We count the money that you and your partner earn from work after you take money out. This is for Tax, National Insurance and half of any money paid into a pension fund. To this figure we add any other income that you might have, for example, state retirement pension, a pension from a former employer, tax credits, or other state benefits.
We add this to the above figures. Please see the 'What counts as capital and how does it affect my benefit? For Housing Benefit purposes, most savings, investments and assets owned by you and your partner we treat as 'capital'. Examples of the most likely sources are:. The above lists are not exhaustive. You should make enquiries to clarify the situation if you are doubtful about anything. We do this when working out benefit.
We do this when working out your benefit. We do not count any actual interest you get from savings and capital. See the applicable amounts.
Housing benefit is help with rent and some other housing costs. This does not include mortgage costs, which may be met instead by support for mortgage interest loans if you get 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. Most people of working age cannot make a new claim for housing benefit. You must claim universal credit instead.
If you are already getting housing benefit, you will eventually be asked to claim universal credit instead. You may also have to claim universal credit if you have a change in circumstances. See our information on legacy benefits and universal credit.
This may be less than your actual rent if a restriction applies. Whether a restriction applies, and the nature of the restriction, depends on whether you rent social housing or rent from a private landlord. If you rent from the local authority, a registered housing association or a private registered provider of social housing, your eligible rent will normally be your actual rent less any charges that cannot be met by housing benefit, such as charges for a garage, water charges, charges for fuel and meals, and certain service charges.
However, if it is considered that you have spare bedrooms, your eligible rent may be reduced. See section 4 below. If you moved or started to claim housing benefit before 7 April , your eligible rent may be restricted to a maximum rate set by a rent officer. For more information, see section 5 below. Local housing allowance is a standard amount of maximum housing benefit, set according to where you live and who shares your household.
It applies if you are renting from a private landlord and you moved or started to claim housing benefit from 7 April The local housing allowance figure is used whatever the actual amount of your rent. If your local housing allowance is less than your rent, you are expected to make up the shortfall or seek cheaper accommodation.
If you rent your home from a social housing landlord such as the council or a housing association, and you are of working age, your Housing Benefit is not based on rental prices in your area.
However, it may be reduced if it's considered you have more bedrooms than you actually need. If your home is considered to be too big for you, the rent amount used to calculate your Housing Benefit will be cut by:. If you are over Pension Credit age , this size criteria does not affect your claim for Housing Benefit. This means that an amount will be taken off your Housing Benefit because this other person is expected to help with the rent.
Housing Benefit is included in the Benefit Cap which limits the total amount in some benefits that working-age people can receive. For those affected, the cap is applied by reducing the amount of Housing Benefit awarded. See our Benefit Cap guide for more details. If you are a council tenant, you will not be paid Housing Benefit directly. Instead, it will be taken off the rent you have to pay so you pay less rent or no rent yourself.
If you have a private landlord, you will be paid straight into your bank or building society or through the Payment Exception Service if you are unable to open or manage one of these or a similar account. Sometimes the council can pay your landlord directly. Housing Benefit is usually paid in arrears every week, two weeks, four weeks or a month, depending on when your rent is usually due. Housing Benefit counts in full as income when calculating your entitlement to other means-tested benefits.
If you would like to tell us more please visit our contact page. Donate Your Situation Back Your Situation In this section you will find information about benefits and grants relevant to your situation. Housing Benefit. Print entire guide. Brexit Check what you need to do. Explore the topic Benefits and financial support if you're on a low income Council housing and housing association. Is this page useful? Maybe Yes this page is useful No this page is not useful.
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