If you are experiencing domestic abuse, the financial implications should not be a barrier to making yourself and your children safe. There are special social security rules that are aimed at helping you if you have experienced domestic violence.
If you qualify for a means-tested benefit such as universal credit or housing benefit, or for child tax credit, and you have more than two dependent children, the amount of benefit you get may be restricted by what is called the ‘two-child limit’. This page explains one of the exceptions to the two-child limit which may be relevant to survivors of domestic abuse.
The circumstances in which your work-related requirements for universal credit, new-style jobseeker’s allowance and new-style employment and support allowance can be reduced or paused if you have recently experienced domestic abuse.
Your entitlement to means-tested benefits can be affected by the amount of ‘capital’ you have. The value of a property which you own, or jointly own, counts as capital but in some circumstances its value can be disregarded. If you have had to leave a property you own, or jointly own, because of domestic abuse and you are single, or a single parent, this page explains the effect of your capital on your entitlement to means-tested benefits and whether the value of your property can be disregarded.
An explanation of means-tested benefit rules which may be relevant to people who have ended their relationship with an abusive partner but who continue living in the same home as them.