What happens if I move in with my partner in an IVA

12/09/2023
What happens if I move in with my partner in an IVA

You can move in with your partner during an IVA if you wish. However there are implications you need to consider. Particularly, how they will be affected and what will happen to your payments.

Included in this article:

Already in an IVA and need help?

Give us a call: 0800 011 4712 or complete the form below to speak to one of our experts

Are there any downsides for your partner if you move in with them?

Your IVA is a personal agreement that only affects you. No-one else is directly impacted. This is the case even if you are already married and living with them.

Because of this, if you move in with your partner (or they move in with you) during your IVA, they will not be directly impacted. Most importantly their credit rating is not affected. They will still be able to borrow money and get new finance agreements in their name if they wish.

In addition their assets remain their own and are not at risk. If you move into their home it will not be affected in any way. If they have savings they do not have to use these to pay your your IVA.

Your partner does not become liable for any of your debt if you move in with them during your IVA.

Will your IVA payments be affected after you move in?

Moving in with a partner (or they moving in with you) could mean your IVA payments go up. This is because some of the living expenses you were previously paying on your own, can now be shared.

Your partner may now pay half of the rent, council tax and utility bills. As a result, you would expect to be able to save money. Your surplus income therefore increases and your IVA payments could also go up.

The way to confirm this is to complete a new income and expenses budget which reflects the contribution your partner is making to the bills. Your IVA company will normally ask you to do this when you move.

If after you move in with your partner, you are supporting them financially, your surplus income may actually go down. In these circumstances it may be possible to agree a reduction in your payments. However this is not always possible.

Struggling to get your head round all of this? We can help. Call us (0800 011 4712) or complete the form below. The advice is free and confidential.

How to minimise disruption to your IVA

When moving in with a partner, the best way to minimise disruption to your IVA is to treat yourself or your partner as a lodger. This allows a simple change your income and expenses budget.

If you move into your partner’s property, you show you are now making a single payment covering your rent including bills. Where they move in with you, you simply show an increase in your income based on the rent they now pay you.

The advantage of this is it means you avoid having to complete a household income and expenses budget. You do not need to declare your partner’s income and specific expenditures to your IVA company. This keeps everything simple.

It also means that it is easy to change back if you decide to move out again before your IVA is over.

Want to move in with your partner during your IVA? We can help you decide the best way forward. Call 0800 011 4712 or complete the form below and we’ll call you.

Share
Related Articles
Partner and IVA 5

24 thoughts on “What happens if I move in with my partner in an IVA”

    Skint.com says:
    15/03/2022 at 17:31

    I receive universal credit, but would like my partner to move in with me. This will mean I will no longer be entitled to u/c, will the IVA company question this if I treat him as a lodger?

    Reply
      James Falla says:
      16/03/2022 at 10:21

      Hi Skint.com

      To avoid having to complete a full household income and expenses budget (including your partner’s income), as I mentioned in the article above, the easiest option is to call your partner a lodger. Clearly then, you would need to inform DWP that you are now generating income from a lodger. They will then reduce or stop your universal credit benefit accordingly.

      Once you understand how your UC will change, you should be up front with your IVA company. Tell them about the change to your UC and rental income as a result of a lodger moving in. They will ask you to complete a new income and expenses budget so they can assess what (if any) affect this will have on your surplus income.

      Your new budget will show the reduction in your UC but an increased rental income. It should also show associated changes to your utility bill expenses. You will need to inform the council about your lodger and you are likely to lose your single person discount (if you are claiming this). Your monthly council tax payment will increase as a result. You should also include a marginal increase on your electricity and gas expenditures (to cover the cost of the extra person living in your property). Other than that, I would not expect much change in your expenses.

      Reply
    Dylan says:
    21/03/2022 at 15:16

    What happens if i already have a iva and then i move into a house with my partner

    Reply
      James Falla says:
      21/03/2022 at 15:28

      Hi Dylan

      If you move during your IVA, you need to tell your IVA company. They will then need you to submit a new income and expenses budget.

      The simplest way to describe the move to your IVA company is that you have moved into a shared house with another person. Then you can simply split all the bills 50/50 (Rent, council tax, utilities etc). That way you won’t have to do a full household income and living expenses budget and disclose all your partner’s income and expenses.

      Once your new income and expenses budget is calculated, any change in your surplus income can be considered.

      If your income is the same but your total living expenses have fallen as a result of the move, your surplus income will go up. Your IVA payments will then also go up.

      If your total expenses have gone up, then your surplus will fall. In this situation you may struggle to maintain your IVA payments. Depending on the amount of the shortfall you might be able to cover it by reducing some of your expenses elsewhere. If not, you might be able to discuss permanently reducing your payments with your IVA company. However, this is not always possible and would have implications for your IVA such as extending it.

      For more information about this have a look at this article: Can you reduce your IVA payments

      Reply
    Olivier says:
    21/04/2022 at 12:40

    I have an IVA and live with someone. At the time I started the IVA I said I was single as he was not contributing anything to the bills. Now he is getting Universal Credit and he pays the rent at £500/mth. If I declare him now as my now partner what will happen? Other than the rent, I look after him and pay the bills. What will happen to my iva?

    Reply
      James Falla says:
      21/04/2022 at 12:47

      Hi Olivier

      If you tell your IVA company you are now living with someone who has an income (universal credit is considered income), they will want to review your income and expenses budget to include him. Of course, you can also include higher living expenses as you are now a couple. But overall, your surplus income is likely to go up and therefore your IVA payment will also go up.

      If your payments go up, the agreement is not paid any faster. It will last for the same length of time and you will simply repay more to your creditors.

      Reply
    AshM says:
    09/05/2023 at 16:44

    I live with my mom and she has an iva in place already . I am going on an iva plan soon . Can I still live at her house

    Reply
      James Falla says:
      09/05/2023 at 16:52

      Hi Ash

      I confirm that you can still live with your Mum in her house if you start an IVA. This should not affect her Arrangement and it does not have any effect on you starting an IVA as well.

      I have helped many people in the same household start different IVAs at different times.

      The only time your Mum’s IVA would be affected is if you change the amount of rent you are paying her.

      You can read more about starting an IVA if you are living with your parents by clicking on this link: Start IVA whilst living with parents

      Reply
    AimeeC says:
    01/06/2023 at 11:37

    I am on universal credit, living with just my 2 children, my partner wants to move in but has an iva, how will this effect my uc claim if we joint claim. Will I have less money from them, would it be worth it , as wouldn’t the iva take more money for that too?

    Reply
      James Falla says:
      01/06/2023 at 11:46

      Hi Aimee

      If your partner moves in with you, your circumstances will not be affected at all by his IVA. The fact that he has an IVA will make zero difference to any Universal Credit claim you make.

      That said, any joint claim for UC might be affected by the fact he is now living with you. You would need to double check the potential impact of this with DWP.

      The question about whether his IVA payment would go up is a good one. He will have to tell his IVA company that he has moved. However, whether or not his payment will change will depend on the way he structures his income and expenses budget.

      Ultimately if his surplus income goes up as a result of the change, then his IVA payments are also likely to go up.

      I hope this helps.

      Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *