Since 1 April 2013, new housing benefit rules mean you won’t be able to get housing benefit to pay for all of your rent if your home has ‘spare bedrooms’.
If you’re a council or housing association tenant of working age receiving housing benefit and renting a home that has more bedrooms than you need, it’s likely that your housing benefit will be reduced. Pensioners claiming housing benefit won’t be affected.
If you have more bedrooms than the new rules say you need, you will be treated as ‘under-occupying’ your home. You’ll get less of your rent paid for by housing benefit.
If housing benefit no longer covers the full cost of your rent, you will have to pay the rest of the rent yourself. This must be paid directly to your landlord.
From July 2013, there will be a ‘cap’ (a maximum limit) on the total amount of benefit that people can get.
The Government will add up how much money you get from a range of benefits, including: housing benefit, jobseeker’s allowance, employment support allowance, child benefit, child tax credit and carer’s allowance.
If you are a lone parent (and the children you have responsibility for live with you).
The children you have responsibility for don’t live with you.
A member of your household is claiming disability living allowance, attendance allowance, industrial injuries benefit, or the support element of employment support allowance.
Since April 2013 a new benefit, Personal Independence Payment, replaced Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for disabled people aged 16 to 64. Personal Independence Payment is a non-means tested, tax-free payment to assist you with some of the extra costs caused by ill-health or disability.
There’s no automatic entitlement to Personal Independence Payment. Entitlement is based on your personal circumstances and the impact that your condition or disability has on your ability to live independently.
Starting in October 2013 Universal Credit will replace all the various benefits that are currently paid.