Housing benefits

What is a Private Tenant?

A private tenant is someone who pays rent for their home to a private landlord or a Registered Social Landlord, previously known as a Housing Association. As the council no longer owns any houses all customers claiming help with their rent are private tenants

Who can't claim?

Not all private tenants can claim Housing Benefit. They include tenants:

• whose landlord is a close relative and they live in the same property
• who are full-time students (with some exceptions)
• whose agreement to pay rent is not on a commercial basis i.e. friends
• whose tenancy agreement has been created to take advantage of the Housing Benefit Scheme.
• living on a board basis in a residential home.
• who have a lease of more than 21 years.
• where the landlord is an ex-partner of the tenant and they previously lived in the house as a couple 
• where the landlord is the parent of the tenant's children.
• living in tied accommodation.
• who previously owned the property they rent in the last 5 years, unless they can prove they could not have continued to live there without letting go of the ownership i.e. Mortgage Rescue Schemes.

This list is not exhaustive, only a guide.

Service Charges

Housing Benefit may not be able to pay all your rent.

If you are the tenant of a Registered Social Landlord, or your claim began prior to 7 April 2008, there may be amounts included in your rent for ineligible services, these can not be paid by Housing Benefit. Ineligible Services could include;

• Heating
• Lighting
• Fuel for cooking
• Hot water
• Laundering
• Cleaning
• Personal care
• Food
• Water rates.

Service charges such as maintenance, which relate to the provision of adequate accommodation can be deemed as eligible services and therefore Housing Benefit can be paid for these.

Support charges for the provision of an alarm or warden are not eligible for Housing Benefit but you may be able to get help with these via "Supporting People". Ask your landlord or the Supporting People team at Derbyshire County Council for more information.

Please remember you are responsible for the payment of any ineligible services.

Eligible Rent

If your tenancy began before15 January 1989, your rent minus any amounts for ineligible services, will be the eligible rent on which Housing Benefit will be based.

Usually, if you are a tenant of a Registered Social Landlord, the level of rent, minus any amounts for ineligible services, will be the eligible rent on which Housing Benefit will be based. However, if the number of bedrooms and living rooms make the property oversized for the number of residents, for rent service calculation purposes your rent may be restricted.

For all other tenancies up to the 6 April 2008, the Valuation Office Agency will be asked to make an independent valuation on the property. The valuation will be based on the property, and the size of the household. This figure, minus any amounts for ineligible services, will be the eligible rent on which Housing Benefit will be based. Your claim will not be delayed whilst this assessment is made.

Local Housing Allowance (LHA) aimed to simplify Housing Benefit. This was introduced from 7 April 2008. It only affects new claims or people changing address after this date. If you have a change to your income or capital you will continue to be assessed using Valuation Office Agency decisions.

How it will affect you:

• If you live in a Housing Association property, LHA will not affect you.
• LHA is a flat rate allowance based on the size of your household and the area in which you live.
• There are no changes to the way we work out your benefit, this will still be based on your income, savings and proof of a valid tenancy.
• The Valuation Office Agency will set the LHA rates and these will be published by us so that you can be clear about the amount of rent that LHA will cover.
• You will be able to shop around with your allowance. If you find a property you like with a rent that exceeds the LHA you will need, as you do now, to make up the difference.
• If you find somewhere with a rent below your allowance, you will be able to keep the difference up to a maximum of £15.00 per week.
• Payment will normally be made to you, and you will then pay your landlord, under certain circumstances we will pay directly to your landlord.

To find the LHA rate for you please visit LHA Direct (opens in a new window)

Download the current LHA rates for Erewash

How do I make a claim?

An application form can be requested by writing or by contacting us on email at benefits@erewash.gov.uk, telephoning 0115 9071010, by calling into one of the Customer Service offices, or you can download a copy. If you are Owner Occupiers will only need to complete the Council Tax Benefit Application Form and if you rent you will need the Housing and Council Tax Benefit Application Form.

Please read the form carefully before completing. Every question on the form must be answered, and you must provide all the evidence necessary. If you fail to do so, you will be asked to provide further information and this will lead to a delay in your claim being processed.

If you are an Owner Occupier, a Council Tax Benefit application form is all you need to complete. If you live in rented accommodation you will need to complete a joint Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit application form.

If you are in receipt of Income Support or Jobseekers Allowance (Income Based) or Guarantee Pension Credit you can complete a form issued by the Job Centre Plus or Pension Service.

Telephone applications

You are now able to complete an application for Benefit over the phone.

When you call, our staff will take your details and make an appointment for a suitable time to call you back. They will also tell you what information you will need at hand when they call back.

Your details will be entered directly onto your application form and at the end of the call you will be advised if you qualify for Benefit, and if so what evidence you will need to supply to complete your application.

What date will my entitlement start?

If you are in receipt of Income Support, Jobseekers Allowance (Income Based) or Guarantee Pension Credit, and have made a claim with us within one calendar month of the start of your benefit, any Council Tax Benefit will be paid from the Monday following the start of your Income Support or Jobseekers Allowance (Income Based) or Guarantee Pension Credit claim. All other claims start from the Monday following the date your claim is received by this office.

If you wish your claim to be backdated, you must give the date you wish it to begin and reasons for your delay in claiming. You have to demonstrate 'good cause' for not making a claim at an earlier date. Good cause must be demonstrated for the whole of the period you are requesting the backdate. Backdating limit is 6 months for those aged under 60.

If you are 60 years old or over, your claim will automatically be backdated 3 months from your date of claim, providing you meet the conditions of entitlement throughout the period.  There is no need to demonstrate 'good cause' in these cases.

Please bear in mind that you have to be resident in the property to receive Housing Benefit, however in certain circumstances discounts, exceptions and benefit can be awarded whilst you are absent from home.

How will my benefit be calculated?

Any entitlement to Housing Benefit will be based on the eligible rent. If you are in receipt of Income Support or Jobseekers Allowance (Income Based) or Guarantee Pension Credit, you will receive maximum Housing Benefit which will be 100% of the eligible rent, minus any Non-Dependant deductions. All other claims are ' means tested' which takes into account all income and capital.

If you wish see if you would qualify for Housing Benefit you can enter your details in our online Benefits Calculator (opens in a new window) (opens in a new window). Alternatively contact the office for advice.

Income

All income is assessed on a weekly basis. If you or your partner have "earned income" (that is, wages, salary or profits from a business), deductions are made for Tax, National Insurance and half of any pension contributions made.

Certain categories of income are "disregarded" in whole or in part for example Disability Living Allowance, Family Maintenance and after 2nd November 2009 Child Benefit. These disregards have the effect of increasing your entitlement to benefit by reducing the "Assessed Income" on which your benefit is calculated.

Capital

If you or your partner are under 60 and have capital of between £6,000 and £16,000, the Government Regulations require that we assume a notional income of £1 per week for every £250 (or part £250) in value. This will be shown as "Capital Income" on any Benefit Notification.

If you or your partner are 60 or over and have capital of between £10,000 and £16,000, the Government Regulations require that we assume a notional income of £1 per week for every £500 (or part £500) in value. This will be shown as "Capital Income" on any Benefit Notification. 

Applicable Amounts

Applicable amounts are the assumed living costs of individual households for the purposes of the Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Schemes. These amounts are specified in Government Regulations.

They consist of personal allowances related to age and marital status, and various premiums for special circumstances such as disability, pensionable age, or a family.

Calculation of Housing Benefit entitlement

The maximum entitlement to Housing Benefit is 100 per cent of your eligible rent.

All persons over 18 years of age living with you as part of your family are assumed to make a contribution to your housing costs, and therefore a deduction, known as a Non-Dependant Deduction is made from the maximum entitlement to Housing Benefit in respect of each of those persons.

The Non-Dependant's income is used to determine the level of deduction made from your benefit. Failure to provide details will have resulted in the highest level of deduction. The lowest level of deduction is made in respect of non-dependants on State Benefits.

There is no deduction for non-dependants under 18 on a YTS Training Scheme, or between 18-25 years on Income Support or Job Seeker's Allowance (Income Based).

Non-dependants over 25 years on Income Support/Job Seekers Allowance (income based) attract the lowest deduction.

No deductions are made in respect of non-dependants if you or your partner are registered blind, in receipt of Attendance Allowance or the Care Component of Disability Living Allowance.

If your assessed income is greater than your applicable amounts, then 65% of the excess is deducted from your maximum entitlement (after any non-dependant deductions as above).

If your assessed income is less than your applicable amounts, or you are on Income Support, you are entitled to maximum Housing Benefit, less any non-dependant deductions.

If the Housing Benefit comes to less than the Statutory Minimum of 50 pence per week, then you will not receive any benefit.

Guide to Housing and Council Tax Benefit leaflet

How is Housing Benefit paid?

For tenancies on or after 7 April 2008 and subject to the Local Housing Allowance, Housing Benefit will be paid by BACS and sent fortnightly in arrears to the tenant. Payments can be made by cheque in certain circumstances, but it is best to contact the office for further advice.

If you wish your landlord to receive the payments this can only be done if you satisfy the conditions. In addition, if your landlord can provide evidence that you are the equivalent of more than 8 weeks in arrears, they can request all payments to be sent directly to them. This is done to protect your tenancy.

For tenancies prior to 7 April 2008 and those not subject to the Local Housing Allowance Housing Benefit is paid by BACS. Payments can be made by cheque in certain circumstances, but it is best to contact the office for further advice. If you wish your landlord to receive the payments, the payments will be sent direct to them four weekly in arrears. If you wish to receive the payments yourself, they will be sent fortnightly in arrears. Again if your landlord can provide evidence that you are the equivalent of more than 8 weeks in arrears, they can request all payments to be sent directly to them. This is done to protect your tenancy.

Discretionary Housing Payments

Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) help customers who receive Housing and/or Council Tax Benefit and are not getting the full Rent or Council Tax paid.

Payments made under the new scheme are not intended to be payments of benefit. To receive an award you must:

• Be getting Housing Benefit to receive extra help to pay the rent (but not help with the cost of service charges not payable by Housing Benefit, such as fuel charges).
• Be getting Council Tax Benefit to receive extra help to meet your Council Tax liability.
• Satisfy the DHP Officer that you require extra help with housing costs i.e. rent and/or Council Tax.

We will only have so much money per year to pay out awards of Discretionary Housing Payments, therefore how the money is spent throughout the year will be carefully monitored.

As part of the claim process you will be asked to provide details of your weekly out goings and where necessary, provide proof of some items of expenditure.

You may be asked to state why the property you live in is particularly suitable for your needs, and whether moving is an option.

You may be advised to find more affordable accommodation, and could be sent a list of Housing Associations who have property in the area. These can be requested from this office at any time.

In order to claim extra help with your housing costs (Rent and/or Council Tax), please contact us if you require a D.H.P. application form.

If you live in a privately rented property, and the shortfall in benefit payments is due to a Rent Service determination, you may request the Rent Service to look at their decision again. This should be done in writing to the address at the end of this leaflet and be received no later than six weeks from the date you were notified about the decision.

Changes of Circumstances

If your family's circumstances or income change, it is your responsibility to tell us. Tell us immediately, as it may affect your benefit, and any resulting overpayment will be reclaimed from you. If you knowingly give us false information, the money will be reclaimed and you may be prosecuted. A change of circumstances can only be backdated in your favour for one calendar month, however if the change results in an overpayment of benefit there is no time limit.

To give you an idea of the changes we need to know about, these are some of the main things you should tell us:

• If anyone stops or starts getting Income Support
• If anyone's Income or Savings change
• If anyone stops or starts work
• If anyone stops or starts getting benefit, for example Jobseeker's Allowance, Incapacity Benefit, Tax Credit, Disability Living Allowance, Attendance Allowance
• If anyone comes to live in your home
• If anyone already living in your home leaves
• If anyone stops or starts full-time education, for example, if a child leaves school or you no longer receive child benefit for one of your children
• If you start to let part of your home to someone who pays you rent or board
• If you or your partner go into hospital for more than four weeks
• You are going away from home for more than four weeks.

Overpayments of Housing Benefit

If you are paid too much Housing Benefit, the overpayment can be recovered from yourself, or your landlord if they received the cheques and they knew of the change in circumstances that resulted in the overpayment.

If you are still in receipt of benefit, deductions can be made from your ongoing entitlement, otherwise you or your landlord will be sent a Sundry Debtor account. However if the overpayment is as a result of an official error, it may be deemed not recoverable. Like all decisions made by us, you have the right to appeal against it.

How are we doing?

You can download:

• Current Benefits performance against our targets

• Benefits performance 2008/9

• You said...we did

How to appeal

If you disagree with a decision you can:

• Ask us to explain the decision
• Ask us to revise (change) the decision
• Appeal against the decision.

If you wish to appeal against a decision we have made, you must do so in writing within one calendar month of the date we notified you of the decision. You must also state why you think the decision is wrong.

Whenever you ask us to explain our decision, or to revise it, we will check all parts of your claim and advise you of how we came to the decision. In doing so, if we find anything wrong with the decision we made, we will write to you with the decision and your rights of appeal will start again.

If we do not change the decision in your favour, we will send the case to the Appeal Service which is an independent body who will look at each individual appeal in an impartial manner.

More information and advice

If you require any further information, or an application form please contact:

Housing Benefits
Erewash Borough Council
PO Box 2
Wharncliffe Road
Ilkeston
Derbyshire
DE7 5SE

Tel: (0115) 9071010
email: benefits@erewash.gov.uk (opens in a new window)

or call into one of the Customer Services offices at either:

Town Hall, Ilkeston or Civic Centre, Long Eaton.