RR2 - A guide to Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit
Working it out
Applicable amounts
The applicable amount represents the needs of you and your family if you have one. The larger your family the larger your applicable amount. The applicable amount is made up of three parts: [CTB Reg 8, HB Reg 16]
- a personal allowance
- and personal allowances for children in your family
- and premiums.
Personal allowance
Your applicable amount always includes a personal allowance. Different amounts apply according to your age and whether you have a partner. These groups are: [HB Regs 22-23 & SPC reg 22, HB Sch 3 1-2& (SPC)Sch 3(1)-(2), CTB Sch1(1)&(SPC) Sch (1)]
- single people aged under 25 and lone parents aged under 18
- single people aged 25 to 59, and lone parents aged 18 to 59
- single people aged 60 or over
- couples where both partners are aged under 18
- couples where the older partner is aged 18 to 59
- couples where the older partner is aged 60 or over.
Note: If a customer or their partner is aged 60 or over and they are in receipt of Income Support or Jobseeker’s Allowance, they shall be awarded the rates for customers aged under 60.
The amounts are set every year and are listed in Social Security Benefit Rates (BRA5DWP). You can get it from you social security office.
If you are legally married to more than one partner
This is called a polygamous marriage. In this case you get a special personal allowance. It is made up of two parts:
- a couple’s allowance (determined by the age of whoever is the oldest of you and your partners)
- and additional allowances for each additional partner.
Other allowances and premiums are added to the personal allowance if they apply.
Personal allowances for children
If you are looking after children (other than foster children) then you get an allowance for each child included in your applicable amount according to his or her age. (More information about children and young persons.) This allowance is included until that child leaves school or reaches their 20th birthday.
A special rule applies if the child has left school and started work before the Child Benefit stops.
If you have more than one partner (because you are polygamously married) any children who are part of the family will be included in the same way as children of a couple. [HB 23 CTB Reg 13(c) HB Schedule 3 part 1 CTB Schedule 1]
Premiums for your family
Once personal allowances and allowances for children have been worked out, premiums can be added – if they apply – to make up your applicable amount. [Reg HB Sch 3, CTB Sch 1]
Your children
A family premium will be included if you have any dependent children in your household. No matter how many children you have, you can only get one family premium. [HB Sch 2(3), CTB Sch 1(3)]
There are two family premiums – the family premium and the family premium (lone parent). You will get the family premium if you have a partner or you get the disability premium or a pensioner premium, or do not qualify for the family premium (lone parent). The family premium (lone parent) is no longer available to new claimants. If you were getting it on 5 April 1998, you may continue to get it providing you remain continuously entitled to HB/CTB as a lone parent, and do not become entitled to a disability premium or pensioner premium.
Premiums for disabilities
These premiums are included in your applicable amount for people in your family with disabilities. There are three premiums in this group:
- disabled child premium (for each disabled child in your household)
- and disability premium (if you or your partner gets one of the benefits listed below or you have been off sick for more than 52 weeks)
- and severe disability premium (if you are disabled and live in special circumstances).
Disabled child premium
The disabled child premium is a flat-rate premium which may be awarded for each disabled child in your household and can be included with any other premiums. Your child is considered disabled if they are: [HB sch 3(16) /HB (SPC) sch 3(8) - CTB sch 1(16) CTB (SPC) sch 1(8)]
- registered blind
- or receiving Disability Living Allowance.
Disability premium
Disability premium will be included in your applicable amount if you and your partner are aged less than 60 and: [HB sch 3 (12) &(13) CTB sch 1(12)&(13)]
- either of you is registered blind
- or either of you gets one of the qualifying benefits listed below
- or has been off sick for 52 weeks or more.
In this last case it must be the person who is claiming the HB/CTB who is off sick.
Qualifying benefits
You will get the disability premium if you or your partner get any of the following benefits:
- Disability Living Allowance
- or Disabled Person’s Tax Credit
- or Attendance Allowance
- or Constant Attendance Allowance
- or payment through the Invalid Vehicle Scheme
- or war pensioners’ mobility supplement
- or Severe Disablement Allowance
- or Incapacity Benefit – long term rate or short term higher rate paid at the long term rate.
These are known as qualifying benefits because they qualify you for the disability premium.
If you do not get a qualifying benefit, you may still get the disability premium if the 52 week rule applies. This is when you have been sick and incapable for work for 52 weeks. You will need to submit or have submitted medical evidence in support of claims for Statutory Sick Pay and/or Incapacity Benefit to the Benefits Agency for the previous 52 weeks. Claim forms for Incapacity Benefit are available from your local council.
If, during the 52 week qualifying period, you cease to be sick for more than eight benefit weeks and then become sick again, a new 52 week period must begin. But if you have qualified for the disability premium by only the 52 week rule (that is, you are not blind or getting a qualifying benefit) and you become fit for work, you may not have to wait 52 weeks if you become sick again. The disability premium will be included in your applicable amount as soon as you start sending in medical evidence of your sickness again, as long as:
- the break in your incapacity for work has been eight weeks or less
- and you have new medical evidence of your incapacity for work or you are getting SSP.
Any time you spend in hospital counts towards the 52 week total.
A person who is not getting a qualifying benefit and is terminally ill does not have to qualify for 52 weeks to get the disability premium. They can get it after 28 weeks of incapacity.
If you are making the claim for HB/CTB and you have a partner, you will not get this premium if it is just your partner who is sick and providing medical evidence of incapacity. But in such a case you may get more HB/CTB if your partner is the one who claims. Some couples who change the partner who is claiming will not get more HB but will get less because their rent will be restricted. You should check with your council how your benefit will be affected.
Backdated qualifying benefit
If you are getting one of the qualifying benefits, you can get the disability premium from the time you started being entitled to that qualifying benefit. If the award of a qualifying benefit is backdated, your disability premium should be backdated, but not earlier than the start of your HB/CTB claim and arrears cannot be paid for more than 52 weeks. You must let your local council know as soon as you get a backdated award of a qualifying benefit.
Severe disability premium
This premium cannot be included on its own. You must first qualify for either the disability premium or the higher pensioner premium.
If you are single or a lone parent [HB sch 3 (14), CTB sch 1 (14), CTB (SPC) sch 1(6), HB (SPC) (6)]
The severe disability premium may be included in your applicable amount if you:
- receive the care component of Disability Living Allowance at the highest or middle rate, Attendance Allowance or Constant Attendance Allowance
- and live alone (but if others live with you, see below)
- and no one receives Invalid Care Allowance for looking after you.
If you have a partner
You may get the severe disability premium if you both:
- receive the care component of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) at the highest or middle rate, Attendance Allowance (AA) or Constant Attendance Allowance
- or your partner is blind and you receive the care component of DLA at the highest or middle rate, AA or Constant Attendance Allowance
- and no one lives with you (but see below)
- and no one receives Carers Allowance for looking after either one or both of you.
If you are legally married to more than one partner (polygamous marriage) the same conditions must apply for each of your partners.
Other people living in your household
For the purposes of severe disability premium your HB/CTB is not affected if other people living with you are:
- children
- or aged 16-17
- or a person who is registered blind (if a person regains their sight, they are treated as blind for a period of 28 weeks after they cease to be registered blind)
- or receiving the care component of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) at the highest or middle rate, or Attendance Allowance (AA)
- or people caring for you who are employed by a charity that makes a charge for this service
- or landlords/ladies and their partners
- or co-owners or co-tenants with you or your partner.
If you have a partner and one of you goes into hospital for more than four weeks, your DLA or AA will stop but you will continue to get the Severe Disability Premium, if you have already qualified for it, at the single rate.
Enhanced Disability Premium
Enhanced Disability Premium is awarded where you, or a member of your family, who is aged under 60 receives the highest rate of Disabled Living Allowance (DLA). This premium will remain in payment if the DLA is suspended during hospitalisation. This premium is awarded at three different rates. They are:
- a rate for each dependent child/young person in your household who receives the highest rate of DLA
- a rate for a single person who receives the highest rate of DLA
- a rate for couples where at least one member of the couple receives the highest rate of DLA.
Carer Premium
The Carer Premium is awarded if either you or your partner are looking after a disabled person and:
- receive Carer’s Allowance
- or made a claim for Carer’s Allowance on or after 1 October 1990 and would be entitled but for an overlapping benefit.
If both you and your partner satisfy the qualifying conditions two premiums can be awarded.
The carer premium continues for eight weeks after caring ceases.
Premiums for pensioners
Premiums for pensioners will no longer be awarded for the majority of people aged 60 or over. The new personal allowances have been increased to include these premiums. However, for people receiving Income Support or Jobseeker’s Allowance, where they or their partner are aged 60 or over, the allowances awarded will be those for people under 60. In these cases customers will still be entitled to the appropriate pensioner premium listed below.
There are three types of premium in this group – the pensioner premium, the enhanced pensioner premium and the higher pensioner premium. [HB Reg 16, HB Sch 2.9-10]
Pensioner premium [HB Reg 22,CTB Reg 12, HB sch 3 (9)-(11) CTB sch 1(9)-(11)]
You will qualify for a pensioner premium if you or your partner are aged 60-74.
Enhanced pensioner premium
You will qualify for the enhanced pensioner premium if you or your partner are aged 75-79.
Higher pensioner premium
This premium will be awarded when you or your partner are aged 80 or older. It will also be awarded if you or your partner are aged 60 and over and either of you is blind or receiving one of the qualifying benefits (the same ones as listed under the heading ‘ Qualifying benefits’). If you were getting the disability premium within eight weeks of your 60th birthday, you will go straight on to the higher pensioner premium when you reach age 60.
If you stop being registered blind and this was the only way you could be awarded higher pensioner premium instead of the pensioner premium, you will still be treated as blind and you will continue to get the higher pensioner premium until 28 weeks after you stop being registered blind.
If a qualifying benefit like the long-term rate of Incapacity Benefit is stopped because of your age or because State Pension is put into payment instead, the higher pensioner premium will not be affected.
Combining premiums
There are a small number of ways of getting more than one premium. Disabled child premium, carer premium and severe disability premium can be added to any other premiums. The family premium can be added to any other premium except the family premium (lone parent). You can only get the severe disability premium if you also get the disability premium or the higher pensioner premium. [HB sch (4) &(5),CTB sch 1(4)&(5)]
Even if you qualify for more than one of the following premiums you will only be able to get the highest:
- the family premium (lone parent)
- or the pensioner premium
- or disability premium
- or enhanced pensioner premium
- or higher pensioner premium
- or bereavement premium.
The enhanced disability premium cannot be awarded to a couple or person getting a pensioner premium but can be awarded for a dependent child/young person who is entitled to it.
If you are a lone parent and get a disability premium or a pensioner premium you will get the family premium instead of the family premium (lone parent).