RR2 - A guide to Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit
Who can claim Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit?
If you are responsible for paying the rent on your home you may be able to get Housing Benefit (HB) to help. If you have to pay council tax you may be able to get Council Tax Benefit (CTB).
Persons from abroad
You can only get benefit if you have a right to reside and are habitually resident in the United Kingdom(UK). If you have entered the UK within the 2 years before your claim for benefit, the council will ask you about this.
Most full-time students are not entitled to HB or main CTB.
Asylum seekers who applied for asylum on or after 3 April 2000 will not be eligible for HB/CTB. Some people who applied for asylum before 3 April 2000 may continue to be entitled to benefit until the first negative decision on their asylum application. People given refugee status, humanitarian protection or exceptional leave to remain in the UK will continue to be eligible for benefit.
If you get Pension Credit, Income Support or income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
If you get Pension Credit Guarantee, Income Support or income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) and have to pay rent you may be able to get the maximum amount of HB/CTB.
Maximum HB depends on:
- how much rent you pay (see 'What you can claim for' for further information)
- and who you live with (see 'People who live with you - non-dependants' for further information)
- and whether any part of your charge cannot be counted for HB (see 'Service charges you cannot claim for' for further information)
- and for private accommodation, what the reasonable rent is for your particular home and what the average rent is for similar homes in your area (see 'Rules about maximum rent' for further information).
Maximum CTB depends on:
- how much council tax you have to pay
- and who you live with (see 'People who live with you - non-dependants' and ' Second Adult Rebate' for further information).
If you only get the Savings Credit of Pension Credit, The Pension Service will issue a statement confirming your income and capital that your council must use when calculating your entitlement to HB/CTB.
If you are already getting or have claimed Pension Credit, Income Support or income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance you will need to get a claim form from your local council to fill in. If you have not claimed one of these benefits and wish to make a claim then you will follow the process for people claiming Pension Credit, Income Support or income-based JSA.
If your Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, Severe Disablement Allowance or Incapacity Benefit stops because of work
If you start working on average more than 16 hours a week, or your partner starts working on average 24 hours or more a week, your Income Support or income-based JSA will stop. You may continue to get maximum HB/CTB for an extra 4 weeks after your Income Support or income-based JSA stops. The extra HB/CTB help is called an extended payment.
Extended payments are also available if your Income Support or income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance has stopped because you or your partner have increased the number of hours you work or have increased the amount of money you get from working.
To get the extra help you must be under pension age (ie under 60) and:
- you must have been in receipt of Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, contributory based Jobseeker’s Allowance or a combination of these benefits for a continuous period of 26 weeks; and
- you must have been in receipt of IS or JSA(IB) immediately before you moved into work or increased the hours or wages; and
- you must expect your new job or increased hours/wages to last for at least 5 weeks.
From April 2004, extended payments of HB/CTB have also been available for people who have been receiving either Incapacity Benefit, or Severe Disablement Allowance (or a combination of these benefits) continuously for 26 weeks, provided:
- your Incapacity Benefit or Severe Disablement Allowance ceases as a result of:
- you or your partner taking up employment either as an employee, or self employed person, or increasing your hours or wages; and
- you expect the new job or increased hours/wages to last at least 5 weeks; and
- you or your partner are not in receipt of Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance or Pension Credit.
If you want to claim an extended payment you should notify your Local Authority, Social Security Office or Jobcentre Plus Office within 4 weeks of starting work, changing your hours of work, or getting increased wages.
If you do not get Pension Credit, Income Support or income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
Even if you do not get Pension Credit, Income Support or income-based JSA, you may still get some help with paying your rent costs or council tax. This is worked out by comparing the maximum HB/CTB you could get with:
- your needs (called your applicable amount)
- and your income and capital resources.
Capital
Savings and investments (capital) may have an effect on the assessment of your income. Capital will only affect your income if you have more than £6000. If you have more than £16,000, you will not normally be able to get HB/CTB (unless you are aged 60 or over and receive the Pension Credit (Guarantee), in which case there is no limit to the amount of capital you can have). However, even if your capital exceeds £16,000, you may be able to claim Second Adult Rebate (referred to in the regulations as Alternative Maximum CTB). For people in certain types of residential accommodation, capital of up to £10,000 can be ignored. Savings and investments are explained in more detail.