Revenues and Benefits A guide to claiming Housing Benefit 1
Introduction Housing Benefit is a government scheme to help you pay your rent if you are on a low income. The scheme is administered by your local council. This leaflet gives details about claiming Housing Benefit. If you want to claim Council Tax Support, you may do so in the same application. Housing Benefit Housing Benefit is available to people who pay rent. Housing Benefit cannot help with mortgage payments. If you are a joint tenant, you may be able to claim for your share of the rent. You do not have to be receiving Pension Credit, Income Support or Job Seekers Allowance to claim Housing Benefit. Who can apply for Housing Benefit? You can claim Housing Benefit if you or your partner are the person liable to pay the rent, and you are on a low income. You cannot claim Housing Benefit if: You are living with a member of your immediate family and paying them rent You have capital or savings of 16,000 or more You are a full-time student (unless you receive Income Support/Job Seekers Allowance, are disabled or have responsibility for a child) You rent your property from a person who is parent to a child of your household. How is Housing Benefit worked out? When working out your entitlement we will look at: 2
Your personal circumstances (and your partner s, if you have one), including your age(s), the size of your family and anyone else who lives with you The income you (and your partner) have coming in, including benefits and earned income The savings and investments you (and your partner) have If you are renting your home from the Council, we will contact the Housing Section to confirm the amount of rent you are charged If you are renting from a private landlord we will look at the Local Housing Allowance rate that applies to your household If you are renting from a Housing Association or Registered Social Landlord we will look at your gross rent, less any ineligible charges. Size related restrictions for Council Tenants and those renting from a Housing Association or Registered Social Landlord If you are renting a property that has more bedrooms than you are deemed to need, a restriction will be applied to the maximum rent we can consider for Housing Benefit. If you have one bedroom more than you need, this will be 14% of your rental charge, if you have two or more bedrooms in excess of your need, the restriction will be 25%. What is my Local Housing Allowance rate? The rates are set yearly for different sized properties by The Valuation Office Agency which is independent from the council. Local Housing Allowance rates can be found at: www.arun.gov.uk www.voa.gov.uk Civic Centre, Maltravers Road, Littlehampton BN17 5LF 3
4 Bognor Regis Town Hall, Clarence Road, Bognor Regis PO21 1LD How do services included in my rent affect Housing Benefit? Some service charges can be met by Housing Benefit. We call these eligible charges. Some cannot be met, which are called ineligible charges. For example, if the rent includes an amount for cleaning of communal areas in a block of flats, that charge would be eligible. If the cleaning is related to your own flat, it would normally be ineligible. Other ineligible charges include heating, lighting, water and personal care. We deduct an amount for these services from the rent. If you have meals included in your rent we always deduct the standard amount the Government specifies. Can I appeal against the Local Housing Allowance rate? There is no right of appeal against the rate of Local Housing Allowance applied to your new claim. Making a claim for Housing Benefit You may wish to find out how much benefit you might be entitled to. You can get a rough idea by using our Benefit Calculator on our website at www.arun.gov.uk. You can make your application by calling 01903 737753 Lines are open 8:45am to 5:15pm - Monday to Thursday 8.45am to 4.45pm - Friday Alternatively you can visit our offices at Bognor Regis Town Hall or the Civic Centre, Littlehampton. We will arrange an appointment for you where a Claims Advisor will complete a claim with you and
where possible, assess the claim and explain your Benefit entitlement. If you are unable to attend these surgeries we offer home visits or we can post a claim form to you. In these cases once we have received all the information and evidence we need to calculate the claim, we aim to notify you of your entitlement within 14 days of receiving the last piece of information. How will I know when my claim has been assessed? Once your claim has been assessed you will receive a Benefit decision notice telling you how much Housing Benefit you are entitled to and what income and capital has been used in your assessment. When will my Benefit start? Your benefit usually starts from the Monday after you contact us to make your application. If you think it should start from an earlier date, you should request this at the time of the application and explain why you did not apply at that time. How will I be paid? Housing Benefit will usually be paid direct to you. In certain circumstances we may decide to pay benefit to the landlord. Payment may be made direct to the landlord where we decide that you are: likely to have difficulty in managing your financial affairs unlikely to pay your rent If you are renting your home from the Council your Housing Benefit will be paid directly into your rent account. You will be notified if you still need to make any payments towards your rent. 5
If you rent from a Housing Association or Registered Social Landlord you can choose to have them paid direct Payments to you will be made every two weeks in arrears straight into your bank or building society account Payments to your landlord will be made every four weeks in arrears to your landlord s bank or building society account. What should I do if my circumstances change? You must tell us if there are any changes that may affect the amount of Housing Benefit you are entitled to. You should tell us of changes even if you have told someone else like the Department for Work and Pensions, the Pension Service or your landlord. If you do not tell us we may be paying you too little and you could miss out on money you are entitled to. It may also mean that you get too much benefit and have to pay it back later. Changes you MUST tell us about You need to tell the Housing Benefit Department about: Changes to the amount of rent you have to pay If you rent your home from a private landlord or a housing association, you should tell us: If your rent goes up or down If there is any change in any service charges you pay If the part of the property you live in changes. If you are a council tenant you do not have to tell us about rent changes. 6
Change of address If you move address you should tell us as soon as you move or you know the date that you will be moving. This includes moving from one room to another in the same property. Changes relating to people who live with you You must tell us about the changes concerning the people who normally live with you, for example: If someone comes to live with you or someone moves out If someone who lives with your starts or stops work If there is a change in the income of someone who lives with you If one of your children leaves education. Changes to your income This is any change, to any part or you or your partner s income. Tell us if it starts, stops, goes up or down. This includes: Wage Tax credits Child Benefit Changes to state pension Changes to other pensions and annuities Changes to any other income. Changes to your bank accounts, savings and investments You do not have to tell us about minor changes in your current account or day to day changes in any stocks or shares you hold. However, you must tell us about any significant changes to your capital, particularly where it exceeds 16,000. Absence from home You must tell us if you are going to be absent from your home and this absence is likely to be more than 13 weeks This might be because: 7
8 You have gone into hospital You have moved into a care home for a trial period You are living with someone else to either receive care or provide care. When do I have to tell you about changes? You must tell us within one month of the change happening, at the latest. If you not you could lose benefit. If you tell us within one month we usually work out your new benefit from the Monday after the date the change actually happened. If the change means that you would get more benefit, we can usually only pay you the higher amount of benefit from the Monday after you tell us. You would then lose out on benefit. If change means that you get less benefit, we always work out your new benefit back to the date of the change. This will mean that you will have a debt to pay back. How should I tell you about any changes? You can report a change of circumstances by telephoning, online, emailing or writing to us or visiting our offices at the Civic Centre in Littlehampton or Bognor Regis Town Hall. Our contact details are given at the back of this leaflet. We will also need to see proof of the change. Remember, we need to see original documentation we cannot accept photocopies. If you do not have the proof available, do not delay telling us you can send in the details later if necessary.
What happens after I have told you about a change? You will receive a new Benefit decision notice telling you how your Housing Benefit has changed and whether you are entitled to more or less money. If you are a council tenant the Housing Department will advise you if you still need to make rental payments. If you rent your home from a private landlord or a housing association you should talk to your landlord about the new amount you have to pay. Appeals If you want to know how your benefit has been calculated or if you think it is wrong, you should get in touch with us within one month of the date of your notification letter, or we may not be able to consider any dispute. You can get in touch with us in person, via email, by phone or in writing. You can either: Ask for an explanation Ask us to look again at the decision Appeal against the decision An Appeal can only be made in writing. If you appeal against the decision your appeal will be heard by an independent tribunal administered by the Tribunal Service. What happens after the decision is looked at again? If we change the decision we will send you a new decision notice. If we cannot change the decision, we will tell you why. If you still disagree, you have one more month to appeal, from the date of the new decision. 9
Benefit Fraud Arun District Council is committed to fraud detection and prevention and has a team dedicated to tackling Housing Benefit fraud. We would like to know of any person that you know of who may be claiming Benefit to which they are not entitled. All information is dealt with in confidence. Contact the Fraud Hotline on: Free phone 0800 328 6340 Contact us If you require further information about Housing Benefit or Council Tax Support please contact us: Website: www.arun.gov.uk/benefits E-mail: revenues.benefits@arun.gov.uk Arun District Council Civic Centre Maltravers Road Littlehampton BN17 5LF Tel: 01903 737753 Fax: 01903 725594 10
Other useful contacts Valuation Office Agency Network Support Office- Housing Allowance Wycliffe House Green Lane County Durham DH1 3UW Tel: 08450 26 46 96 Website: www.voa.gov.uk Bognor Regis Citizens Advice Bureau Town Hall Clarence Road Bognor Regis West Sussex PO21 1LD Tel: 01243 820667 Fax: 01243 842981 Website: www.citizensadvice.org.uk Littlehampton & District Citizens Advice Bureau 14-16 Anchor Springs Littlehampton West Sussex BN17 6BP Tel: 01903 724010 Fax: 01903 733237 Website: www.citizensadvice.org.uk 11
Arun District Council, Civic Centre, Maltravers Road, Littlehampton BN17 5LF Tel: 01903 737753 Fax: 01903 725594 Website: www.arun.gov.uk E-mail: revenues.benefits@arun.gov.uk Designed and printed by Arun District Council 07.03.13 H 12