separating from my partner, who's entitled to what?

allabella

Hi, me and my partner of 5 years broke up in April. We have 1 child together. Unfortunately we have to live together until I saved up enough for a deposit for a house. Im planning to buy a small house as i cant affort to rent on my own and a mortgage would be cheaper plus i need the security for me and my child. We're renting at the moment. I'm working full time, he's claiming benefits.

My question is if I'm getting the tax credit for single parent and also the children's allowance would he be entitled to rent allowance for him and our child? (I won't be claiming it as I'm working full time). The rent allowance for a parent and 1 child is €700 per month. At the moment he is not entitled to any as technically we are still co_habiting. The way see it, the better off he is financially the better off I am as he'll be paying maintenance for our child.

Thanks all for any answers

alex03

He will only be entitled to rent allowance for child if he is primary carer. That means he would also be entitled to Children's Allowance and you would not be entitled to single parent credit unless he signed the allowance over to you and you fulfilled the statutory over night requirements with your child. There is a challenge currently in the courts regarding this but as it stands, this is the situation.