Housing benefit

The most you can get is the same as your eligible rent. This is the amount used to work out your benefit but may not be the same as your full rent. You can check whether you might be entitled to any support using an online benefits calculator although this is only an estimate, and not a guarantee.

What is eligible rent?

• rent for the accommodation
• charges for some services, such as lifts, communal laundry facilities or play areas

Even if it's included in your rent, you won't get any benefit for:

• water charges
• charges for heating, hot water, lighting, or cooking
• payments for food or fuel in board and lodgings or hostels

The amount of benefit you may get also depends on:

• your personal and financial circumstances
• the particulars of your home and the rent you pay

We will look at:

• money you and your partner or civil partner have coming in including earnings, some benefits and tax credits, and occupational pensions
• your savings (and your partner's or civil partner's savings)
• your circumstances such as your age, the size of your family and their ages, whether you or any of your family are disabled, and whether anyone who lives with you could help with the rent

We will also look at whether:

• the amount of rent is reasonable for your particular home
• your home is a reasonable size for you and your family
• the amount of rent is reasonable for the area where you live
• your 'eligible' rent may be limited to an amount that's reasonable for a suitably sized property in the area you live

If you are a Together Housing tenant, we can pay any benefit straight into your rent account.

Housing benefit won't affect any other benefits you get.

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