pay rent

A question about : pay rent

Hi, I have seperated from my wife for 3 years,she lives in the family (mortgage free )home. She is unemployed and claiming JSA and I have been paying most of the essential household bills which I cant afford to anymore. Should she be paying me rent and if so could she claim for any benefits to help her.Our children have grown up and left home.

Best answers:

• I'm not quite sure why you are paying the household bills for your ex wife when you don't live in the home and there are no children involved? As I understand it you live away from a house you both own 50% with no mortgage, and you are paying household bills (I assume Council tax only)?
  In short, you should not be paying anything if the house is mortgage free. Infact, you are well within your rights (assuming she doesn't agree to sell) to go to court and force a sale of the house.
• unfortunately, she wouldn't be able to get any Housing Benefit to pay a rent charge under this rule which excludes her:
  those whose liability under the agreement is to
  - a former partner and is in respect of a dwelling which they and their former partner occupied, before they ceased to be partners
• am I just missing the point here, if you sell your home your wife is not entitled to benefits.
  Wake up to the real world sell the house make her stand on her own two feet, without benefit, she will get some of the money from the house to help her move on in life everyone is in the same boat,there stopping benefits for everyone, for al sorts of reasons
  stop hanging on to the past move on .
  smile it makes the world seem a better place