# problems with rent allowance and lone parents allowance



## samanthajane (1 Apr 2010)

Oh where to start....... 

At the moment I'm claiming my child benefit and tax credits in the UK. I was living part time in Newry and part time in Dublin, my main address was in Newry. Just before xmas i gave up the lease on the Newry property, planned to stay in Dublin for a few weeks and then move back to England. 

Yesterday I was ordered by a court that I am not allowed to leave or take my 2 children out of the country. This leaves me in a very difficult situation. Since i cant return to the UK anytime in the near future untill the appeal has been dealt with, I had to contact the UK and inform them of this and my child benefit and tax credits have been stopped. I have contacted a cwo and the loan parents section who have both informed that i will not satisfy the habitual residence condition, they said for me to apply and then appeal it. No one was able to tell me what to do in the meantime and it could take a long time to be sorted out. 

I am also going to be homeless on the 8th of this month as i had given notice on my house i was renting in Dublin, I was told that it wasn't possible to be ordered to stay in the country so i had everything all planned out for the move i just had to wait for the court case to be over with. I phoned the council who said i had to applying for housing and then go to the women and childrens centre on wellington key and they would help me. Now i have a another problem, since i own a house in ireland i cant apply to the council for housing, and i wont be classed as homeless because i have a house, But by law because i was not married to my ex boyfriend and he is not the biological father of my children, it is not classed as a family home i have no rights to live in the house, and it doesn't help my case that i left the house of my own free will, if i had stayed put i would of had more rights, but as it stands now i cant force the ex to move out and allow me and the children to stay in the house. 

I have an appointment with legal aid on tuesday to try and sort out the appeal of the case, so i can actually leave the country, and i have to go into the cwo office in Lower Gardiner Street as well, they said i can make the application but it will be denied and then i have to go down the appeal route. I asked if untill the appeal was heard would i recieve a payment and then were unable to say yes or no to me. 

I've done a good bit of searching around and phoning a load of people but no one has really given me any answers. I'm at a loss of what I'm going to do!!


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## Chocks away (1 Apr 2010)

Jeez samanthajane, I can't give advice but I feel sorry for your situation. Things will get better - although it seems so bleak at the moment. I wish you well. This bad spell will pass.


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## samanthajane (1 Apr 2010)

thanks chocks away. 

I'm lucky that I have some very good friends that have been helping me out. My best friend works for the CIC and today she had a meeting and I was mentioned. The main boss was there as well and like everyone else is totally gobsmacked with what has happened with all of this. No one i have spoken to has ever heard of this order being made, I could go down in history as being the first person in Ireland that this has happened to. Hopefully i can get the appeal moving, if i can get that sorted out all my other problems go away. 

Untill then it's a case of just waiting to see what happens. I cant believe that I'll be awarded nothing, it's not like i've put myself in this situation, I've been forced into it. It's not going to be easy, but hey when is life ever easy?


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## Bronte (2 Apr 2010)

Oh dear.  SJ that's is horrific, really horrific.  I think you're fighting a losing battle with social welfare.  Only one thing for it publicity, Pat Kenny or Joe Duffy and try the newspapers and politicians.  If I was you I'd camp outside the social welfare office with the kids until they sort you out pronto or outside Dail Eireann.

I actually don't know how to give you any proper advice other than the above on your situation as you seem to be falling between the cracks on social assistance.  You need one of the two welfare guys on here to advise you as they are the real experts.


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## Bronte (2 Apr 2010)

Can't edit?

Just thought of something, why not just go to the UK anyway?  You have to have a home for you and the kids.


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## samanthajane (2 Apr 2010)

I wish bronte, but i cant I have a court order. 

Trust me I've already looked into that option, there is not a single thing i can file while in the UK to argue against the order ruled here in ireland. And if i do go i'm breaking the court order so all that will happen is i will be arrested and sent back to Ireland. It's a bleeping joke!!!


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## Bronte (2 Apr 2010)

Well you're bearing up well, I don't know how you're not in despair.  I'd be tearing my hair out.


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## Bronte (2 Apr 2010)

Still can't edit?

Just thought of something else.  Why don't you go back into the property your ex is in?


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## samanthajane (2 Apr 2010)

oh this is another amazing bit of law. I have looked into this aswell. 

Because i didn't marry him ( thank god ) and the children are not his, it is not classed as a family home. I suppose i could break into the house but if i do then it will be a civil matter and we would have to go to court again, but in the mean time i can not force him to leave the house. He's not going to leave he's already that very clear, and if i stayed in the house with him I'd then be going to court on a murder charge. Bad enough not being able to leave the country, would be even worse not being able to leave a prison cell.


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## niceoneted (2 Apr 2010)

Can you clarify who had the order taken in court  the childrens biologic dad or the ex who perhaps had adopted them? 
I don't think you would need to break into the house - are you not entitled to access as part owner. 
My sister and her ex lived together for the last year and it was an absolute nightmare on them and the kids but she knew she needed to keep a solid roof over the kids head and felt if she left the house she would be in a worse off position. The ex has recently moved out and atmosphere is fantastic now. There was a ot of heart ache and pain for them all over the year but worth it. 
I think you should consider moving back into the house. Best of luck you have been through hell.


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## samanthajane (2 Apr 2010)

It was my ex boyfriend who is NOT their biological father, but we were together for 4 years. He had not adopted them. 

Well i dont have a key to the house and it's not like he's going to hand one over, so the only way to gain access would be to break in. 

I really dont understand the law at all, i cant get my head around it, you would think as part owner i could just walk into the house but i have seeked legal advice on this last year and was told I had no rights, i was told i can take it to the courts but my chances were not very good. It wasn't just 1 solicitor that told me this it was 3!!!

The reason i did leave is because the living situation was a nightmare, he flatly refused to move out of the house and let me and the kids live there so i had no other choice but to move out, i just couldn't carry on being under the same roof as him.


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## niceoneted (2 Apr 2010)

My sister was the same but she stuck it out. She went to change the locks to try and keep the ex (they are married) out but was told he had a right to have access as part owner so I don't know who is advising you. Is your name on the mortgage and deeds of the house because if so I would think you are entitled to enter legally. Perhaps one of the solicitors that regularly respond might give better advice. It's hard not having all the nitty gritty details to give the correct advice.


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## samanthajane (2 Apr 2010)

Yes there are loads of details to go into and each one of them makes my case so much more difficult. 

I'm not on the mortgage, my mother went on the mortgage instead of me. I was self employed and that made it harder to get the mortgage, the broker advised to make it go smoother it would be much easier for my mother to apply with the ex. She was there when he came to the house to meet us and it just seemed the best idea at the time. 

My signature is on every document, we had to go to court over the house as well problems with the builder and my name and signature is on all of those documents as well. No one is denying that i part own the house, but with out actually being named on the mortgage or the deeds, this is what is causing the problems. 

Really everything is just such a mess at the moment. Thats why i was moving back full time to England. I had pretty much excepted that my house was gone, yeah tough since i put so much into it, but at the end of the day it is only a house, there's no negative equity on the house, only a very small amount of equity, so i thought sod it. I was going back to England to start all over again, get a job save up and buy a house all by my self for me and the kids. And now with all of this crap of not being able to leave the country I cant do a single thing. 

But i've learnt one hell of a lesson...never will i buy a house with someone again, even if my name is on the mortgage there's still a chance of not being able to get rid of a person, and never will i allow anyone near my kids, if fact i'm off men for life ( not that I'm moving to women lol ) from now on it's just me and the kids.


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