Civil partnerships

The Civil Partnership Act will came into force on 5 December 2005. Any same sex couple wishing to form a civil partnership will be able to give notice of their intention to register from that date.

For Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit, and DWP benefits, this means that same sex couples, who have formed a civil partnership or who are living together as if they were civil partners, are treated in the same way as opposite sex couples who are married or are living together as husband and wife. This means that some people, who previously claimed benefits as a single person, have to re-claim as part of a couple.

Failure to inform your local authority dealing with your Housing Benefit/Council Tax Benefit claim that you are forming a civil partnership or are living together as civil partners could mean that your Housing Benefit/Council Tax Benefit is overpaid and you may be asked to repay it.