Housing Benefit
Housing Benefit is a social security benefit administered by us which can be used to help you pay your rent.
You can not claim Housing Benefit for:
- Mortgage payments
- Fuel costs (except for communal areas)
- Meals
- Water charges
- Service charges for personal laundry
- Ground rent and service charges for your home (where the original lease is for more than 21 years)
- Business Rates
If your rent includes any of the above, we will make appropriate deductions when we work out your benefit.
Housing Benefit for Private Tenants
You can apply for Housing Benefit if you pay your rent to a private landlord or to a Housing Association. When you make a claim, we will look at your income and circumstances. If you are entitled to Housing Benefit, you may be entitled to a contribution towards your rent of up to 100% of the amount you would normally pay. From 7 April 2008, a new scheme has been introduced affecting tenants who rent accommodation from a private landlord. See our pages for private tenants for more information about this new scheme.
Housing Benefit is paid directly to you, normally by direct payment to your bank account. In some cases, payment of Housing Benefit may be paid to your landlord, depending on your circumstances. See our pages on how benefit is paid for more information on this.
Housing Benefit for Council Tenants
You can apply for Housing Benefit if you are a Council tenant. When you make a claim, we will look at your income and circumstances. If you are entitled to Housing Benefit, you may be entitled to a contribution towards your rent of up to 100% of the amount you would normally pay.
Housing Benefit is credited directly to your rent account.
If you think you may be entitled to Housing Benefit, you can check your entitlement using our web calculator. If you wish to make a claim, please see our How to Claim pages.
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