About housing benefit

Housing Benefit is a national scheme administered by the Council to help people on low incomes pay their rent.

Who can claim?

• Anyone who is liable to pay rent for living in their home
• You must live in the UK
• You can claim Housing Benefit even if you are working
• You can still claim Housing Benefit even if you are not getting any other benefits

What types of accommodation can be considered for Housing Benefit?

• Council houses
• Privately rented accommodation from private landlords or housing associations
• Hostels
• Hotels/Guest Houses
• Other accommodation such as mooring charges, for a boat and site rental for a caravan

Housing Benefit cannot be paid if:

• You have savings or capital of £16,000 or more (some Pension Credit Guarantee Credit claimants with capital over £16,000 may still apply)
• You are buying your own home. The scheme does not cover mortgage payments (although help towards mortgage payments may be granted by the Department for Work and Pensions)
• You live in a nursing home or residential care home
• You are a full time student in higher education, unless you are:

1. Looking after a child or young person who is a member of your household
2. Aged 60 or over
3. Disabled
4. Receiving Income Support/Job Seekers Allowance (Income Based)
5. Aged under 19 in further education but not higher education

How much will I get?

To work out your Housing Benefit entitlement we will look at:

• Your weekly income, which is the money that you and your partner have coming in. This includes such things as earnings, any benefits you receive, tax credits, pension credits, private pensions and occupational pensions, maintenance and income protection plans
• Any savings and capital that you and your partner have
• Your circumstances, such as you and your partners age, any dependant children who live with you, whether you or any member of your family is disabled and whether there is anyone who lives with you who could help with the rent
• If you rent from a private landlord, we will use the Indicative Rent Level set by The Rent Service to work out your entitlement. This will be dependent on your household make-up. Please see our Local Housing Allowance page for more information
• Rotherham Borough Council refer properties rented by private landlords to a rent officer to look at whether:

1. The amount of rent is reasonable
2. The property is a reasonable size for you and your family
3. The rent is reasonable for the area you live in

This means the rent could be restricted and you may need to pay a shortfall.

How is this calculated?

• If you are in receipt of Income Support or Job Seekers Allowance (Income Based) or income related Employment and Support Allowance, you are entitled to the maximum amount of benefit
• Maximum benefit means after any restrictions due to the number of bedrooms you need, if you rent from a private landlord, or the deduction of ineligible charges included in your rent, such as meals, gas, electricity, insurance and water charges
• If you have anyone else living with you (excluding a joint tenant) who is not dependent on you, your Housing Benefit may be reduced depending on their income
• If you are not in receipt of Income Support or Job Seekers Allowance (Income Based) or income related Employment and Support Allowance, we will work out how much your family needs to live on based on pre set government amounts, this is called your applicable amount
• The amount of benefit you get will depend on how much your weekly income exceeds your applicable amount

How do I claim?

• To claim Housing Benefit you will need to complete an application form and provide proof of all your income and capital to support your claim
• Your claim will normally start on the Monday following the date your application form is received by the Benefits Office, although there are exceptions
• Please remember to answer all the questions and make sure that you sign the declaration on the form
• Application forms that are not signed or fully completed will be returned to you for completion, which could delay your claim
• Please remember to provide proof of all your income and capital so that your claim can be dealt with as quickly as possible

All our application forms are available from our downloads section.

Alternatively, request an application form to be sent through the post.

Complete the form and return it to the address listed on the left hand side of this page.

How is Housing Benefit paid?

• If you are a council tenant Housing Benefit will be credited directly to your housing rent account
• If you are a private tenant we will normally pay your benefit to you by crossed cheque, or straight into your or your partners bank account
• If you are a Housing Association tenant you can decide how you want to receive Housing Benefit payments when you complete the application form. The options are:

1. Direct to your bank account
2. Direct to yourself by crossed-cheque
3. Direct to your landlord/agent

Can you share information about my claim with other people?

We can sometimes share information with other people, but only if you give us permission by signing the Permissions document that comes with the application form, or by downloading the permissions form below. Sometimes it can help to speed up your claim. This is known as sharing information with a third party and could include your landlord, their agent, a friend, a relative or a carer who acts on your behalf.

 We will only tell them:

• whether you have claimed housing benefit and whether a decision has been made
• if we need more information to decide the claim, what that information is

We will not give them:

• any personal or household details
• your financial circumstances

Landlord Permissions form

Last updated 04/04/2012