• How do I claim Housing and/or Council Tax Benefit ?
• How much Housing and/or Council Tax Benefit can I claim?
• When will my benefit be paid from?
• Can my claim be backdated?
• How long will my Benefit last?
• How long before I get benefit?
• How will my Housing and Council Tax Benefit be paid?
• Can I change the date my Housing Benefit is paid?
• What income do you use?
• Why do I Have to provide proof of my savings/pension etc?
• What can I do if I disagree with your assessment?
• What is overpaid Benefit?
• What changes do I have to tell you about?
• What happens if I need to go away from home?
• What happens when I start a job?
• Why do you not pay my extended benefit automatically?
• Why might you not use the full rent that I pay when you work out my Housing Benefit entitlement?
• I am single and under 25. Why do I only get single room rent?
• Can I find out what rent will be used before I take on a tenancy?
• What happens if I live with a close relative and they charge me rent?
• My partner has died and my income has reduced, but my benefit has gone down, why?
• Why do I have a deduction for my son/daughter when they do not give me any rent?
• How much will you deduct from my claim for having a non-dependant living with me?
• Will you keep the information I give you confidential?
• How can I report suspected fraud?

Housing and Council Tax Benefits are 'means tested' which means we take into account all the income you receive and capital you have to see how much benefit you would be entitled to. To find out how much Housing and/or Council Tax Benefit you might receive see Benefits calculator or Help with rent and Help with Council Tax.

Once your benefit has been worked out we will continue to pay you until you have a change in your circumstances which means you are no longer entitled to benefit (for example you start work and your earnings are too high for you to qualify)

If you complete the form and return it with all the necessary original evidence, we will try to work out your benefit within 14 days.

If it has been longer than 3 weeks since you sent all requested information to us then please contact us.

Your Council Tax Benefit will be sent to your Council Tax account automatically. You will then receive a bill showing you any outstanding money you need to pay. If you are a Council tenant your Housing Benefit will be sent to your rent account on a weekly basis.
If you are a private tenant, we will usually send your benefit direct to your bank or building society account every four weeks (paid in arrears). If your Landlord is a Housing Association, we can pay Housing Benefit directly to them.

Rent payments are always paid in arrears. Where Housing Benefit is paid to a landlord, it is paid 4 weekly in arrears. Where Housing Benefit is paid to the tenant, it is also paid 4 weekly in arrears. If you pay your rent weekly, we can arrange to pay you fortnightly. In certain circumstances we can arrange to pay you monthly in arrears. Any request to change payments must be made in writing to the Benefits Office.

We need to know all your and your partners income. The average weekly income is used to work out your benefit.

The legal requirement is that original documentary evidence is provided to support each claim for benefit, to prevent overpayments and fraud. See proof

You have the right to ask for our decision to be reviewed and, if you are still not satisfied you may appeal to an Independant Appeals Service. See How to Appeal

Your benefit is worked out on your circumstances, so it is important that you tell us about any change in your circumstances straight away you will need to provide proof of the change.

If you or your partner find a job, you must tell us straight away. If you delay in telling us you may have to pay overpaid Housing Benefit back to us. We can calculate your entitlement to Housing and/or Council Tax Benefit based on your new income.

If you have been receiving Income Support or Job Seekers Allowance (Income based) continuously for more than 26 weeks you may be entitled to receive an extended payment of benefit. This means that you would continue to receive the same amount of Housing and/or Council Tax Benefit for 4 weeks after your circumstances changed. You would need to contact the Department of Work and Pensions to see if you would be entitled to extended payment.

You need to notify us of your change in circumstances within 28 days in order to qualify.

If you have been receiving Housing Benefit continuously prior to 7 April 2008, and pay rent to a private Landlord, your Housing Benefit may be based on an 'eligible' rent as
determined by the Rent Officer. Eligible rent does not usually include services such as meals or laundry that you pay as part of your rent.

From 7 April 2008, a new way of calculating Housing Benefit has been introduced called Local Housing Allowance.

LHA is a flat rate allowance based on the size of household and the area in which a person lives. There are no changes to the entitlement rules - this will be based on a person's income and savings and proof of a valid tenancy. Up to date rates of LHA can be found here.

If you are under the age of 25 and you are living on your own, and you have been receiving Housing Benefit continuously prior to 7 April 2008, the Rent Officer will apply a single room rent. This is because the Government have restricted rates of housing benefit payable to the average cost of non-self contained accommodation in the
St Albans area.

From 7 April 2008, If you are under the age of 25 and you are living on your own, then you will normally only be entitled to the 'shared room rate' of Local Housing Allowance. Up to date rates of LHA can be found here.

Yes, Local Housing Allowance (LHA) is the new name for housing benefit for tenants in privately rented accommodation which comes into effect on the 7th April 2008. LHA is a flat rate allowance based on the size of household and the area in which a person lives.

As a prospective tenant you will be able to shop around with the allowance. If you find a property you like with a rent that exceeds the LHA you will need to make up the difference yourself. But if you find somewhere with a rent below the allowance, you will be able to keep the difference up to a maximum £15.00 per week. Up to date rates
of LHA can be found here.

To find out more about Local Housing Allowance click here.

If you live with one of the following people and they are also your landlord you can not claim Housing Benefit:

• A parent, step parent or parent in law
• A brother or sister
• A son or daughter
• A son in law or daughter in law
• A step son or step daughter
• A partner of any of the previously mentioned people

The personal allowance used for calculation your benefit entitlement was more for a couple than the single person allowance now used.

If you are now receiving Single person Discount, your Council Tax liability will have been reduced, and this means your benefit will go down accordingly.

When another person lives with you who is over 18 years of age they are classed as a Non dependant.

A deduction is made as it is reasonable to expect them to contribute to the household. If they lived in their own home they would be expected to do so.

The amount of deduction depends on the income of the non-dependant, and can range from 7.40 to 47.75 every week. The deductions are set down in law.

There are no deductions where:

• The non-dependant is under 25 years of age and in receipt of Income Support or Job Seekers Allowance(income Based)
• The non-dependant is a full time student
• You or your partner are in receipt of the care component of Disability Living Allowance or Attendance Allowance
• You are registered blind

We will use the information you give us on your claim form, and any proof you send to us to work out your claim for Housing and/or Council Tax Benefit.

We may pass the information to other agencies or organisations such as The Department of Work and Pensions, The Employment Service and the Inland Revenue, as followed by the law. We may check the information you have given, against the information we already have. We may also ask other agencies, organisations, local authorities or government departments to give us information they have about you.

We will not give information about you to anyone else, or use the information about you for other purpose. If you want us to talk to someone other than yourself about your claim then you will need to write to us giving your permission.

The council are committed to ensuring that people receive their correct entitlement to housing and/or Council Tax benefit.

However it is important that people who are receiving benefit to which they are not entitled are reported to the Benefits service so that appropriate action can be taken against them.

If you are aware or think that somebody may be claiming benefit fraudulently

Telephone 01727 819236 or go to Reporting Suspected Fraud

For any other queries you can:

Visit or write to us at:

St Albans District Council Benefits Section
District Offices Civic Centre
St Peters Street
St Albans
Herts AL1 3JE

Telephone us

Call 01727 819405, 819425 or 01727 819403

Contact us by Textphone

01727 819570

Send us a Fax

01727 819467

Or E-mail us on: benefits@stalbans.gov.uk