Q2A

Got an enquiry ........

I am staying with my girlfriend who is a student in a shared house in a town away from my
hometown in lancashire. I am 21 as is she- can I sign on here as I am staying here
looking for work? Shared house with her mates - im not registered here yet

This is our reply.......

Hi, thanks for contacting q2a.

Although you've asked us an apparently straightforward question, nothing about the
welfare benefit system is simple! Here's what we've found out.

Yes, you can sign on for your Jobseekers Allowance where you're living now, or if you
already have a claim running you can ask for it to be transferred to the office where you're
living now.

As you are a couple, you and your girlfriend would normally have to make a joint claim for
Jobseekers Allowance, but as your girlfriend is a student you can ask for her to be exempt
from the joint claim rules.

You may not receive the full amount of Jobseekers Allowance because again, as you are
part of a couple, they will take into account your girlfriend's Student Loan for Maintenance
and any Maintenance Grant she receives when calculating your entitlement to Jobseekers
Allowance. You may also be entitled to Housing Benefit to help pay for your share of the
rent but her Student Loan for Maintenance and Maintenance Grant will be taken into
account when calculating this as well so again you may not get the full amount.

There might also be complications with the Council Tax on the property where your
girlfriend is living. If all the people your girlfriend is sharing the house with are students,
and the house has been exempted from Council Tax as student accommodation, they
may lose their full exemption and have to pay 75% of the Council Tax rate for the house.
This is because the exemption from paying Council Tax only applies to property which is
wholly occupied by students.

If you need more advice about this you can go to your nearest InfoCentre for Young People
or Citizens Advice Bureau:

# Skelmersdale InfoCentre for Young People
Unit 73,
The Concourse, Skelmersdale. WN8 6HB. Telephone: 01695 737190. On the ground
floor. Open: Monday 9:30am - 5:00pm, Tuesday 10:30am - 5:00pm, Wednesday 9:30am -
5:00pm, Thursday- 9:30am - 5:00pm, Friday- 9:30am - 4:30pm, Saturday- 11:15am -
2:30pm.

# West Lancashire Citizens Advice Bureau, 128 Sandy Lane, Skelmersdale. WN8
8LH. Telephone: 01695 723110. It's on the first floor of Sandy lane Shopping Centre but is
accessible for wheelchairs. Drop-in 10am-3pm Monday-Thursday

Your girlfriend can go to Student Services for advice about this as well.

We hope this information is useful. Please email us again if you think we can help, about
this or anything else.

Best wishes from q2a.

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