Housing benefit (rent rebate and rent allowance)
Who can claim housing benefit?
Who cannot claim housing benefit?
Housing benefit for private tenants (rent allowance)
What is a private tenant?
Is there a limit on the amount of housing benefit
for private tenants?
What if I am under 25?
Housing benefit for City of London tenants (rent rebate)
What is a City of London tenant?
How is rent rebate paid?
Do you pay my full rent?
General
How do I claim housing benefit?
I am not sure how to complete the
forms
Do my savings stop me from getting council tax
benefit or housing benefit?
What if I am on income support or job seekers
allowance (income based)?
When does entitlement to benefit
start?
Can my benefit be backdated?
What happens if I go into hospital?
What if my circumstances change?
What are non-dependants?
Discretionary housing payments
What if I don't agree with a decision you have
made?
Fraud warning
Who can claim
housing benefit?
Private tenants and council tenants may get help towards paying
their rent by claiming housing benefit. You can only normally claim
housing benefit if you have a tenancy agreement or can prove that
you are liable to pay rent.
If you are a joint tenant, you can claim
housing benefit towards your share of the rent.
Who cannot claim
housing benefit?
The following people cannot normally get housing benefit (but
please contact your Benefits Section for further details if you are
not sure whether you can claim)
- Owner-occupiers (you may be able to get help with mortgage
payments if you are on income support or jobseeker’s allowance -
please contact your local Jobcentre)
- People who have more than £16,000 worth of savings
- Full-time students, unless you are disabled or have
children
- Asylum seekers and some other people from abroad who have come
to live in the UK in the last two years
- People who pay rent to a close relative who lives in the same
household
Housing benefit for private tenants (also
known as rent allowance)
What is a
private tenant?
All tenants who are not tenants of the City of London are
private tenants. This includes tenants of private landlords,
housing associations, hostels and hotels. It also includes Barbican
tenants, even though they pay their rent to the City of London.
The City of London can only award housing
benefit to private tenants who live within the boundaries of the
'Square Mile'. If you live outside the City, you need to
contact your local council.
Is there a limit
on the amount of housing benefit for private tenants?
When we work out how much housing benefit you can get, we will
also look at whether
- Your rent is reasonable for your particular home
- Your home is a reasonable size for you and your family
- Your rent is reasonable for the area your home is in
Housing benefit cannot help with water charges,
heating charges, laundry or cleaning of your home.
If you are under 25, there are special rules which may restrict the
amount of housing benefit we can pay you.
What if I am
under 25?
Housing benefit for single people under the age of 25 and living
in private rented accommodation is restricted to the market rent
for a single room, with shared use of kitchen and bathroom. This
restriction is known as the single
room rent.
In effect, if you are single, under 25 years old and live in
private self-contained accommodation, housing benefit may not cover
all the rent you have to pay. This means that you will have to pay
the difference out of your own income.
Housing benefit for City of London tenants
(also known as rent rebate)
What is a City of
London tenant?
You are a City of London tenant if you pay your rent to the City
of London Corporation regardless of whether you live inside the
City of London or in a neighbouring borough. The only exceptions
are tenants on the
Barbican Estate and occupiers of the
City of London Almshouses in Lambeth.
How is rent
rebate paid?
It is paid weekly directly to your rent account. We will send
you an amended rent chargecard showing the amount of rent rebate
that you are getting and the amount of rent that you need to pay.
If you pay your rent by bank standing order, you must tell your
bank to change the amount that you are paying.
Do you pay my
full rent?
It depends. Maximum rent rebate is the amount of rent you pay
less any items like water rates, heating or counselling or support
charges that may be included in your rent. If you receive income
support or job seekers allowance or have an income which is below
these levels, you will usually receive the full allowable rent. If
your income is higher than income support or job seekers allowance
levels or you have a non-dependant living with you, you will
probably not receive the full allowable rent.
How do I
claim housing benefit?
If you think you may be entitled to housing benefit and want to
make a claim,
click here to go to the contacts page.
I am not
sure how to complete the forms
Your Benefits Section will be pleased to help you if have any
enquiries or need advice on how to complete your claim form -
please do not hesitate to get in touch. If you are house-bound or
unable to get to our offices for any other reason, we can arrange
for a Benefits Officer to visit you at home.
Click here for the contacts page.
Do my
savings stop me from getting housing benefit?
Not necessarily. If your total savings are under £16,000 you may
still be entitled to benefits. If you have savings between £3,000
(£6,000 if you’re aged 60 or over) and £16,000 this will affect the
amount of your benefit. If you, or your partner, are aged 60 or
over and you receive Savings Credit, savings over £16,000 will not
automatically disqualify you from benefit.
What if
I am on income support or Job Seekers Allowance?
Even if you are on income support or job seekers allowance you
still need to complete a housing benefit and council tax benefit
claim form before you can get help with your council tax or rent.
The DWP
(formerly the DSS) will have sent you a form called an HBCTB1 to
complete. If you have not completed it you need to do so now and
return it to them immediately.
When does
entitlement to benefit start from?
Your benefit entitlement will normally only start from when your
claim form is first received in the Benefits Section. So you need
to get the completed housing benefit and council tax benefit claim
form back to us as soon as possible.
Can my
benefit be backdated?
Your claim for benefit normally starts from the
Monday following the date of receipt of your claim form.
If there is a reason why you were unable to
make your claim earlier you can ask us to consider backdating your
benefit. You must show ‘good cause’ and clearly state
why you failed to claim at the earlier date. Your request for
backdating will be decided on your
individual circumstances.
There are no time limits on making a backdating
request but the maximum period that a claim can be backdated is 52
weeks prior to the date we receive the request.
You can make a request for backdating at the same time as
making your claim for benefit:
- by filling out Section 16 on the claim
form or
You can make a request after you have made your claim for
benefit:
What happens if I
go into hospital?
You can get benefit for up to 52 weeks after
you go into hospital providing you intend to return to your home
when you leave hospital.
If you do not return home or you are in
hospital for more than 52 weeks your benefit will stop.
If you have a partner who normally lives with
you benefit they can then claim benefit in their own right.
You should tell us when you are going into
hospital and, if possible, when you expect to come out of
hospital.
What if my circumstances change?
If you are already receiving housing benefit from us, or you
have recently claimed benefit, and your circumstances have
changed, you must tell us straight away.
You must also tell us if the circumstances of
anyone who lives with you change.
Examples of the types of changes that you need
to tell us about are
- Your income support or jobseeker’s allowance has ended
- You are moving house
- Someone else has moved into your home or someone has moved out
of your home
- Your rent has changed (you do not need to tell us this if you
are a City of London tenant)
- Your income has changed (including earnings, pensions and any
other Social Security benefits)
- The amount of your savings or investments has changed
- The income or savings of someone who lives with you have
changed (including if their Income Support or Jobseeker’s Allowance
has ended)
- You are going away temporarily (for example into hospital or on
holiday)
You should tell us about changes of
circumstance by letter or by downloading the form below.
What
are non-dependants?
A non-dependant is anybody, other than your partner or children
that you get child benefit for, who lives as part of your
household. The Government expects that these people should make
some contribution to your rent and council tax and your housing
benefit and council tax benefit may be reduced.
The amount of the reduction depends on the income and age of the
non-dependant. This is called a non-dependant deduction and we will
tell you if it applies to your claim. In some circumstances, there
will not be a non-dependant deduction so it is important that you
answer all the questions on the form fully and accurately so that
we can decide whether to reduce your housing benefit and council
tax benefit or not.
Discretionary housing
payments
Discretionary housing payments are for people
receiving Housing Benefit who need further help with their rent or
Council Tax.
You cannot get discretionary housing payments
unless you are already getting Housing Benefit. Discretionary
housing payments cannot be given for items which are not eligible
for Housing Benefit.
If you are already getting the maximum Housing
Benefit allowable you cannot get discretionary housing
payments.
Discretionary housing payments are not payments
of Housing Benefit and there is an overall limit set by central
Government on the amount that the Corporation can spend each
year.
The amount of the payment and the period for
which it is given are at the discretion of the City of London. You
have no right of appeal to The Tribunal Service if you disagree
with the decision of the City of London but you can request that
the decision be reviewed by the City of London.
If you need more information please
contact us.
If you want us to consider you for
discretionary housing payments download and complete the form
below. Please ensure you give us a much detail as you can about
your circumstances and that you complete the details of your weekly
expenditure. If we need more information we will contact you and
you may be asked to come to our office for an interview.
What if I
don't agree with a decision you have made?
If you do not agree with a decision we have
made, you can ask us for an explanation of the decision or a
statement of reasons for the decision. You can do this by phone or
in writing or in person. You should do this within one month of the
date of the decision we have made. If you still do not agree with
our decision and want to appeal against it, you must write to us
saying which decision you do not agree with and why you do not
agree with it. Your written appeal must be received within one
month of the date of our original decision, otherwise we may not be
able to consider your appeal. When working out the one month time
limit, we can ignore any time that it has taken for us to provide
you with an explanation or a statement of reasons.
If we cannot change our decision and you have appealed, we will
send details of the disputed decision to the Tribunal Service, who
will arrange an Appeal Tribunal hearing. Your appeal will be
considered by a legally qualified person and you will have the
chance to put your case personally or be accompanied by a
representative who can help you. The legally qualified person will
consider the law that has been used to make our decision and will
take into account any facts you may have raised in your appeal
letter or at the hearing. If they make a decision that you still do
not agree with (or if we do not agree with!) there is the
possibility of a further appeal to the Social Security
Commissioners.
Fraud
warning
It is against the law to give
information which is not correct or not to tell us everything which
is relevant to your claim. If you give false information you may be
prosecuted.
If you have any information about anybody who
may be claiming benefit that they are not entitled to, please write
to us or call us on 020 7332 1648. Anything you tell us will be
treated in strict confidence.