Benefit claimants who have a partner are being warned about DWP rules over fraud.
The Department for Work and Pensions says that people who don't declare they have a romantic partner could be committing "fraud". The issue was highlighted in the DWP's annual report for 2023 to 2024, which was published this week.
The government states its "most common types of benefit fraud" online, revealing: "Undeclared partner in your household – this can either be not telling us about a partner living in your household when you first make a claim, or if your partner moves into your household during your claim."
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Other types of housing benefit and council tax support fraud include: not living at the declared address, failing to declare a non-dependant and falsifying claim documents. And undeclared capital includes any accounts, savings and investments you or your partner have, as well as any property you, or your partner, own, whether someone is living there or not, reports BirminghamLive.
As with income. all capital, investments and property should be declared at the start of any claim and during the claim if changes occur. Undeclared income is also listed, with the DWP saying: "If you do not tell us about money you or your partner have coming into your household, at any point during the time you are claiming, you are in breach of the terms you agree to when claiming housing benefit or council tax support.
"We need to know about all of your income – regardless of hours worked, amount earned or source of income. Please declare any change to your or your partner’s income to the benefits service as soon as possible."
In its report, the DWP further states: "The key loss areas in Universal Credit are overpayments caused by undeclared earnings (particularly self-employed earnings), undeclared capital, undeclared partner (‘living together’), household composition and incorrect housing costs. There were decreases in most of the key loss areas in 2023-24."
Claimants may offer a range of reasons or excuses for their failure to report the existence of a partner, the DWP says online. Excuses include 'she/he does not stay here all of the time', 'she/he lives at another address but uses my address as a post box' and 'I thought she/he could stay three nights a week without it affecting my entitlement'.
The DWP warned: "The three nights rule is a popular misconception. No such legal loophole exists. If a suspected partner spends three nights with the customer on a regular basis, she/he may be a member of an established couple. Also, the children’s parentage is not, in isolation, reliable evidence."
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