Background

The Civil Partnership Act came into force on 5 December 2005.

For Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit purposes, same-sex couples who have formed a civil partnership are to be treated in the same way as opposite-sex couples who are married. Similarly, same-sex couples who do not form a civil partnership are to be treated in the same way as opposite-sex couples who are not married. 

Because of the way the benefit rules work, the entitlement for a couple is usually less than that of two single people claiming separately.

New claims for Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit

If you are same-sex partners claiming Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit for the first time, you must complete the benefit claim form as a couple. Please contact Customer Services if you want further information about the definition of a partner. If you don't tell us that you are civil partners or a same-sex couple, we may pay you too much benefit and we may recover it from you.

If you are already receiving Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit

If both you and your partner are receiving Income Support (IS), income-based Jobseekers Allowance (JSA-IB) or the guaranteed part of Pension Credit (PCG), You need to tell Jobcentre Plus or the Pension Service that you are partners. They will decide whether to treat you as a couple for benefit purposes and they will notify us if they treat you as a couple. This will not normally affect the amount of Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit you are entitled to but there are other issues to consider.

If one of you is receiving IS, JSA-IB or PCG but your partner is not, Jobcentre Plus or the Pension Service will make the decision on whether you are to be treated as a couple for benefit purposes and they will then notify us if they treat you as a couple. If you are still entitled to IS, JSA-IB or PCG, this will not normally affect the amount of Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit you are entitled to but there are other issues to consider.

If Jobcentre Plus or the Pension Service say that you are no longer entitled to IS, JSA-IB or PCG and you are on a low income, you may still qualify for Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit. Contact us to claim benefit. Your benefit entitlement will be worked out using the combined income of both partners.

Anyone else who is one of a same-sex couple and is receiving Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit should contact us straightaway.

Other issues that may affect your claim for Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit

Private tenants - the size of the property you live in may mean your benefit will reduce. If you are renting from a private landlord we have to consider whether the property you are living in is too large for your needs. Before the Act came into force, same-sex couples renting from a private landlord were treated as two single people and therefore needed a bedroom each under the Housing Benefit rules. Since 5 December 2005, same-sex couples, as with opposite-sex couples, need only one bedroom. This means that, for some same-sex couples, we may have to restrict the amount of rent that counts for payment of Housing Benefit.

Joint tenants or separate tenancies - before the Act came into force you could have separate Housing Benefit claims. Since 5 December 2005, if we decide that you are a couple for Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit purposes, you can only have one claim for benefit for both of you. We will work out your benefit using the rent for the whole of the property, or for you and your partner's share if there are other tenants living with you.

Your Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit could reduce because of the way your benefit is worked out when you are treated as partners, as it does now for opposite-sex couples in the same position.

Telling your landlord of any changes

Where landlords receive direct payments for same-sex joint tenants and we decide to treat you as a couple, the landlord may ask us why the amount of benefit has changed. We have received guidance that we should only notify the landlord of the new amount of Housing Benefit and who it is paid for. Any other queries, for example, why the benefit has reduced or why they now only receive one payment, are matters that the landlord should discuss with the tenants.