Housing Benefit

Housing Benefit is a government scheme to help you pay your rent.

Housing Benefit is a means-tested benefit. This means that the amount you get depends on things like:

Your income.
Your savings and investments.
The size of the property (for some tenants).
The amount of your rent.
Other people who live with you.

Can I claim Housing Benefit?

You can claim Housing Benefit if you are on:

Income Support or Job Seekers Allowance; or,
a low income.

If you are married, or live with your partner as if you are married to them, you only need to fill in one claim form.

Who can't claim Housing Benefit?

You can't claim Housing Benefit if:

You are not liable to pay rent.
Either you, or your partner, or both of you together, have more than £16,000 in savings.
You live in a care home, such as a nursing home or old peoples home.
You rent a former joint home from you ex-partner.
You are the parent or guardian of your landlord's child.
You live in your home as part of your job.

How do I claim Housing Benefits?

If you claim Income Support or Job Seekers Allowance the Jobcentre Plus office will ask you if you want to claim Housing Benefit when you call to register you claim with them. They will then send the form to us with proof of your Income Support/Job Seeker Allowance (income based) claim.

If you are on a low income you can claim by filling in one of our claim forms and giving us the proof we need to assess your claim. You can get the claim form by contacting us using the details below.

What if I need help filling in the form?

Please contact us (details below). If you have difficulty making a claim because you are elderly or disabled, we may be able to visit you at home. We also offer Housing Benefit advice through surgeries held in local community centres and on the Coventry Direct Express

What proof do I need to give you?

If you are getting Income Support or income-based Job Seekers Allowance, we will need proof of yours, and your partner's National Insurance number, along with proof of the benefits you receive. We may also ask you to provide proof of identity for both of you.

If you are on a low income we will ask for your National Insurance number and proof of identity. We will also need to see proof of the following:

Any Department for Work and Pensions benefit.
Child Benefit.
Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit.
Bank accounts and investments.
Childcare contract.
Wage slips.

How much Housing Benefit can I get?

Coventry City Council provides an online benefits calculator which you can use to estimate how much Housing Benefit (and also Council Tax Benefit) that you may be entitled to claim.

You might be able to get all your rent paid, but we have to take into account things like:

Your income.
Who else lives with you.
Any savings and investments you have.
How much your rent is.

If your rent includes an amount for things like heating, water rates or meals, we have to reduce your benefit because we can't pay for services like these.

How is my Housing Benefit worked out?

If you get Income Support or income-based Job Seeker's Allowance

You will get the maximum amount of rent after we have taken off charges for:

Other people who live with you - these are called non-dependants.
Service charges.
Any rent restrictions, which the rent officer has told us about.

In all other cases:

We work out your benefit by comparing the money you get each week with your 'applicable amount'.
Your applicable amount is what the Government says you and your family need to live on each week.
The applicable amount will be higher for some people - for example if you are disabled or if you are a one-parent family.

When we have worked out what money you get each week, if it's less than, or the same as, the applicable amount you will usually get the maximum benefit. But don't forget, if you have non-dependants living with you we might have to make deductions from your benefit for them.

Also, the amount of Housing Benefit you get might be affected by what the rent officer has said, or by any service charges that are included in your rent.

Please note:

If your income is less than, or the same as, your 'applicable amount', you should claim Income Support or Job Seeker's Allowance as you might get more help.

You may also be able to claim other benefits - i.e. Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit. See the Social benefits page for details about our Advice line.

What money do you count when you work out my benefit?

We count any money you have coming in. This includes things like:

Department for Work and Pensions benefits.
Maintenance.
Works pensions.
Wages.
Working tax credit and child tax credit.

We count the money you earn from work after money has been taken out for:

Tax and National Insurance contributions; and,
Half of any money you pay into a pension fund.

If you work we will need to see:

Your last five payslips if you are paid every week; or,
Your last two payslips if you are paid every month.

If you are self-employed, we usually want to see your recent accounts. If you can't provide these, please contact us for more advice.

What about other money I have?

Small amounts of savings and investments may not affect your claim, but you must tell us about all your savings and investments, including current bank accounts. You must tell us about all the bank and building society accounts that you, your partner or your children have. Don't forget to tell us about any stocks and shares that you have too.

Please remember to tell us about all the different kinds of income you get. If you are not sure, just check with us.

Do you need proof of my rent?

Yes, we need proof of your rent. You should give us proof of how much you pay and what services are included in your rent. Services are things like heating, water rates and meals.

If you have a tenancy agreement, please provide us with a copy so we can use it to work out all the details we need to process your claim.
If you do not have a tenancy agreement, please contact us for more advice.

What happens if there are other people living with me?

If you have friends, relatives or anyone over 18 living in your home, you may get less benefit. These people are called 'non-dependants'.

We may take an amount of your benefit for each non-dependant who lives in your home.

Non-dependants do not include:

Your partner.
A child you get Child Benefit for.
People under 18.
People in full-time education.
People on youth training schemes.

We will not take any money out of your benefit for non-dependants if:

You get Attendance Allowance.
You get the care part of Disability Living Allowance.
You are registered blind.
The non-dependant is a paid carer provided by a charitable or voluntary organisation.
The non dependant is under 25, and on Income Support or Income based Job Seekers Allowance.

How long will it take you to work out my benefit?

We aim to deal with all claims as soon as possible, but it depends on how quickly you give us all the information we need. When we have all the information, we will work out your benefit and write to you to tell you how much you will get.

When will my benefit start?

If you qualify, your benefit will usually start from the Monday after we get your claim form. If you think your benefit should start earlier, it is called 'backdating'. Please see Housing benefit - backdating for more information.

How will you pay me?

We will usually pay you every 2 weeks for the previous 2 weeks. We can pay you or, in some circumstances, we can pay your landlord directly.

What can I do if I don't agree with your decision?

If you don't agree with our decision, you can ask us to look at it again. See Housing benefit - appeals.

What should I do if anything changes when I am getting benefit?

You should tell us immediately if any of your circumstances change or if you change your address as it might affect how much benefit you receive and if you don't tell us, you may lose your benefit or we may pay you too much benefit, which you will have to pay back later. See Housing benefit - current claim.

Contact details

Benefits Service

Spire House

New Union Street

Coventry, CV1 2PW

Telephone: 024 7683 1800

e-mail: benefits@coventry.gov.uk

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Housing Benefit FAQs