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Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support Booklet 2021

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2021/22 www.havering.gov.uk What are Council or Supported Exempt accommodation). Tax Support and Housing Benefit? Who can claim? If you are of pensionable Council Tax Support helps age, or are working age and people pay their Council living in Council provided Tax. temporary or other exempt If you are of pensionable accommodation, you can age or a Havering care claim Housing Benefit to leaver (under 25 years old), help with your rent. Council Tax Support can If you do not meet the reduce your Council Tax bill above categories, you will by up to 100%. Working need to claim Universal age people with disabilities Credit from the DWP can have their Council Tax (Department for Work & reduced by up to 80%. For Pensions). other working age people, The Council is committed Council Tax can be reduced to ensuring everyone takes by up to 75%. the opportunity to claim Housing Benefit what they are entitled to. Housing Benefit is paid to Increasing the take-up of people of pensionable age Housing Benefit (where and working age people appropriate) and Council Tax who live in temporary Support, particularly by or supported exempt pensioners and parents, accommodation. continues to remain a Whether you get help and priority. how much depends on: If you wish to make a claim » your income and savings for either Housing Benefit or Council Tax Support or » your personal know someone that may be circumstances entitled, please click on » who lives in your home APPLY. » the amount of rent you Please note that if you have to pay. are applying for Universal Universal Credit Housing Credit, you will still need Element is for working to apply for Council Tax age people who need help Support from Havering paying their rent. You can Council, to do this click on claim Universal Credit by APPLY. clicking on APPLY. If you transfer from Housing Universal Credit will Benefit to Universal Credit, continue to replace Housing you will automatically be Benefit for working age awarded an additional two people (not pensioners week’s Housing Benefit from or people in temporary the start of your Universal 2 Credit award. Further » has reached pension age. there was a good reason information on Universal Housing» Housing Benefit Benefit for why you did not claim Credit can be found at earlier. The reason must Most full-time students GOV.UK. cover the whole period for will not qualify for Housing which you are requesting Benefit because other backdating. You can request Which partner of arrangements, such as backdating while making student grants, exist to help a couple should your application for benefit. them with their rent. claim? If you wish to make a late Exceptions to this rule request please click on For the purpose of claiming include students who: APPLY. Housing Benefit and » are disabled Council Tax Support we use If the Council decides ‘partner’ to mean: » have dependant children there was ‘good cause,’ and you are working age » a person you are married » have reached pension age then a Housing Benefit to or a person you live » are under 21 but not in claim can be backdated with as if you are married higher education for a maximum of one to them or » are part-time students month from the date your » a civil partner or a person » are on Income Support/ application is received you live with as if you Jobseekers Allowance by the authority (and a are civil partners. (A civil (income based)/ maximum six months for partnership is a formal Employment and Council Tax Support claims). agreement that gives Support Allowance If you are a pensioner, same sex couples the (income related). different rules apply same legal status as a In certain circumstances, and your claim could be married couple). the partner of a student can automatically backdated Either partner can claim but claim Housing Benefit. for three months. only one claim needs to be If you are a student and made for both of you. qualify for Housing Benefit, What does we will need to see a full Housing Benefit What about breakdown of your grant students? award and your student cover? certificate. Housing Benefit can help Council Tax Support with the part of the rent Properties occupied by When to claim? that you have to pay just to full-time students only are live in your home. This is You should claim benefit exempt from Council Tax. called your ‘eligible rent.’ as soon as you need help If a student is liable to pay This may be less than the because a claim cannot Council Tax on a property amount you pay to your normally be backdated. because there are other landlord because Housing people living in the property The Council can only Benefit cannot help with: backdate your claim if you with them, the liable » the cost of fuel for have a good reason for student may still be able to heating, lighting, hot not claiming earlier. This claim benefit if he/she: water and cooking is known as ‘good cause.’ » is disabled To show ‘good cause’ you » the cost of meals (cooked » has dependant children will have to prove that or uncooked) Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support 2021-22 3 » ground rent (but it can private landlord and you help with site rent for have not moved or had a residential caravans) break in your claim since » water charges. 7 April 2008, we will ask the Rent Officer what rent » service charges for is reasonable for your personal items, like laundry property. The Rent Officer and household cleaning. may visit your home in order In some circumstances, to answer this. you may get help with The Council will use the charges for lifts, cleaning of figure provided by the Rent communal areas, children’s Officer to calculate your play areas, etc. Housing Benefit. If you are The Local Housing Allowance or the figure renting from a provided by the Rent Officer private landlord could be lower than the actual rent you are charged. If you are renting from There are different rates for a private landlord, your shared accommodation, rent for Housing Benefit a one-bedroom property, will normally be based on a two-bedroom property, a flat rate Local Housing a three-bedroom property Allowance. The amount of and a four-bedroom Local Housing Allowance property. will depend on the area you live in and the number of bedrooms you and your Are you under family need. 35 and renting The independent Rent privately? Officer has divided the country into areas, called If you are a single person Broad Rental Market Areas under the age of 35, your (BRMAs). You can use your rent for Housing Benefit postcode to work out which will be restricted to a single area you live in. Your Local room rent. (This is called Housing Allowance will be the shared accommodation the same amount wherever rate if the Local Housing you live in this area Allowance rules apply to depending on the number your claim). of bedrooms you and your The single room rent and family need. the shared accommodation The amounts of Local rate are worked out using Housing Allowance are the rent for a single room published on our website, with the use of some click on LHA rates. shared facilities. If you are renting from a There are exemptions from this rule which include 4 people who are: » every adult couple amount up to 100% of your » under 35 and who receive » any other adult aged 16 Council Tax liability. Child Benefit for a child in or over If you are of working age their care » any two children of (not classified disabled), » under 35 and who get the same gender aged the maximum amount of certain disability benefits under 16 Council Tax Support that you can receive is 75% of » under 35 and who were » any two children your Council Tax liability. former residents of a regardless of gender aged specialist hostel for the under 10 If you are considered disabled you can receive a homeless » any other child aged maximum of 80% Council » ex-offenders who could under 16 Tax Support. pose a serious risk to the » a non-resident carer You will be considered as public (if the claimant or their disabled for the purposes » under 22 and who partner has a disability of the scheme if you have were formerly provided and needs overnight care, a disability income that accommodation by Social and a room is available entitles you to one of Services for their use) the following premiums: » under 22 and who were for working age tenants disability, severe disability, formerly in Social Services the rent used to work out enhanced disability, care under a court order your Housing Benefit will be disabled child and/or carer applying after their 16th reduced by: when calculating your birthday. » 14% if you are under- benefit. occupying by one Additionally all working Do you rent from bedroom age claimants that live the Council or » 25% if you are under- in a Band E, F, G or H occupying by two or more property will have Council a Registered bedrooms. Tax Support limited to the Provider? top of Council Tax Band D, which is £36.30 per week (Registered Social Landlord/ How is your for the 2021-2022 tax year. Housing Association) benefit worked The Government has out? Housing Benefit introduced a size criteria Housing Benefit can be which restricts the amount We will need to see details any amount up to the full of Housing Benefit paid of your income, savings, eligible rent but this may to working age Council personal and family not be as much as the rent Tenants and Housing circumstances.
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