Housing Benefit

Definition: Financial help towards rent and some service charges for private, local authority and housing association tenants

Housing Benefit (HB) provides financial help towards rent and some service charges for private, local authority and housing association tenants, and it is payable either to the claimant or to the landlord.

The maximum payable is 100% of the "eligible" rent. Eligible charges include the general management costs, charges for furniture, cleaning of communal areas, caretaking, entryphone, lift maintenance etc. HB does not cover any charges for food or utilities payments (water rates, heating costs etc) that may be included in the rent. Nor does HB cover any support charge for services like an emergency alarm call service or support from a Scheme Manager (warden). Help with support charges may however be available through a Fairer Charging Assessment (see Fairer Charging Assessment).

People on low incomes can claim HB if they and their partner are habitually resident in the country and liable to pay rent for the accommodation they occupy.

Rent Restrictions: If the local authority believes that the rent is too high or the accommodation is larger than needed, or that the rent has increased unreasonably whilst a person is in receipt of HB, it can restrict the amount of HB. This means that if a person’s rent is higher than the typical rent for similar accommodation in the area, their HB may be restricted.

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