Your Weekly Rent

If you are an exisiting claimant the amount of Housing Benefit you get is based on your weekly rent.  If you are renting your home from a private landlord, the Rent Service is responsible for setting the maximum level of rent on which we can pay your Housing Benefit.

 

From 07 April 2008, if you make a new claim for Housing Benefit, or claim following a change of address, or claim following a break in your Housing Benefit, your entitlement will be worked out in a new way, this is called Local Housing Allowance (LHA).  Under LHA, Housing Benefit your entitlement to Housing Benefit is based on the number of bedrooms you and your household needs and not on how much your rent is.

 

Housing Benefit cannot help pay towards your mortgage or any extra services which may be included in your rent, for instance: 

 

 

If you pay for services like these with your rent, we take off the cost of them before we work out your Housing Benefit.  If you don't know the amount your landlord includes for these services, we take off standard or estimated amounts.  The full amount we have taken off for service charges is shown on your letter.

 

If your landlord includes an amount for Council Tax in your rent this is taken into account when we work out your Housing Benefit.

 

If the Rent Service think the rent charged by your landlord is too high, they will set a lower figure which the Council will normally use to work out your Housing Benefit.  The difference cannot normally be covered by Benefit, but in certain cases of exceptional hardship you may be able to apply for a Discretionary Housing Payment.

 

If your rent is considered to be too high, the amount we have taken off will be shown on your letter.  The part of the rent covered by Housing Benefit is called your Maximum Eligible Rent.