Does Moving House Affect ESA?

If you are keen to learn whether or not moving from your house to a new place of residence will affect your ESA payments from the DWP, you will find guidance in the below blog post which aims to answer this very question. As you proceed reading through the content below, you will find guidance on how ESA affects your benefits payments if you are moving house depending on different real-life scenarios under which you might be moving from your house.

Does Moving House Affect ESA?

No, your Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) payments are not affected if you move from your house. However, if you were previously living by yourself and are moving house to start living with a partner, your ESA payments can be reduced.

In addition to this, some of your other benefits can also be affected if you move house to start living with your partner. The reason for this is that as your collective incomes are taken into account you might lose or face a reduction of some of your means-tested benefits. These include the following:

• Council Tax Support
• Housing Benefit
• Income Support
• income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
• income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• Pension Credit
• Tax Credits (Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit)
• Universal Credit

Another factor that needs to be considered is if Universal Credit has replaced ESA in the area where you are moving to. Since Universal Credit is replacing the six legacy benefits including ESA, your previous claim of ESA may not be valid when you move to an area where Universal Credit has replaced the benefit. In this case, you will not be able to file for a new claim of ESA and will need to apply for Universal Credit.

Nonetheless, an address change is an important piece of information that you need to update your JobCentre and the HMRC with; whether or not your benefits claim for ESA is going to be affected by it. You can call JobCentre at 0800 169 0310 to update your records with the authorities.

To be sure of the benefits that you can qualify for as well as to have a rough estimate of how much to expect in payments, you can try to explore your options by using an independent, online benefits calculator.

Does Moving House Affect ESA If I Start Living With My Partner?

Yes, if you are moving house to start living with your partner, your ESA payments can be affected if you are claiming income-based Employment and Support Allowance when your joint incomes are taken into account for a means test.

In addition to ESA, some of the other benefits that you are claiming can also be affected when you move house to start living with a partner. For instance, if you are of pension age and your partner is below pension age, you may lose on Pension Credit and Housing Benefit. 

Meanwhile, both of you can continue claiming your Personal Independence Payments (PIP). If you are claiming Universal Credit, both of you will have to give up your individual claims and file for a joint claim. 

If you move in with your partner and it leads to an increase in your household income, you may face a reduction of your Tax Credits, Jobseekers Allowance and Employment Support Allowance.

If you were living alone before your partner moved in you would also be availing Single Occupancy Discount on your Council Tax. You will lose this benefit when there is an addition of another adult to your household.

How Can I Transfer From ESA To Universal Credit If I Am Moving House?

If you are asked to transfer from ESA to Universal Credit when you move from your house, you can do this by contacting your local Jobcentre Plus office. You can also call the Universal Credit helpline on 0800 328 5644.

The UK government has been gradually moving people from the “legacy” benefits system onto Universal Credit. This process is known as “managed migration”.

The government has set up a special team to help people who are moving onto Universal Credit. This team is called the Managed Migration Information Service (MMIS).

The MMIS can help you with things like:

• finding out if you’re eligible for managed migration
• applying for managed migration
• understanding what will happen when you’re moved to Universal Credit

Once you are transferred from ESA to Universal Credit, you might experience a higher entitlement under Universal Credit; especially if you are in the Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) Support Group who are not receiving the Severe Disability Premium. 

Can I Get Financial Support From The DWP If Moving House Will Affect My Benefits Payments?

Yes, you can get financial support from the DWP if your benefits are being affected due to a change of address. 

If you are a Universal Credit claimant who is planning to move your house, you can apply for a Budgeting Advance from the DWP.

In case you receive any other state benefit including ESA, you can apply for a Budgeting Loan from the DWP in the same manner. Deductions for loan repayment will be made from your benefits claim.  

However, if you prefer a grant over a loan (since grants do not have to be paid back), you can consider the following options instead of the DWP:

• your local council authority 
• a charity
• a hardship fund

You can also seek help from your local council authority. At times, they may be able to arrange a Discretionary Housing Payment, which is a one-time grant extended to cover the costs of housing.

Conclusion:

The above discussion has highlighted different scenarios under which your benefits payments of ESA may or may not be affected due to a change in residence. Two of the key factors that should be considered here are whether you are moving house to start living with a partner as it affects your income for a means test and if you will need to transfer from ESA to Universal Credit when you move house.

References:

Moving house if you have a disability | nidirect

Reporting a change while you’re on ESA – Citizens Advice

Advice For Moving House When On Benefits – Love Removals Ltd