Housing Benefit

Who can claim

You can claim Housing Benefit if you fall under one of the following:

• you are single and state pension age
• you are a couple and you are both state pension age
• you live in temporary accommodation
• you live in supported accommodation, and you receive care, support and supervision provided by your landlord (or another care provider)

If you are working age (under state pension age) and need help with paying rent, you need to claim Universal Credit

Will I qualify?

Use our online calculator to check if you will get Housing Benefit.

What you will get

The amount of Housing Benefit you will get, is based on:

• the amount of rent you pay
• the amount of money you have coming in
• any savings you hold
• the number of people living in your household

Important

• if you have savings of £16,000 or more, you will not be entitled to Housing Benefit, unless you receive Guaranteed Pension Credit
• the amount of Housing benefit can't exceed the amount of rent you pay. If your Housing Benefit award is less than your rent, you must pay any shortfall
• if you have someone living with you, aged 18 or over, a deduction may be made form the amount of Housing Benefit you are entitled to based on their income, unless they are a joint tenant
• if you are liable to pay both rent and Council Tax, you will also be assessed for Council Tax Reduction, based on the above criteria

Private tenants

If you rent your home from a Housing Association, the amount of Housing Benefit you get may not include any personal service charges included in your rent such as utilities.

If you rent your home from a private landlord, the amount of Housing Benefit you will receive is linked to your Local Housing Allowance rates.  

If you disagree with a decision

If you’re unhappy with a decision about your Housing Benefit, you can request a review.