Housing BenefitInformation and guidance

www.cornwall.gov.uk

Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support

Housing Benefit is paid by Cornwall Council to help with your rent. You can claim Housing Benefit if you are a private tenant, a council tenant, or you live in a mobile home or in board and lodgings.

Who can claim:You can claim Housing Benefit if you pay rent for the accommodation you live in. This could be one of the following;

• Council tenants

• Tenants of a private landlord or privately owned property

• Housing Association tenants

• Tenants in a shared ownership scheme (often in partnership with a housing association – part own/part rent, also referred to as ‘affordable housing’)

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• Hostel tenants, these are purpose built or adapted accommodation for specific groups of the community.

• People who live in board and lodgings – often referred to as Bed and Breakfast.

• People who live in caravans and mobile homes – on ‘official’ registered sites/parks.

• People who pay site rent for a caravan or mobile home (often referred to as ‘pitch fee’).

• People who pay mooring charges for a boat/houseboat (if it is the main permanent residence of the occupier)

• People who live in a room in a house or are house sharing (a formal private arrangement with the private owner).

People who claim Housing Benefit can work full-time or part-time, be a pensioner, unemployed, too ill to work, or looking after someone who is sick or disabled. Most students cannot get Housing Benefit, but there are exceptions. You cannot get Housing Benefit if your savings are over £16,000 unless you also get the guarantee credit of Pension Credit.

If you are from abroad and are not a UK resident or national please contact us on 0300 1234 121 for advice.

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How to claim:You can claim Housing Benefit by completing a claim form which we can send to you or you can pick up from any of our One Stop Shops, the addresses for these can be found on our website at www.cornwall.gov.uk/onestopshops.

You can also create an account and logon to our Self Service option via our website at www.cornwall.gov.uk/benefits and submit a claim via our E-Claims function. If you are a student or self employed we advise you to submit your claim by paper form due to the complicated nature of these claims. If you want advice on this please contact us on 0300 1234 121.

We can also take claims over the phone, this is called a Tele-claim. To do this just call us on 0300 1234 121 to book an appointment.

How much can I claim?How much Housing Benefit you get depends on how much your rent is and how much money you have coming in each week. Some of your income may not be taken into account for Housing Benefit. You may get less if there are other adults living in your home. The rules are complicated and if you are not sure we recommend you make a claim anyway.

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Benefits CapThe Government has introduced a scheme which limits the total amount of benefits a person can receive called ‘Benefit Cap’. The amount of Housing Benefit you can receive may be affected by the Benefit Cap. For couples and lone parents this figure is £500 a week, for single people it is £350 a week. If your total benefits from, for example, Housing Benefit, Child Benefit, Child Tax Credits, Income Support, Job Seekers Allowance, Incapacity Benefit or Employment & Support Allowance exceed the total you are allowed then your Housing Benefit will be reduced to bring you back to the maximum figure of either £500 or £350 a week. If either you, your partner or a dependant child receives Disability Living Allowance the benefit cap will not apply to you. If you are entitled to Working Tax Credits you will not be affected by the Benefit Cap. There are some other conditions which may stop you being affected by the Benefit Cap, more information, including what incomes are taken into account to calculate the Benefit Cap along with the people who are not affected by the Benefit Cap, can be found on our website at www.cornwall.gov.uk by searching for benefit cap. The Benefit Cap is due to be introduced across Cornwall by late summer 2013.

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Rent restrictionsSometimes the Council will not be able to take into account all the rent you have to pay, so you will get less Housing Benefit. For example, we may tell you that your home is too big for the size of your family, or that your rent is too high.

If you rent from Cornwall Council (Cornwall Housing) or from a registered provider (also known as a housing association) the maximum amount of rent we could consider may be restricted to the size your family needs, this is called an under-occupancy charge. If you have one bedroom more than the government states you need your Housing Benefit will be reduced by 14% of your overall rent; and if you have two or more bedrooms than you need it will be reduced by 25%.

If you rent from a private landlord and you claim Housing Benefit, we will work out your benefit using the Local Housing Allowance

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rather than the rent you actually pay. This figure is set by the Rent Service and is based on the number of bedrooms you need. The Local Housing Allowance is not used for everyone, for example if you live in a caravan or mobile home this will be referred separately to the Rent Service for a decision. If you have been continually on Housing Benefit since before April 2008, the Local Housing Allowance will not have been used so it is worth checking to see if you could get more benefit with the Local Housing Allowance.

More information is available on our website www.cornwall.gov.uk by searching for welfare reforms housing benefit.

If you want more help or advice you can visit our website www.cornwall.gov.uk or contact us on 0300 1234 121.

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Deductions for people living with youIf you get Housing Benefit, you may get less benefit if other people live with you, but not if it is your partner, landlord, a joint owner, joint tenant or lodger. How much is deducted depends on the age of the people living with you, and how much income they have coming in. No deduction should be made if you or your partner is registered severely sight impaired (blind) or get Attendance Allowance, or the care component of Disability Living Allowance.

No deduction should be made for:

• a 16 or 17 year old even if they are in work

• an 18 to 24 year old getting Income Support, income based Job Seekers Allowance or income related Employment & Support Allowance.

• a person of pension age receiving pension credit.

Income not taken into account for Housing BenefitWhen income-related benefits are being worked out some types of income are not taken into account. For example Attendance Allowance and Disability Living Allowance are not taken into account at all. Child benefit and child maintenance are not taken into account, and other incomes such as wages are partly taken into account.

War Pensions and War Widows Pensions are not taken into account for Housing Benefit. If you or your partner works, some of what you have to pay for childcare may not be taken into account along with some other types of income as well.

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Discretionary Housing Payments You can apply for a discretionary housing payment if you get some Housing Benefit, but you need more help to pay your rent. For example you may not be able to pay all your rent because the Council has decided to restrict your Housing Benefit. The Council decides how much to pay and for how long. If you disagree with our decision you can ask us to look at it again. If you wish to apply for this you can visit out website www.cornwall.gov.uk (search for discretionary housing payments) to download a form. As part of the award, we may ask you to work with us or other partner organisations to find ways to improve your longer term financial and personal circumstances.

Backdating of benefitsIf you over state pension age a claim for Housing Benefit should be backdated automatically for up to three months. If you are aged under pension age a claim for Housing Benefit can be backdated up to six months but you must have a good reason for not claiming sooner. Ask us for advice if you think you have a good reason for claiming late.

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Housing costs when you start workIf your benefits stop because you or your partner start work, or increase your hours and get more pay for five weeks or more, you can carry on getting the same amount of Housing Benefit, for a further four weeks.

To do so you must have been getting one or more of the following benefits continually for 26 weeks or longer:

• Income Support

• Job Seekers Allowance (JSA), both contribution based and income based JSA can count towards this period, although income based JSA must be in payment at the point the Benefit ends

• Employment and Support Allowance

• Incapacity Benefit

• Severe Disablement Allowance

You will be paid automatically as long as you report the change straight away. When the four weeks are over you may still be entitled to some Housing Benefit or Council Tax Support, so it is important you make a fresh claim.

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What should I do if I think somebody is committing benefit fraud?It is important that you let us know if you suspect that somebody is committing benefit fraud

• You can contact Cornwall Council’s Fraud Hotline on 0800 7316125 about Housing Benefit fraud.

• You can also contact the National Fraud Hotline on 0800 854440 about any other types of benefit fraud.

• You can also fill in the online form at www.secure.dwp.gov.uk/benefitfraud

We want to hear from you but you do not have to give your contact details if you would prefer not to.

If you want more help or advice you can visit our website www.cornwall.gov.uk or contact us on 0300 1234 121.

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Where can I get advice and help?Visit our website at www.cornwall.gov.uk/benefits for more information or call us on 0300 1234 121 for advice.

Independent adviceIf you need independent advice, contact your local Citizens Advice Bureau. You can find their phone number along with other local advice agencies in the phone book, at your local library or visit their website www.adviceguide.org.uk

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If you would like this information in another format or language please contact:Cornwall Council, County Hall, Treyew Road, Truro TR1 3AYTelephone: 0300 1234 100 Email: enquiries@cornwall.gov.uk www.cornwall.gov.uk