CCM15070 - Undisclosed Partners: Living in the Same Household

The customer may admit they live in the same household as the suspected partner but that does not automatically mean they are Living Together as Husband and Wife (LTAHAW), Living Together as Civil Partners (LTACP) or Living Together as a Same Sex Couple (LTAASSC).

There may be any number of reasons why a man and woman share accommodation. They include:

• a couple with disabilities or ill health may care for and support each other
• one of them may require care/support to live a normal life
• the customer may provide accommodation for a friend, or relative or tenant
• the customer may have been provided with accommodation by a friend, relative or landlord in that person’s own home.
• a formerly married or unmarried couple may still live in the same house until they reach a financial agreement. During periods when property prices or rents are high, the property market is sluggish, or negative equity is common, former couples may be compelled by economic necessity to share the same premises for some time after the relationship has ended- see CCM15395

The relevant factors to consider when determining whether a couple are living in the same household may be:-

• how/why the couple came together
• is rent received or paid? If so the income will (unless it is exempt under the rent a room scheme) be treated as income in the hands of the recipient.
• what kind of accommodation they share
• if there is no formal rent agreement how are costs shared? How would exceptional expenditure be met? For example, if major unexpected repairs had to be carried out or home improvements made.
• any absences from the household - why and how often - see CCM15073
• any other reasons for them living in the same household.

Even if you establish a couple are living in the same house this does not necessarily mean they are LTAHAW, LTACP or LTAASSC. Before you can amend the award you must therefore consider the other criteria detailed at CCM15080-CCM15110.