RR2 - A guide to Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit
What you can claim for
Under 25s
If you are single and under 25 the maximum rent used to work out your HB will be based on the average rent in the area for single roomed accommodation with the shared use of toilet, bathroom, kitchen facilities and living room but without board. This is called the single room rent restriction.
Who is affected?
The single room restriction could apply to you if:
- you claim HB on or after 7 October 1996 for accommodation rented from a private landlord
- you make a repeat/renewal claim on or after 7 October 1996 and your claim was previously assessed under the local reference rules.
The single room restriction does not apply to you if:
- you are one of a couple or have dependent children living with you
- you rent your home from a registered Social Landlord
- you have your claim assessed under the pre-January 1996 rules
- you are under 22 and have been the subject of a care order or were provided with accommodation by the council under Section 20 of the Children Act 1989
- you get the Severe Disability Premium included in your Applicable Amount
- you have one or more non-dependants living with you.
How the single room rent rules work
The single room rent is part of the maximum rent rules. Claims from single young people aged under 25 years old will be referred to the Rent Officer in the normal way and they will be required to make determinations of a claim related rent and local reference rent in the usual way. In addition, they will also make a determination of the single room rent. This represents the average cost of shared accommodation in the locality. This will be compared with any claim related rent or local reference rent determined and the lowest will be used as the maximum rent that may be met by HB.
How the rules work
The maximum rent that can be paid is the lowest of these:
- the local reference rent
- and the claim-related rent
- and the single room rent
unless your eligible rent is less than any of them in which case it will be the maximum rent.
| Claim-related rent | £75 |
| Local reference rent | £73 |
| Single room rent | £65 |
| Your eligible rent | £60 |
| Maximum paid | £60 |
If your eligible rent is less than both:
- the local reference rent
- and the claim-related rent
but more than or the same as the single room rent, the maximum rent that can be paid is the single room rent.
| Claim-related rent | £75 |
| Local reference rent | £73 |
| Your eligible rent | £70 |
| Single room rent | £65 |
| Maximum paid | £65 |
When your eligible rent is more than all of the following:
- the local reference rent
- and the claim-related rent
- and the single room rent
the maximum rent that can be paid is the single room rent.
| Claim-related rent | £65 |
| Local reference rent | £62 |
| Your eligible rent | £60 |
| Single room rent | £58 |
| Maximum paid | £58 |
Discretionary housing payments
Your council may pay you more if they think that you or your family need extra help with your rent or council tax. Any help is at the council’s discretion and you must apply for help. This extra help is known as Discretionary Housing Payments. These payments are not part of the Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit schemes and there are cash limits to the payments any council can make each year. You cannot get more than your eligible rent or council tax liability.
Pre-tenancy determinations
If you have not yet moved into a private property but need to find out what maximum rent the council would consider, you can ask for a pre-tenancy determination. An independent Rent Officer will tell you what the maximum rent would be for the home you have in mind. The determination is free, and will help you to work out whether you can afford to move to the home. However, please remember that your council may not pay up to the full value of the maximum rent as the council looks at your entitlement and income when it works out how much of the maximum rent it should pay. To get a pre-tenancy determination, contact the HB section at your local council (not direct to the Rent Officer service). You will need to fill in an application form about the property you have in mind, and declare your intention to claim HB. The landlord will also need to sign the form to let the Rent Officer look at the property. Once the Rent Officer has reached a decision, you, the landlord and the council will all receive a copy. The determination is valid for 12 months from its date of issue, so long as the terms of the tenancy remain the same.
The pre 1996 rules
Those who have been claiming HB since before the maximum rent rules came in from 2nd January 1996 have their eligible rent worked out using the old rules as they existed before that date. The main difference is that the council decide what the eligible rent should be. Although they would still have a claim related rent they must make their decision by comparing the actual rent with their own evidence of reasonable rents for suitably sized properties as well as the claim related rent. They must restrict a person’s eligible rent to the level of suitable alternative accommodation.
However, unless suitable alternative accommodation is available, the council will not restrict your maximum rent if you or dependent children living with you, or relatives or your partner living with you are:
- aged 60 or older
- or sick or disabled
- or looking after a child
In these cases the council must consider whether moving house would have a bad effect on:
- your chances of keeping a job
- or the education of children being looked after in your home.
The council will not then restrict your eligible rent unless there is alternative accommodation for you to move to. It need not have a place in mind, but it must consider that other suitable accommodation is available.
Delayed restriction
If someone in your household dies, the council may be able to delay restricting or further restricting your eligible rent for a year from the date of your bereavement.
The HB section at your local council can give you more information.