Who can claim Housing Benefit?

Anyone who has to pay rent or rates for their home can claim. It does not matter if your landlord is:

• the Housing Executive
• a housing association  
• a private landlord

You can also claim if you:

• live in a hostel
• live in bed and breakfast accommodation
• are a boarder or lodger

You cannot, however, get Housing Benefit if you are living with a close relative (such as a parent) and paying them rent.

You do not need to be unemployed to get Housing Benefit but you cannot get it if you have savings of over £16,000, unless you are receiving Guaranteed Pension Credit.

What can I claim Housing Benefit for?

You can claim Housing Benefit for rent, rates and some service charges. We may, however, not be able to pay the full amount of rent in some circumstances. You cannot get Housing Benefit on charges for things such as meals, fuel charges or cleaning your home, everyone has these expenses.

How is Housing Benefit worked out?

If you receive Income Support or Income Based Job Seekers Allowance or Guaranteed Pension Credit you will get maximum Housing Benefit. This may be less than you are charged if your rent is considered to be too high or your home is under-occupied.

Also, you may not receive maximum Housing Benefit if you have someone over 18 living with you. For all other cases we will make an individual calculation.

What happens next?

If you are entitled to Housing Benefit we will reduce your rent if you are a Housing Executive tenant. If you are a private tenant we can pay you by cheque or directly to your bank account. We can also pay your Housing Benefit directly to your landlord.

What if I am unhappy with the Housing Benefit decision?

If you don't agree with our decision (for example the amount we have paid, the date we paid you from and so on) you can ask us to look at the decision again and if necessary appeal against it.