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Benefits - Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit

How we provide this service

Housing Benefit is sometimes called 'rent rebate' or 'rent allowance' and is financial help towards your rent. Council Tax Benefit is help towards paying your council tax. Both of these are based on your financial and personal circumstances.
There is also an alternative type of council tax benefit known as 'Second Adult Rebate'. This may apply where someone on a low income is living with you and stopping you getting a discount. Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit is supported by Finance, Benefits and Revenues.

To find out whether you might be entitled to some help, you can now use our online benefits calculator. Remember though that if it indicates you are entitled, you will still need to fill out an application form (below).

You can claim up to 13 weeks before you become entitled to benefit. So if you know that you will need to claim for a certain event like retirement or moving to a rented property where you want to claim housing benefit, you can do so in advance.

If you are currently getting Housing Benefit and /or Council Tax Benefit, you are responsible for promptly notifying any change in circumstances that could affect the amount of benefit you are entitled to. You should also tell us if we have got something wrong in your benefit notification letter so that we can put it right and pay you the right amount.

These are some of the changes we should be told about:
-anyone who starts or stops receiving Pension Credit, Income Support, Job Seekers Allowance, Working Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit or any other social security benefit
-any changes in benefits
-any change in earnings
-any change in savings
-anyone who starts to receive pension or superannuation or if these increase
-a change of address
-a child who leaves school
-anyone who moves into your home, other than for a holiday
-anyone who no longer lives in your home
Don't forget to tell us about changes in the income of any other adult living with you, for example an adult son, daughter, relative or friend.

The Civil Partnership Act which gives legal recognition to same sex couples comes into force on 5th December 2005. From this date, same sex couples who live together and are claiming income related benefits will be treated in the same way as opposite sex couples who are married or are living together as husband and wife. Same sex couples will no longer be treated as two single people. This will apply whether or not they decide to register and form a Civil Partnership.
If a member of a same sex couple is claiming any of the following benefits as a single person, they will need to claim again as a couple.
-Housing Benefit
-Council Tax Benefit
-Income Support
-Income Based Job Seekers Allowance
-Pension Credit
-Working Tax Credit
-Child Tax Credit
Customers should contact the office that deals with their claim as soon as they can, to see how their claim could be affected.

From 5th December 2005, failure to inform the Council dealing with your housing benefit and council tax benefit claim that you are forming a Civil Partnership or are living together as a couple could mean that your housing benefit and council tax benefit is overpaid and you may be asked to repay it.

If you report a change that means you get less benefit, telling us quickly will mean that you have less benefit to pay back to us. If the change means you get more benefit, telling us will reduce hardship that you could otherwise suffer. Not telling us about changes as they happen means that you could be considered guilty of fraud.

Fax: 01775 711253
Email: benefits@sholland.gov.uk
Address: South Holland District Council, Benefit and Revenues Team, PO Box 8, Priory Road, Spalding, Lincs. PE11 2XQ

What to do to get this service

To make a claim for benefit, you will need to fill in a claim form. You need to do this quickly because your benefit will normally start from the Monday after your claim form is received by us. Benefit can be backdated but only where you can prove there was a good reason for not applying earlier.
We use the same claim form for both housing benefit and council tax benefit so if you wish to claim both, you only need to give the information once. There is a separate form for a 'Second Adult Rebate' because for this we only need to know the circumstances of those who live with you.

If you would like a claim form you can print one from this website. To download a form, please see below. If you prefer not to print them off yourself we will send you the forms free of charge. It will help if you tell us whether you are an owner occupier, council tenant, non-council (private) tenant or a boarder so that we send you the right forms.
Council tenants and owner occupiers only need to fill in a Claim Form. If you pay rent or board to a landlord who is NOT the Council, you must fill in a Rent Payment Details form AND a Claim Form. If you are employed but cannot find enough payslips to send us, you can ask your employer to complete a Certificate of Earnings form and send it back with your Claim Form. All pages of the Claim Form must be completed and sent to us, the address is on the form. It is very important that you fasten together securely all the pages you are sending us so that vital information does not get separated. Please make sure you have included all the evidence we need to support your claim, there is a check list on the back page of the claim form.

The Rent Service (TRS)

From the 7th April 2008 most new claims and changes of address claims for people living in privately rented homes will be dealt with as Local Housing Allowance rather than Housing Benefit. The exceptions are caravans, houseboats(including mooring charges), mobile homes and hostels, claims from these types of homes will still be referred to the Rent Service.

The Rent Service (TRS) is an executive agency of the Department for Work and Pensions. TRS provides valuations for local authorities in England, for use in the assessment of claims for Housing Benefit where the tenant is renting from a private landlord.

Housing Benefit Determinations
In making a determination the Rent Officer will consider:
- The level of rent
- The rent for similar properties within the vicinity
- The number of rooms
- The age and number of people living within the property being assessed

The determination will usually run for 12 months unless there is a significant change to the property or the number of people included within the household.

Pre-tenancy determinations (PTD)
If you are claiming housing benefit and are planning to rent from a private landlord you can ask TRS to make a valuation before you sign the tenancy agreement. You need to complete a pre-tenancy determination form available on TRS website or from your local authority housing benefit department . The PTD form needs to be signed by you as the prospective tenant, and either the landlord or landlords agent, and returned to the local authority Housing Benefit department that covers the area where the property is located. This form must not be sent direct to The Rent Service.
To learn more about The Rent Service click on the following link to their website and visit their Frequently Asked Questions section:
The Rent Service.gov.uk

Who can apply?

You must be liable to pay council tax to claim council tax benefit. You must be liable to pay rent if you want to claim housing benefit.
If you, or your partner, between you have more than £16,000 in savings you will not qualify for benefit UNLESS you receive the Guarantee part of The Pension Credit.
A partner is someone you are married to or someone you live with as if you are married to them.
If you feel that your income is low and you have difficulty paying your rent or your council tax please contact our benefits team for advice.

How long will I have to wait for a response?

If you request a claim form we try to send these out immediately

How long will the whole process take?

Within 14 days of receiving all information or as soon as possible after that.

Telephone number for this service

01775 761161 and ask for the Benefits Section

Links to forms, leaflets and websites providing more information

If you would like to download a housing benefit and council tax benefit application form please click on download Claim Form link Download a Claim form

To download any additional forms/leaflets please click on the following links;
Download a Proving Your Identity leaflet
Download a Notes for Claiming leaflet
Download a Certificate of Earnings form
Download a Rent Payment Details form
Download a Review form

What do I need to provide?

When you make a claim, we ask to see evidence of identity, income and savings. It helps if you can send these items with your claim form but if you do not have the necessary documents, do not delay sending in the claim form. Any documents you send to support your claim must be original. Unfortunately, we cannot accept photocopies.

Common Questions

Q. Can I get Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit?

A. This depends on your capital (savings, shares, other property etc.), your weekly income and the personal circumstances of you (and your partner if you have one).
If you have capital of more than £16,000 you cannot get either benefit, unless you receive the Pension Guarantee Credit. If you have less than £16,000 in capital, it may be worth contacting the Benefit Section at the council to get an indication of whether you might qualify ? if there is any doubt, you should apply so that a proper assessment can be made.

Our online benefits calculator and Do I qualify for Council Tax Benefit leaflet gives you an idea as to whether you are entitled or not.

Q. Why aren't my outgoings taken into account when deciding how much benefit I should get?

A. The Government's benefit scheme takes into account what they believe to be reasonable outgoings for applicants in a variety of different situations. This is done through a series of personal allowances and premiums (known as 'applicable amounts'). These are amounts used nationally that the government says someone in your situation needs to live on. They include amounts for single people, couples, those of pension age, the disabled, children, and so on. In this way people in similar household circumstances are assessed as requiring the same amount to live on which would seem a fair and more practical approach.

Q. How much benefit will I get?

A. Broadly speaking, if your income is equal to or below your applicable amount you will get the maximum amount of benefit unless you have non-dependant adults living with you who could contribute to your household bills. The maximum housing benefit will be your rent less certain items that are not eligible (such as water rates, fuel and meal charges). However, if your rent is considered to be expensive, or the property is larger than required, other deductions have to be made. With Council Tax, the full amount can be met through Council Tax Benefit.
If your income is above your applicable amount, then for every £1 extra you will lose 65p per week off your housing benefit and 20p per week off your council tax benefit until you no longer qualify.

Q. How do you treat my savings?

A. The first £6000 of capital held is not counted. The way we treat capital over this amount depends on whether you are under 60 years old or 60 or over.

- If you are under 60, £1 per week is added to your weekly income for each £250 (or part of £250) that you have over £6000.

-If you 60 years old or over, £1 per week is added to your weekly income for each £500 (or part of £500) that you have over £6000.

There will be no entitlement to benefit if your savings are over £16000 unless you receive the guarantee element of Pension Credit.

Q. What should I do if I am claiming benefit and my circumstances change?

A. You should inform the Benefits Section immediately to make sure that your benefit payments are correct. If the change means your benefit increases it cannot be backdated without a very good reason.

Q. What should I do if I suspect that someone is cheating the benefits system?

A. Falsely claiming benefits is a criminal offence. If you suspect someone of benefit fraud you should contact the Fraud Officer at the Council Offices. You can remain anonymous if you wish. Please use our free 24 hour hotline to report your suspicion ? the number is 0800 0851 737. You can also email the team: BenefitFraud@sholland.gov.uk

Printed leaflets available providing more information

We have a wide range of leaflets available at our offices in Priory Road, Spalding.

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Contact Details

If you have any queries about the information provided above, or require further information, please contact Customer Services on 01775 761161 or email info@sholland.gov.uk.