Housing Benefit

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Information on Housing Benefit

Housing Benefit (HB) (or rent rebate) is a government subsidy, administered for Housing Association tenants by the local Council, which helps people who are on lower incomes to pay their rent. If you qualify for HB, you will pay a reduced rent.

Eligibility for Housing Benefit

You can get HB if all of the following apply:

• You are liable to pay rent for accommodation.
• You normally occupy that accommodation as your home.
• You do not have more than £16,000 in capital.
• You have a low enough income.

Who can apply for Housing Benefit?

All Association tenants can apply for HB. We are very keen to see all those who might qualify for benefit applying for it. The form you fill in will be used to calculate the level of entitlement you might have. In particular, if you are either in a low paid job or are in receipt of any form of benefit from the Benefits Agency, then you should put in a claim for HB.

Unless you are sure you do not qualify, put in an application. It is your right and you should make sure you receive any entitlement in full.

How do I apply for Housing Benefit?

You can collect a HB Application Form from the Association’s local office, or from the local Council’s HB office, or we can post one to you.

Fill in your form and preferably hand it in, along with all relevant documentation, to the Council’s HB Office. Make sure you receive a receipt from the Council to confirm that you have submitted your application for HB.

Let your Housing Officer at the Association know that you have submitted your form to the Council. The Association can provide you with a manual calculation, which will estimate the amount of rent you may have to pay. This estimated amount should be paid until the Council notifies you of the outcome of their assessment of your application for HB.

It is important that you realise that entitlement can normally only start from the date the Council receives your form; they are generally unable to backdate HB – so do not delay your application for HB.

If you are unsure how to complete a HB Claim Form please contact the Association’s local office for assistance. Our staff will be happy to help.

How soon will I know the outcome?

The Council will write to you (and us) to tell you the outcome of your application. This should normally be within 14 days of the Council receiving all the necessary information relating to your claim provided they meet the timescales set by the HB regulations. If you are not notified promptly you should contact the Council and pursue for the outcome of your application. Please also let us know if you are experiencing any difficulties in this regard.

How is Housing Benefit entitlement calculated?

HB entitlement is worked out by taking into account household size and circumstances, household income, and the rent, which is charged for your home, and by applying a formula laid down by the government.

Both you and your partner’s, income is taken into consideration e.g. wages or earnings, pensions, state benefits such as Income Support (IS) or Job Seekers Allowance (JSA).

It is important you declare all sources of income, if you do not you may later receive a bill for overpaid benefit.

Capital, in the form of savings or investments, also needs to be declared on the form, although not all of it is taken into account.

All people living in your household need to be identified on the form, along with their ages and relationship to you. Members of the household who are not dependent on you (“non-dependants” eg grown-up children) could reduce the level of entitlement you might have.

What if I receive Income Support (IS) or Job Seekers Allowance (JSA)?

Even if you or your partner receives IS or JSA, you still need to apply for HB.

When you apply for IS or JSA you will be given a claim pack by the Benefits Agency or Job Centre. This pack contains 2 claim forms:

• A claim form for IS/JSA.
• A claim form for HB and Council Tax Benefit.

You should complete both forms.

Thereafter you must tell the Association and the Council and the Benefits Agency or Job Centre of any changes in your circumstances as this might affect your entitlement to either HB or IS/JSA.

Changes in Circumstances

It is very important that you advise the local Council, the Benefits Agency or Job Centre and the Association right away of any changes that occur, for example, an increase or decrease in your income (or the source of your income changing), or a new addition to the household or someone leaving home, or your son or daughter leaving school, going to university or getting a job.

The effect of these “changes in circumstances” could be to increase entitlement that you already have, or to give entitlement where you previously had none.

It could also mean that you are no longer entitled to as much benefit as before, or even that you no longer qualify at all.

If you begin employment after having been in receipt of JSA or IS for a period of 6 months or more, you may be entitled to receive HB for a further 4 weeks after the date you started work.

Do not delay in telling the Council, Benefits Agency and the Association about any changes in your circumstances. If you are in any doubt as to whether a change will affect your entitlement, contact your local office staff for assistance.

Housing Benefits Overpayments

If you have a change in circumstances, but delay in telling the Council, the Benefits Agency and the Association, it could mean that for a period you may have been getting more HB than you should have i.e. you would have been overpaid Housing Benefit.

If this occurs, you may well be required to pay the money back to the Association.

When would my Housing Benefit start?

Your HB normally starts on the Monday following receipt of your completed form to the Council. If your HB Claim Form is received within 4 weeks of a claim for IS or JSA, your HB normally starts from the Monday following the 1st day of entitlement to IS or JSA.

The exception is when, as a new claimant, you move into a property. Your HB then normally starts from the date of moving in, provided your claim is received in the same week.

Backdated Housing Benefit

Your claim for HB can be backdated for 52 weeks if you can show that there was “good cause” for not making an earlier claim.

What is “good cause”?

Examples when claimants may have ‘good cause’ are:

• If the claimant was ill and had no-one to make the claim on his or her behalf.
• If the claimant could not reasonably have been expected to know his or her rights, e.g. where there have been detailed changes in the law.
• If the claimant did not understand that he or she could claim perhaps because of age, inexperience, language difficulties, difficulty in understanding technical documents or some other reason.
• If the claimant was wrongly advised that he or she was not entitled to Housing Benefit/Council Tax Benefit.
• If the claimant was unable to manage his or her affairs and did not have an ‘appointee’.

A request for backdating must be made by you in writing to the Council.

When would my Housing Benefit end?

Your HB normally ends when:

• Your IS or JSA ends.
• There has been a relevant change to your circumstances.
• You change address.
• The Housing Benefit period ends. When this happens the Council will send you a further Claim Form for HB. Provided you return your completed form in the time requested, there should be no break in your HB entitlement.

Your Right To A Review

A fundamental right that you have under the HB scheme is a right to appeal against any decision of the local Council, which affects you.

The Council must tell you in writing how the level of your HB, or HB overpayment, has been worked out. If you are unsure of any element, ask their HB staff to explain it to you, in detail.

If you want information on the procedure regarding your Right to Review, you should contact the Council.

If you have any questions relating to Housing Benefit, please do not hesitate to contact Association staff at your local office. They will be pleased to help.