Harrogate Borough Council
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The Amount Of Housing Benefit You Will Receive
The amount of housing benefit you may receive
will depend on four basic things:
- The amount of money (income) you have coming in
- The amount of any savings / capital / investments you have
- Your personal circumstances (for example - marital status, age, how many children you have, whether you are disabled, who else lives in the household etc.)
- The amount of rent you are paying
We can pay up to a maximum of 100% of your eligible rent.
However, your eligible rent may not be the same as the amount you
pay your landlord because your rent may include some charges that
are not eligible for housing benefit such as food and heating.
Benefit is intended to help you with your rent not your living
costs.
For tenants of private landlords the Rent Service advise the
Council of the level of rent on which Housing Benefit should be
assessed and in some cases this will be less than the rent
charged. From 7 April 2008, new
arrangements were introduced. Please refer to the Local
Housing Allowance section.
If you receive Income Support, Job Seekers (IB), Income
Related Employment Support Allowance or Pension Credit
Guarantee and you have to pay rent, you can get the maximum
amount of housing benefit subject to any deductions for ineligible
items included in your rent.
Using what you tell us the Council will calculate any housing
benefit based on the four things:
Money (Income) you have coming in
We will add together your earnings (and that of your partner)
and any other income you have.
For benefit purposes the earnings you receive include:
- Gross pay less tax, national insurance contributions and half of any contributions you may make to an occupational or personal pension. Some childcare charges may also be deducted.
- Business profits after any allowable expenses are taken away.
Other Income includes:
- Any other money coming in such as an occupational pension, most social security benefits and pensions.
We will not include certain benefits you may be receiving such
as Disability Living Allowance or Attendance Allowance. You should
still declare the fact that you receive these benefits on your
application form as disabled persons receive a higher rate of
housing benefit in certain circumstances.
Savings / Capital / Investments
- We will look at any savings you (and your partner, if appropriate) may have.
- If your savings etc. are £6,000 or less we will ignore them.
- If you have more than £6,000 but not more than £16,000 we will take into account, as income, £1 per week for every unit of part unit of £250 above the lower limit. (£1 for every £500 if aged 60 or over).
If you have savings of more than £16,000 you will not be
able to get any housing benefit.
Personal Circumstances
We use amounts set each year by Parliament called personal
allowances and premiums to work out how much you need to live
on.
A personal allowance will depend on:
- your age
- whether you are single or have a partner
- how many dependent children you have and their ages
Premiums are extra sums of money intended to recognise the
special needs of:
- families
- elderly people
- disabled people and people who care for a disabled person
- one parent families
- people who have been sick for over 52 weeks or 28 weeks if they are terminally ill
If you are not on Income Support, Jobseeker's Allowance,
Income Related Employment Support Allowance or Pension
Credit Guarantee, you may still get maximum housing
benefit if the money you have coming in is less than the allowances
and premiums described above. If you have more money your housing
benefit is reduced.
The Rent Charged
If you pay rent to a private landlord, please note
there were changes from 07 April 2008. To find out more please
visit our Local Housing Allowance section.
The maximum amount of housing benefit payable is based on your
eligible rent that may not be the same as you pay your landlord. If
you are the tenant of a private landlord the rent officer, who acts
independently of the council, may:
- determine that the rent is high or the accommodation is over large; or
- that the rent is higher than the general level of local rents for similar property, and
- may, as a result, limit the amount of rent on which benefit can be paid
Special rules regarding the maximum amount of rent that may be
eligible for housing benefit apply to tenants of private landlords
who are single and under 25 years of age.
If you are thinking of renting a property from a private
landlord and intend to claim housing benefit you can apply for a
Pre-Tenancy Determination before you commit yourself to a
tenancy.
This will give you an idea of the amount of rent on which
benefit is likely to be calculated. This is especially important if
you are a single person under 25 years of age. Pre-Tenancy
Determination application forms are available from the Revenues and Benefits Service.
Reduced Housing Benefit
A flat rate deduction will be made from your housing benefit
if you have another person living with you such as an adult son or
daughter or an elderly relative. These people are termed
"non-dependants." The deduction made will depend on the age and
circumstances of the non-dependant.
Deductions are not made:
- If you are blind or in receipt of the care component of Disability Living or Attendance Allowance
- If the non-dependant is aged 16 or 17
- If the non-dependant is on Youth Training, a student, a long-term hospital in-patient, in legal custody or aged under 25 and on Income Support.
You should include on your benefit claim form any people
living with you and tell the council if anybody leaves or joins the
household or has a change in their financial circumstances.
Online Benefits Calculator
For an instant online estimate of entitlement to Housing
benefit please click on the following link and fill out
the form.