Changes to Housing Benefit – information for tenants
If you are single (without dependants), in private rented housing and aged under 35 you are only be entitled to Housing Benefit at the same rate as you would get for renting a single room in a shared house. Visit Shelter's website for further information.
What has changed?
- The Government changed the way it calculates Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates. This means the amount of Housing Benefit you can get went down.
- The maximum £15 weekly Housing Benefit excess that some people used to get has now ended. This means you can not get more money from Housing Benefit than the amount you pay in rent.
- There is no longer a five bedroom Local Housing Allowance rate. The maximum level is for a four bedroom property.
- Allowing an additional bedroom for a non-resident carer where a disabled customer has an established need for overnight care.
- There has been an increase in the level of deductions for non-dependants (adults 18 years old and older living with you). There will be more increases in these deductions in future. The increase from April 2011 is shown in the table below:
Housing Benefit | Old Deduction | New Deduction |
|---|
Not in work or in work and income less than £122 week | £7.40 | £9.40 |
Weekly gross income £122 - £179.99 | £17.00 | £21.55 |
Weekly gross income £180 - £233.99 | £23.35 | £29.60 |
Weekly gross income £234 - £309.99 | £38.20 | £48.45 |
Weekly gross income £310 - £386.99 | £43.50 | £55.20 |
Weekly gross income of £387 or more | £47.75 | £60.60 |
Housing Benefit rules if you have a resident carer
When working out your Housing Benefit amount, there will be an extra bedroom allowed for a non-resident carer where a disabled customer has an established need for overnight care.
This measure will affect all new and existing claims from 4 April 2011 and is intended to help disabled customers or their partner where an additional bedroom is required for a non-resident carer.
Please note that:
- The carer must be needed to provide overnight care.
- The bedroom must be available.
- The claimant or their partner has to be getting the highest rate of Disability Living Allowance or Attendance Allowance, otherwise evidence will be needed from a GP.
- Care provided by other household members will not count.
