Housing and Council Tax Benefits

Housing and Council Tax Benefit schemes are administered under legislation and regulations issued by central government. They are put in place to assist residents, on a low income, to meet the costs of their rent and council tax.

There are several types of benefits you may be able to claim to assist with your Rent and Council Tax. These include:

• Rent Rebate - This is paid directly onto the rent account of eligible tenants living in our properties.
• Rent Allowance - This is paid to eligible residents living in privately rented accommodation, including lodgers, boarders, sub-tenants and residents of mobile homes.
• Local Housing Allowance (LHA) – Introduced in April 2008 for all new and change of address claims. LHA is a simplified Housing Benefit system for people on benefits or low incomes who rent from private landlords. LHA is based on the number of bedrooms people are allowed under the scheme, not how much their rent is. The number of bedrooms allowed depends on who lives with the tenant.
• Council Tax Benefit - This is paid to eligible residents who are liable to pay Council Tax on their property. It is paid by reducing the annual Council Tax bill by any amount of Council Tax Benefit due.
• Second Adult Rebate (SAR) - This is a type of Council Tax Benefit for residents who have a second adult (or adults in some cases) in the property on a low income. The benefit is based on the second adult(s) income and the general idea is that it substitutes any discount the liable person has lost due to the second adult being in the property.

We also have our own calculator so you can calculate your benefit entitlement before applying

Further information can be obtained by using the links down the left hand side, telephone 01246 242447 or submit an enquiry form

IMPORTANT - Changes from the 1st April 2011

Removal of the baby element from your Family Premium

The baby premium is being removed from the Housing and Council Tax Benefit regulations from April 2011. This will take effect from either 1st April or 4th April depending on whether your claim is for Council Tax Benefit and whether rent is payable monthly or weekly.

HM Revenues and Customs are also removing the baby element from Child Tax Credit, this is effective from the 6th April 2011.

As a result of this your Housing and Council Tax Benefit may be affected from April 2011 if you have a child included in the assessment of your claim who is aged under one.

Non Dependant Deductions

The rates of Non Dependant deduction applied to your claim have been frozen since 2001. Central Government have made the decision to increase the rates of deduction. The onset of this will commence from April 2011.

Therefore, if you have a non-dependant resident in your household for whom a deduction applies it is possible that your Housing and Council Tax Benefit will be affected by these changes from April 2011.

If you would like any further clarification regarding these changes please do not hesitate to or submit an enquiry form or contact us on 01246 242436.

Last Updated on Thursday, 14 July 2011 09:47