FACTSHEET No. 55 Housing Benefit This factsheet is a basic introduction to housing benefit. 1. What is housing benefit?Housing benefit (HB) is help with rent and some other housing costs. This does not include mortgage costs, which may be met if you claim income support, pension credit, income-based jobseeker's allowance or income-related employment and support allowance. This factsheet outlines the housing benefit system in England, Scotland and Wales. You can find out information on the Northern Ireland system from the Northern Ireland Housing Executive website at www.nihe.gov.uk/housing_benefit/. 2. Who can get housing benefit?You can get housing benefit if you:
3. Eligible rentNot all rent is eligible for housing benefit help. If you have been living in private rented accommodation since before 7 April 2008 you may not get all of your rent paid if your property is considered too large for your needs or it is considered too expensive. For more information on eligible rent see the Disability Rights Handbook. If you claim housing benefit for private accommodation after 7 April 2008 your housing benefit eligible rent will be assessed under the local housing allowance scheme (LHA). Some people, in pilot areas, started getting housing benefit under the local housing allowance scheme before 7 April 2008. If you are already on housing benefit and you think you can benefit from the new LHA scheme you can withdraw your existing claim and make a new claim, which will be treated as a claim for LHA. However if you do this you will lose some help with rent as there will be a minimum period of one week before your benefit is re-instated. 4. Local Housing Allowance4.1 What is LHA?Local housing allowance (LHA) is a set amount of housing benefit paid if you are in private rented accommodation. The amount you get depends on:
If your LHA is less than your rent you are expected to make up the shortfall or seek cheaper accommodation. 4.2 The area where you liveA Rent Officer is responsible for identifying Broad Rental Market Areas (BRMAs) which contain a mix of accommodation. Once these BRMAs have been allocated a LHA figure will be assigned, according to a set formula. Basically, within the BRMA, an average rent will set for different sizes of accommodation. This figure is reviewed every month by the rent officer and notified to the Local Authority so that it can be made public for landlords and tenants to view. However once you make a claim for help with rent on a particular property the assessment will remain unchanged for a year. 4.3 Which properties are not covered by LHA?LHA applies only to properties in the deregulated private sector. Currently LHA does not apply to:
Clause 68 of the new Welfare Reform Bill 2011 is intended to provide that working age housing benefit claimants living in social accommodation (council houses, housing association property) which is considered to be too large will need to make up any shortfall between the rent and their housing benefit entitlement or move to smaller, and less expensive, accommodation. Those living in a social home with one ‘empty' bedroom could lose up to 15% of their housing benefit under the proposed new rules, and up to 25% if they have two. 4.4 The number of bedrooms you needLHA allows you a certain number of bedrooms (the size criteria). You are allowed one bedroom for:
No other rooms are taken into account. Since I April 2011, for new claimants, LHA is capped at the four bedroom rate, even if you need more bedrooms and even if one of them is the extra bedroom for a non-resident carer. Also the LHA weekly rates in any area cannot be more than:
4.5 Reduction in the average LHASince I April 2011, for new claimants, LHA rates are set at the ‘30th percentile’ of rents in the local area rather than at the average (or ‘median’). This means that only about 3 in 10 properties for rent in the local area should be affordable to people on HB rather than every 5 in 10 properties as was previously the case. All the changes to LHA rates which affect new HB claimants from 1 April 2011 will apply to existing HB claimants on the anniversary of their claim. If this applies you could receive up to nine months of benefit at your existing rate as ‘transitional protection’ after that anniversary date. For more information see HB/CTB Circular A25/2010 at www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/a25-2010.pdf. 4.6 The rules about your ageIf you are under 25 and single you will get the LHA for one bedroom in shared accommodation unless you qualify for a severe disability premium (see below), or unless you are a care leaver aged under 22. From April 2012 this rule will be extended to single people under 35. If you are over 25 you will get the normal single bedroom rate unless you live in shared accommodation, in which case you will get the LHA for one bedroom in shared accommodation. 4.7 Claimant's over 25 years of ageIf you are over age 25 you are allowed the normal single bedroom rate unless you live in shared accommodation, in which case the rate for one bedroom shared accommodation is used. 4.8 Couples without childrenIf you have a partner, but no children, the rule is the same as that for claimant's over 25 years of age. 4.9 Payment of LHAThe rent will be paid to the tenant rather than the landlord, though there will be some safeguards for landlords to prevent non-payment by tenants. Direct payments will still be made to a landlord where the claimant is 8 weeks or more in arrears with the rent. The landlord will also receive payments where the tenant is unlikely to pay their rent, or where it is thought they will have difficulty in managing their affairs i.e. vulnerable. It will be up to the local authority to decide both of these criteria. 5. How much is HB?The amount you get will vary depending on your circumstances. Housing benefit assessments are divided into two parts.
You can view the current benefit rates on our website at http://www.cara-online.org/BenefitRates. There is also detailed information on benefits rates in the Disability Rights Handbook. The maximum housing benefit you can be paid cannot exceed your eligible rent/local housing allowance assessment (see above). If you need additional help with rent you may be able apply to your local authority for a discretionary housing payment. 5.1 Non-dependant deductionsYour housing benefit may be affected if you have a non-dependant living with you. A non-dependant is someone who is over 18 who is not your partner or a:
Any adult son or daughter is considered to be a non-dependant. Non-dependant deductions are not made if you or your partner is registered blind or receives the DLA care component or Attendance Allowance. 5.2 Personal allowancesThese are paid to you for the people in your household. The amounts paid depend on your age, whether you are single, a lone parent, part of a couple (whether married or living together or a civil partner) or have children. There are also special rates if you are entitled to main phase employment and support allowance. Your household includes your partner and any dependent child or qualifying young person living with you. A dependent child is a child under age 16. A qualifying young person is some one who is under 20 and either in full-time non-advanced education or approved training which began before he or she was 19. You will also get an additional allowance if you are claiming employment and support allowance (see Factsheet F31 - employment and support allowance). 5.3 PremiumsYou can get extra amounts in the form of premiums if you satisfy certain conditions. You can get any or all of the following premiums if you satisfy the rules for them: carer premium In addition to these premiums you can get one of the premiums listed below. If you qualify for two of the premiums on this list you will get the one which pays you the most. The list starts from the lowest paying to the highest: family premium lone parent rate You or you partner must be entitled to carer's allowance, even if you are not actually paid it because you receive another benefit. This premium is payable for each person who qualifies. You must be under the qualifying age for pension credit and one of the following applies to you or your partner:
If you have a partner you will be paid a higher couple rate of this premium. You cannot get this premium if you are getting employment and support allowance or have a limited capability for work. You must have a dependent child or qualifying young person under age 20 who is getting disability living allowance or who is registered blind. The premium is paid for each child who qualifies. You or your partner must satisfy one of the following:
If you have a partner you will be paid a higher couple rate of this premium. You must have a dependent child or qualifying young person under age 20. If you have a child under the age of one you will get an additional amount. Family premium lone parent rate This premium is paid instead of ordinary family premium. You can get it if you claimed housing benefit before 6.4.98. You or your partner must satisfy all of the following:
There is a couple rate if both of you qualify. 5.4 CapitalYou cannot get housing benefit (HB) if your capital or savings (or you and your partner's capital or savings) is above £16,000. Your HB will be affected if your capital or savings (or you and your partner's capital or savings) is above £6,000. The lower limit is set at £10,000, if you or your partner are over the qualifying age for pension credit (and not claiming income-related employment and support allowance, income support or income-based jobseeker's allowance). There is no upper savings limit if you are getting pension credit guarantee credit and claiming housing benefit. 5.5 Tariff incomeIf your capital is between the lower and upper limits, a ‘tariff income’ is assumed. One pound a week for every £250 (or part of £250) above the lower limit is included as your income. For example, if you have capital of between £6,250.01 and £6,500, £2 a week is included as your income. Each time capital gets into the next block of £250 (even by as little as one penny) an additional £1 is included as income. If you or your partner are the qualifying age for pension credit or over and you are getting housing benefit and not claiming income-related employment and support allowance, income support or income-based jobseeker's allowance your assumed tariff income is one pound a week for every £500 (or part of £500) above the lower limit. 5.6 Disregarded earningsSome of your earnings are not taken into account when working out housing benefit. This is normally £5 if you are single or £10 if you have a partner. You will have £20 of your earnings disregarded if you qualify for the disability premium or the carer premium. You will have £25 of your earnings disregarded if you are a lone parent. 5.7 Other benefitsSome benefits are not taken into account when working out means tested benefits. These include attendance allowance, child benefit and disability living allowance. 5.8 Finding workYour housing benefit and can continue at your old rate for four weeks if you find work and you were getting :
To get housing benefit extended payments you must have been on one of the above benefits for at least 26 weeks and your job must be expected to last at least 5 weeks. You do not need to make a claim to receive extended payments. 6. The habitual residence test and the right to resideThe term "right to reside" is not defined but is dependent on your immigration status and nationality. You might have a right to reside under United Kingdom rules, EC law or because you are a British citizen. The habitual residence test is a test to see if you normally live in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands, the Republic of Ireland or the Isle of Man). The test will be applied if you have been living abroad. There is no legal definition of 'habitual residence'. Relevant factors are where you normally live, where you expect to live in future, your reasons for coming to this country, the length of time spent abroad before you came here, and any ties you still have with the country where you have come from. However, the test should not be applied if someone:
If these do not apply, a Decision Maker (DM) will decide whether you are habitually resident or not. Get advice if you fail this test. 7. How do you claim?You can claim housing benefit at the same time as you claim income support, employment and support allowance, incapacity benefit or jobseeker's allowance. If you are not claiming these benefits you can claim by phoning your local authority. You can also claim from your local authority using their claim form. 8. Disabled students and HBYou can get HB as a student if you:
Full-time students living in accommodation provided by their educational establishment can claim for this accommodation if they are eligible for HB. Part-time students renting accommodation from their educational establishment may also be able to get help if they can establish that they are eligible for HB had they been a full-time student. If you have a partner and have to live in two separate homes while you are on the course, you can get HB for both homes only if you are eligible for HB as a student. 9. Young people leaving careYou may not get housing benefit if you are:
10. Discretionary Housing PaymentsYou can get discretionary housing payments (DHPs) if your local authority thinks you need additional help with your housing costs. This help can even be given to cover rent arrears. Most local authorities have a form on which to request a DHP. If your authority does not, write a letter instead. You do not have a right to a DHP. It is up to the local authority whether they give you any payment. To soften the blow of its HB and LHA cuts, the government is increasing the Discretionary Housing Payments fund for local authorities to £10 million in the financial year 2011/12 and £40 million from 2012/2013 onwards. 11. Where can I get more help or information?You can get help and information at your local advice centre, such as CARA or a Citizens Advice Bureau. You can get help with housing benefit at your local advice centre, such as a citizen's advice bureau. You can get more information about this from Factsheet F16 - finding a local advice centre. For more information on the appeals process, our factsheets and publications, you can contact CARA on +44 (0) 844 478 0015 -Mob: +44(0) 795 695 2645 -Fax: +44(0) 872 115 8436 -Email: info@cara-online.org. Updated 8 April 2011 |