sell house will i get housing benefit

Hi I am due to go to court as my husband has cut my maintenance payments by half and I am no longer able to afford my home. The situation is my mortgage is much much cheaper for a three bedroom house than a one bedroom flat. I have three children, two at uni and one at secondary school. I work part time and desperate to get more hours. My stbx wants me to sell the house of which equity will soon be goon on rent. Am I entitled to housing benefit once the equity has gone on rent and if so how much. I have a Consent Order to have my daughter in the family home and he can no longer afford it due to his outgoings.can anyone help and advise?

In the first place, you say your ex has applied for a reduction in maintenance. He will have to prove a change of circumstances if he is to have much chance of success. The extra outgoings must be reasonably incurred - if he buys say a Jaguar and is landed with loan repayments these would probably be disallowed.

I suspect a Court might be reluctant to order a sale while your youngest daughter is a minor. I wouldn''t assume a sale is inevitable.

As regards housing benefit, I''m reluctant to advise except in general terms because the rules change all the time.

But the general idea is that if you have capital exceeding £16,000 then you are disqualified from all means tested benefits. Capital between £6-16K will reduce benefit. Capital below 6K is ignored. But I would definitely advise consulting a CAB to see if this information is still the case.

It can sometimes be possible to get help with mortgage interest, and I''d suggest you ask for advice on that while you''re at it.

LMM

Thank you for that. I am already on interest only mortgage, that being 300 less a month to rent a one bed instead of my home. As tax credits got reduced and I had to downgrade my job its left me borrowing my mortgage currently to pay for it till court. My ex does not have a flash car just spends a lot on food, going out outdoor persuits and Ive noticed he has invested in shares that he has not declared but I guess if he has no money left Im stuck .