Housing Benefit provides help with your rent.
But what if you have a question about Housing Benefit and need answers? This quick guide shows you where to get online advice for questions about Housing Benefit.
How much Housing Benefit will I get?
How do I get Housing Benefit backdated?
Can I get help to top up my rent if Housing Benefit isn’t enough?
I’ve been overpaid Housing Benefit. How can I avoid this situation in the future?
Housing Benefit advice online and locally
How much Housing Benefit will I get?
Housing Benefit is “means-tested” – your council takes into account your exact income and capital (savings, other money or valuable belongings).
The amount of Housing Benefit you get depends on how much rent can be covered, who is in your household, your income and any Housing Benefit restrictions such as the ‘Bedroom Tax’ and the Benefit Cap.
If you’re renting in the private sector, the maximum Housing Benefit you can get depends on how many bedrooms the law says you need – this may be different from the number of bedrooms you have. Check on the Government website DirectGov to see how many rooms the law says you need in your situation. There is a maximum local rate for Housing Benefit for each area of the country. To find out your maximum Housing Benefit rate, known as the Local Housing Allowance (LHA), use this DirectGov search tool. You’ll need:
- your postcode
- the number of rooms the law says you need
If you’re renting from a Housing Association or Council then your Housing Benefit may be reduced if you have a spare room. Check on DirectGov to see how many rooms the law says you need in your situation. This article from Citizens Advice explains how your Housing Benefit will be reduced if you have a spare bedroom.
Private tenants: now you know the maximum rent that Housing Benefit will cover, you can use a benefits calculator to check how much Housing Benefit you’ll get.
Council or Social Housing tenants: now you know the maximum number of bedrooms and any effect of spare bedrooms, you can use a benefits calculator to check how much Housing Benefit you’ll get.
Try using a free benefits calculator like Turn2us. You’ll need to have ready:
- information about your finances – wages, income from benefits, savings, pensions, childcare costs
Top tip:
- use the online calculator to get an idea of how much Housing Benefit you will get.
More from the housing charity Shelter about how your Housing Benefit is calculated.
Housing Benefit can be complex. If you are unsure about your rights and responsibilities regarding Housing Benefit, you should get more detailed advice.
How do I get Housing Benefit backdated?
Normally, you can only get paid Housing Benefit from the Monday after the day you first applied for Housing Benefit. In North Somerset a new application for Housing Benefit is done online. This usually means that the day you first applied for Housing Benefit is counted as the day when your completed online form was submitted.
- If you need to apply for Housing Benefit, you can make a new claim for Housing Benefit in North Somerset on the Council’s website.
There are a very small number of situations you may be able to get Housing Benefit ‘backdated’. Backdated means paid for a period before you made your application for Housing Benefit. Shelter’s article tells you when you can get Housing Benefit backdated, including a sample template letter to request this from the Council, and other information you might need to send.
Top tip:
- make an application for Housing Benefit as soon as you can, because it’s not easy to get Housing Benefit going back before the date you first applied.
What if you want to claim Housing Benefit before you move in to a new home? Read Shelter’s guide to when you can claim Housing Benefit before you move in.
Housing Benefit can be complex. If you are unsure about your rights and responsibilities regarding Housing Benefit, you should get more detailed advice.
Can I get help to top-up my rent if Housing Benefit isn’t enough?
If your Housing Benefit isn’t enough to cover the rent, you may be able to get help from a Discretionary Housing Payment. This is a short-term grant of money to help with your rent. The money is not guaranteed, so you shouldn’t rely on it to help pay your rent.
You can apply for this from North Somerset Council. You can download the Discretionary Housing Payment application by clicking on this link: Discretionary Housing Payment application form (PDF)).
Applying for a Discretionary Housing Payment?
Top tips:
- make sure you include supporting evidence about any health conditions
- explain why it would be difficult for you to move to cheaper housing
- check you are getting all the benefits you are entitled to by using an online benefits calculator like Turn2us
Housing Benefit can be complex. If you are unsure about your rights and responsibilities regarding Housing Benefit, you should get more detailed advice.
I’ve been overpaid Housing Benefit. How can I avoid this situation in the future?
It’s really important to tell North Somerset Council about any changes to your income and circumstances, otherwise you might get more Housing Benefit than you are entitled to. This could result in an overpayment of Housing Benefit.
Housing Benefit is exactly linked to your income and circumstances. For every extra £1 you earn or receive, your Housing Benefit goes down by 65p. This is why changes in your income and circumstances affect how much Housing Benefit you should be getting.
Have a look at this list from Shelter about what changes in your circumstances to tell the Council about.
Top Tips:
- keep the Council up to date with any changes in your circumstances as soon as they happen
- keep copies of your paperwork such as wage slips, benefit letters or childcare receipts
Housing Benefit can be complex. If you are unsure about your rights and responsibilities regarding Housing Benefit, you should get more detailed advice.
Housing Benefit advice online and locally
There’s some great information from the housing charity Shelter, which we’ve provided links to in this article. You can also check out Citizens Advice for more information. Make sure you read about your responsibilities and rights carefully.
Housing Benefit can be complex. If you are unsure about your rights and responsibilities regarding Housing Benefit, you should get more detailed advice.
Finally, for local advice, go to our Advice Directory, select ‘Benefits’ then on the Filter click ‘advice’ and then click ‘Filter’. Check the list or Map view to see where you can get advice about Housing Benefit.