You will not be eligible to make a claim for housing benefit if you have joint investments and savings totalling more than £16,000, unless you are receiving a guaranteed Pension Credit. You are also unable to claim Housing Benefit if the person you pay your rent to is a close relative, living in the same property or if you own the property you are living in.
People on a low income are entitled to apply for Housing Benefit if the above conditions are also met. Evidence of earnings will need to be submitted in the form of payslips or estimates from your employer if you have just started work.
You can claim Housing Benefit if self-employed and in receipt of a low income; your accounts will have to be submitted with the claim form.
If you are in receipt of Housing Benefit and there is someone over the age of 18 living with you, other than a partner; for example a son or daughter, your benefit can be reduced if they are working. The amount of the reduction will depend on individual circumstances.
The start date for Housing Benefit, if granted, will be backdated to the first Monday following receipt of the claim form, so it is important that it is completed and sent to the council as quickly as possible, in order to avoid losing any benefit.
In the case of an applicant of Pension Credit age, Housing Benefit can be backdated for up to three months. Anyone of working age can also ask to have their benefit backdated by up to six months before the claim was made, although in such cases there must be a good reason for the claimant not to have made an earlier application. A request for backdated benefit can be made on the claim form when it is handed in.
In the case of housing association tenants, the amount of Housing Benefit is calculated based on the rent charged. For tenants of private rented property, the Rent Service estimates the amount that will be used as a basis for benefit calculation. The Rent Service normally restricts the level of benefit that a person under 25 can receive to the amount it sets for a single room.
Details of claims are often checked periodically to ensure that the recipient’s circumstances have not changed. If they have and the council was not informed, this might constitute benefit fraud and result in a fine or even a custodial sentence.
Duncan Lewis and other housing solicitors will be happy to assist with any queries concerning housing benefits and related issues.