Housing and Council Tax Benefit –
An Overview

Introduction

Housing Benefit (HB) and Council Tax Benefit (CTB) are means tested welfare benefits. This means that the amount a claimant receives is based on factors such as income, capital, circumstances, rent level and council tax level.

Both benefits are designed to help people on low income pay their rent and/or council tax liabilities. Councils administer the benefits and receive funding from Government to meet the bulk of their administrative costs. Much of the benefit bill is also borne by Government. However, a complex subsidy system does mean that Councils have to find some of the money themselves.

Our combined HB/CTB caseload is around 33,000. This represents some 27% of the Borough's adult population.

Who can claim?

You can claim Housing Benefit if you are:
• A Council Tenant renting from the Council
• A Private Tenant renting from a landlord
• A Housing Association Tenant renting from a Housing Association
• A Boarder whose rent includes meals being provided
• A Hostel dweller
• A Hotel dweller
• A resident of a mobile home or a riverboat
• Renting under a shared ownership agreement
You can claim Council Tax Benefit if you are:
• A home-owner
• Liable to pay Council Tax for a dwelling
• A resident of that dwelling

If you are a tenant and are also liable for Council Tax your claim will automatically be assessed for both Housing and Council Tax Benefit. If you are finding it difficult to pay your rent or your Council Tax you should apply for benefit.

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE UNEMPLOYED OR UNABLE TO WORK.

YOU CAN APPLY IF YOU OR YOUR PARTNER ARE WORKING & on a low income.

YOU CAN APPLY IF YOU OR YOUR PARTNER WORK FULL-TIME & on a low income

YOU WILL NOT BE ENTITLED IF YOU HAVE SAVINGS OR CAPITAL (Capital includes all savings, cash saved at home, bank and building society accounts, stocks and shares, premium bonds, and property (other than the home you are living in) OF MORE THAN £16,000, UNLESS YOU ARE IN RECEIPT OF PENSION CREDIT GUARANTEE.

Normally claims for housing benefit should be made by the person responsible for paying the rent to the landlord. For council tax benefit the person who is liable to pay the council tax for the property should make the claim.

If you reside with your landlord/landlady and he/she is a close relative, you may not be entitled to housing and council tax benefits.

Most full time students are excluded from claiming housing benefit. There are some exceptions to this rule however, for example single parents, disabled students or people in receipt of Income Support/Job Seeker’s Allowance (income based).

If you have recently come from abroad you will normally be required to demonstrate that you have the right to stay in this country. You will also have to satisfy the ‘habitual residency test’ before we can pay you any benefit.

Other welfare benefits

• Some people who claim HB & CTB are working on low incomes. They may or may not receive other benefits such as Working Tax Credit
• Other claimants rely on welfare benefits such as Income Support, Jobseekers Allowance and Incapacity Benefit for their income

How much HB & CTB can we pay?

This is dependent on many things – you and your partner’s income, savings etc and that of anyone who is a non-dependent (over 18 years) who lives with you. See our on-line benefit calculator.

Renting from a Private Landlord

Housing Benefit for private tenants is based on the Local Housing Allowance rates. These rates are set by The Rent Service and are changed every month. Please remember this is the maximum Housing Benefit you will be entitled to. Your income, capital, savings and personal circumstances will still be taken into account.

Applying for HB/CTB

• A claimant must complete our HB/CTB application form. They must also supply original documents that support the details of their income, capital, etc. This is in accordance with the Benefit Security Guidance.
• If a claimant has difficulty completing the form, we will help them at one of our counter service points or by visiting them at home

Processing

• Once we have a claim form, we establish if any supporting information is missing. We send a letter if information is missing. We may visit even if we have all the details we need because it will confirm the claimant's residency
• We cannot make payment if we are still missing information that we need – see guidance notes re: supporting evidence needed with a claim
• We generally make the payment effective from the Monday following receipt of the claim form. The claimant may, however, make a claim for backdated benefit on the form. We are able to backdate by up to 52 weeks from the date of application if the claimant gives good reasons for us to do so. An example would be that they were hospitalised and unable to complete the application before
• We pay private sector and housing association tenants, or their landlords, monthly in arrears by crossed cheque or BAC’s transfer. We make direct credits to Council Tenant's rent accounts. Similarly, we make direct credits to council taxpayers' council tax accounts
• We work closely with colleagues in Housing and Social Services to resolve HB problems and to ensure that we maximise take-up of benefit

Decisions & Appeals

• We send letters to claimants that explain benefit payments and calculations. These letters also advise claimants that they can ask us to review our decision. If the claimant does so, the Benefits Team considers the points made. The Team then either supports the original decision or changes it. If we turn down the application on review, the claimant has a further right of appeal to a Tribunal. Time limits govern the appeals process for both the claimant and the Council.

Overpayments

• If a claimant reports a late change in circumstances, or we discover the change ourselves after it has happened, we create an overpayment of benefit
• If the change in circumstances means that the claimant is still entitled to benefit, but at a lower rate, we will recalculate the benefit award and reduce the overpayment
• We may recover the overpayment from ongoing benefit or invoice the claimant. We accept instalment or lump-sum repayments, depending on the circumstances
• As with other decisions, a claimant has the right to appeal against an overpayment

Fraud

• We have a Benefits Anti-Fraud Team whose job is to investigate suspected HB/CTB fraud. The Team works with many other sections (see investigating benefit cheats) and organisations, such as the Department for Work & Pensions, Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (HMRC) and the Police, in order to uncover a range of frauds from undeclared partners to multiple identities
• The Security Guidance has helped to prevent fraud from entering the benefit system but there is a need to investigate those people who are determined to exploit it

Customer Service

• We answer counter enquiries at Edmonton, John Wilkes House and at the Civic Centre
• We have a general enquiry phone line as well as a specialist line for the visually impaired
• We visit vulnerable customers such as the housebound to assist with the completion of forms
• We have a priority assessment arrangement for those claimants under threat of eviction from their landlords
• We use interpreters and translations of letters, etc for those claimants whose first language is not English
• We meet regularly with groups who represent claimants or landlords. These groups include the Single Homeless Forum; Housing Associations; Private Sector Landlord Forum; and many community organisations that represent vulnerable and under-represented minorities

This document was last updated on 2008-04-03 16:56:11 published by the Revenues and Benefits team. Document Reference:LBE_130569