How to Claim Housing Benefit

This page gives basic information about claiming housing benefit (HB) for the first time.

What is housing benefit?

Housing benefit (HB) is money paid by the council to help people on benefits or low incomes pay their rent. You can claim HB if you are a tenant or a licensee who pays rent to a council, a housing association, a private landlord or a letting agent.

Who can claim?

Not everybody can get HB. You may not get HB if you:

• are a person from abroad who is subject to immigration control
• are a full time student (unless you have children or are disabled)
• have savings over £16 000.

If you are not sure whether you are eligible to claim HB, get advice.

How to claim

You can apply for HB from your local council. It is important to claim quickly as you will usually only get HB from the date you return your application form. You should fill in an application form as soon as you think you need help with paying your rent.

Forms are available from the council's HB department. It may also be possible to get them from:

• a citizens advice bureau
• a housing advice centre
• the Job Centre
• the internet (www.dwp.gov.uk/lifeevent/benefits/housing_benefit.htm).

Information you need to give

You need to give information about your income and/or benefits, any savings or capital and proof that you pay rent (such as your tenancy agreement or rent book).

How much will I get?

The amount of HB you will get depends on the size of the property you live in, your age, the number of people in your household, your income and how much rent you pay. If you are single, under 25 and living in private rented accommodation, you will probably only get enough HB to cover the cost of a room in a shared house or flat.

You might get all of the rent paid or some of the rent paid or the HB department may decide that you do not qualify for HB because your income or savings are too high. If your rent is high, the HB department probably won't pay all of it.

If any bills are included in your rent, such as water rates, gas and electric, HB will not normally cover these. However, certain service charges are eligible for HB, if payment of these is covered by the tenancy or licence agreement.

If you are a private tenant or housing association tenant, you can find out how much HB you are likely to get before you move in. This is called a pre-tenancy determination. You will need to fill in a form, which is available from the HB department.

If the council decides to restrict your rent, or if you think the assessment is wrong, get advice.

How your HB is Paid

The council should pay HB within 14 days as long as they have received all the information they need, although in practice, payment may take longer than this. HB is paid every four weeks in arrears. It can be paid to you to pass on to your landlord, or it can be paid directly to your landlord. If you are a council tenant, it will be paid direct to the council.

Council Tax Benefit

If you are eligible for HB and have to pay council tax, you might also be eligible for council tax benefit (CTB). CTB is usually claimed on the same form as HB, but the rules used to calculate the amount you get are different.

Further information

This leaflet is only a basic guide to claiming housing benefit. For further information go to www.shelternet.org.uk. You can also get Shelter's free booklet 'Housing benefit' from your local Shelter housing aid centre or by ringing Shelterline on 0808 800 4444 (24 hour freephone).

Published August 2002.

This document was provided by Shelter. www.shelternet.org.uk