Housing benefit - new claim

Below is a guide to everything to do with Housing Benefit. If you have any additional queries please get in contact with us via phone, in person or via email.

What does Housing Benefit cover?

Housing Benefit can help with the part of the rent that you have to pay just to live in your home.  This is called your 'eligible rent'.  This may be less than the amount you pay to your landlord because housing benefit cannot help with:

• the cost of fuel for heating, lighting, hot water and cooking
• the cost of meals (cooked or uncooked)
• ground rent (but it can help with site rent for residential caravans)
• water charges
• service charges for personal items like laundry and household cleaning.

In some circumstances, you may get help with charges for lifts, cleaning of communal areas, children's play areas etc.

The Rent Officer's role (if you are renting privately)

When a new private tenant claim is made it will fall under the new Local Housing Allowance apart from a claim that falls under the tenancy of a registered Housing Association.

For all pre April 2008 (existing and continuous) private tenant claim the Council must ask The Valuation Office Agency what rent is reasonable for the property. The Valuation Office Agency is an independent government agency over which the council has no influence. In order to assess your rent a visit may be made to your home.  The Council will use the figure provided by the Rent Officer, less any deductions for ineligible services such as water rates and fuel, to work out your benefit. This figure could be lower than the actual rent charged.

To find out more about The Rent Service, please visit the Valuation Office Agency website.

Under 35 and renting privately

If you are a single person under the age of 35, your Housing Benefit will fall under the Local Housing Allowance of the shared facilities rate. This is because for most single people under the age of 35, the housing benefit paid cannot be more than the market rent figure for a single room, with shared use of toilet and kitchen facilities.

Please check the current rate for a single room in the area you wish to take up a new tenancy on our Local Housing  Aloowance page via the link on the left.

If you receive Income Support, Job Seekers Allowance (Income Based), Employment Support Allowance (Income Related) or Guarantee Credit:

You will normally get Full Housing Benefit which means that all of your eligible rent (the amount after any deductions or rent officer restrictions) will be paid to you.

If you have any other people living with you, your benefit may be reduced.  This is explained in the section What if I have other people living with me?

If you do not receive any of the above benefits

The Council will need to know your income and your needs as explained below:

• If your income is less than the government says you need, you will normally get full Housing Benefit
• If your income is more than the government says you need, your benefit amount will be reduced by a percentage of the extra income until it reaches nothing.

Applicable ammount

This is the amount the government considers you need to live on and includes personal allowances and premiums.

The personal allowances depend on:

• your age
• whether you are single or have a partner
• how many dependant children you have and their ages

The premiums are extra amounts for some people who have special needs.  Different premiums take into account the special needs of:

• families
• people over 60
• disabled people (including disabled children)
• people who care for a disabled person

Income

To work out your income, the council adds together your earnings and any unearned income you have.

Earnings - money you get from employment.

Only your net earnings are counted - that is your pay (or profit if self-employed) less tax, national insurance and half of any pension contributions.

The following amounts will be disregarded from your net weekly earnings:

• The first £5 for single people
• The first £10 for couples
• The first £25 for lone parents

There are additional disregards in certain circumstances, for example if you or a partner is disabled.

Childcare disregards - Childcare expenses of up to £175 for one child and £300 for two or more, can be disregarded from your income when paid to a registered childcare provider.  This applies to families where children are under 15 years of age (or 16 years if disabled) and where either:

• a lone parent or both parents work 16 hours or more a week, or
• one parent of a couple works 16 hours or more a week and the other partner gets disability benefits

Unearned income - this is any other money you have coming in and can include state benefits, private pensions, maintenance payments, charitable / voluntary payments, tax credits etc.  Some unearned income is disregarded, either in part or in full.  You must still tell the Council about this income.  The main ones are shown as follows.

Amount disregarded

Disability Living Allowance

Attendance Allowance

War Disablement and War Widows Pensions - Havering Council, as part of its local scheme, will disregard, in full, any War Disablement or War Widows Pension you receive. This may not be the case for other boroughs.

Child maintenance - Maintenance received from a partner when living apart for a child is totally disregarded from your calculations for your award for Housing Benefit, regardless of the amount received. The amount you receive will still show on your actual Housing and Council Tax Benefit calculations award but your award letter will confirm the amount being disregarded. However you will still be required to provide proof of any maintenance received from a partner living apart.

Return to work credit - If you are receiving this payment it will be disregarded from your income in full.

Prisoner of War payments - Payments to both Far Eastern Prisoners of War and victims of atrocities during the Second World War will be disregarded in full when assessing income.  This applies to each payment received and the total sum will be disregarded when working out entitlement to benefit.

Savings and capital - This includes all bank and building society accounts, stocks and shares and any other property you may own.  Your savings and capital are taken into account only if you have over £6,000.

If you are aged under 60, the first £6,000 is ignored and then an amount (called tariff income) of £1 for every £250 over £6,000 is added to your weekly income.

For example:

• under £6,250 = is assumed to be an income of £1 per week
• under £6,500 = is assumed to be an income of £2 per week
• under £6,750 = is assumed to be an income of £3 per week

If you are aged over 60, the first £10,000 is ignored, and then tariff income of £1 for every £500 over £10,000 is added to your weekly income.

For example:

• under £10,500 = is assumed to be an income of £1 per week
• under £11,000 = is assumed to be an income of £2 per week
• under £11,500 = is assumed to be an income of £3 per week

If you have a partner, your savings are added together before working out the tariff income.

If your savings and capital exceed £16,000, you will not qualify for Housing Benefit and / or Council Tax Benefit except for people who are over 60 and are in receipt of Guarantee Credit.

Additional people in the property.

If you have other people over the age of eighteen (called non-dependants) sharing your home, there may be a deduction made from your benefit.  Only one deduction is made for each non-dependant couple.

There will be no deduction, regardless of your non-dependants circumstances, if you are

• registered blind
• receiving the care component of Disability Living Allowance
• receiving Attendance Allowance

If you are part of a couple then you would both need to receive the care component of Disability Living allowance or both be in receipt of Attendance Allowance.

A deduction will be made from your Housing Benefit if the non-dependant:

Please Note :- as council tenants have their rent spread over 48 weeks rather than 52 weeks the deductions are slightly higher and can be calculated by multiplying the weekly figure by 52 and dividing by 48.

No deduction will be made if the non-dependant:

• is under 25 and receives Income Support or Job Seekers Allowance (Income Based)
• is in hospital for more than six weeks
• is a full time student during the period of study
• is on a Youth Training Scheme
• is in legal custody
• normally lives elsewhere
• receiving Pension Credit
• receiving Employment Support Allowance but has not been put onto main phase yet

Payment of Housing Benefit

If you are a Council tenant

If you rent your property from the Council, your Housing Benefit will be paid weekly to your rent account.

Direct payments into your bank

Direct payment is a more effective way for us to pay you and also proves to be an efficient method for you to receive your Housing Benefit.  With your Housing Benefit payments being sent directly into your bank account this makes the payment method quicker, more convenient and secure by eliminating the threat of cheques being delayed or lost in the post.

If you would like your Housing Benefit paid direct into your bank account please download the form on the right or contact the Call Centre on the number listed under the contact details on this page or visit one of our PASC offices to collect and complete a mandate to submit your bank details on.

Payment to your Landlord

Making a claim

If you have read the above and feel you may be entitled to Housing Benefit you can check your entitlement using our online calculator (link is on the right hand side of this page). If you wish to make a claim please print out the downloadable form or contact us to request a form.

Below is a list of everything you must do prior to returning

• Your fully completed and signed claim form, this means you must answer every question.
• Proof of identity for you and, if you have a partner, for them too.
• Proof of National Insurance number for you and, if you have a partner, for them too.
• Proof of income for you and, if you have a partner, for them too.
• Proof of all income for anyone else who lives with you, (including your children or for example a grown up son or daughter or other relative or friend).
• Proof of any savings, investments, stocks, shares, property or any other capital held by you, your partner including any bank or building society current accounts.
• Proof of your rent, if you pay rent to a private landlord or a housing association.

If you return your form with all the proof listed above we will assess your claim straight away to ensure that you get paid in as short a time as possible.

Benefit is normally paid from the Monday after the form is received so it is important that your get your form in as soon as possible.  If you return your claim form within one calendar month of the date of issue we will be able to pay benefit from the Monday after the form was issued. Please note that we may be able to pay benefit from an earlier date. For more information please read Backdating Benefit.

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