Benefits - Frequently Asked Questions

Could I be entitled to Housing Benefit?

In general terms, you may be entitled to Housing Benefit if you have a legally binding and commercial liability to pay rent and your income is low.

There are however, some specific situations where you would not be entitled. Some examples are;

If you are liable to pay rent to a close relative (a parent, step-parent, parent-in-law, brother or sister, son, son-in law, daughter, daughter-in-law, step-son, step daughter or the partner of anyone on this list) who lives with you.
If you have over £16,000 in capital.
If you are responsible for your landlord’s child or children.

The rules can be very complicated and these are just a few examples. If you need any more information, please contact the Council.

If you own your own home you will not be entitled to Housing Benefit but you may be entitled to Council Tax Benefit or Second Adult Rebate if your income is low or if there is a second adult in your property whose income is low.

Housing Benefit does not help towards mortgages. Mortgage interest can only be paid through the Department for Work and Pensions if you are in receipt of Income Based Jobseekers Allowance, Income Support or Income Related Employment and Support Allowance.

Could I be entitled to Council Tax Benefit (or Second Adult Rebate)?

You may be entitled to Council Tax Benefit if your income is low and your capital is under £16,000. Most people get Council Tax Benefit based on their own income and capital with a couple’s income and capital being assessed jointly.

Second Adult Rebate is a different type of Council Tax Benefit (sometimes also called alternative maximum Council Tax Benefit). This type of Council Tax Benefit compensates the Council Tax payer for the loss of the 25% single person’s discount which would occur when a second adult is in the property.

For Second Adult Rebate, only the second adult’s income and capital are taken into account, not the taxpayer’s.

You would not be eligible for Second Adult Rebate if your second adult is a boarder or sub tenant or is your partner (unless they are a disregarded person” for Council Tax Benefit purposes). There are other exceptions. If you need any further information on this, please contact the Council.

Council Tax Benefit does not help towards mortgages. Mortgage interest can only be paid through the Department for Work and Pensions if you are in receipt of Income Based Jobseekers Allowance, Income Support or Income Related Employment and Support Allowance.

How do I apply?

To apply for Housing and/or Council Tax Benefit, you can either telephone the Council on 207201 to request a claim form, write to us to ask for one, or visit one of the Connections offices to collect one. You then need to complete it and send it to the Council or take it to one of the Connections offices within 1 calendar month.

If you need help with making a new claim, the Council can assist by making you an appointment with a Benefit Assessor or we could visit you if you would find it difficult to leave your home. If you would like some help, please telephone 01803 207201 or visit one of the Connections offices.

Can I claim Housing and/or Council Tax Benefit if I work?

Yes! You may still be entitled to Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax Benefit if you work but your total income is low.

If you make a claim, we will need to see proof of your earnings. You will need to provide:

Your last five payslips if you are paid weekly
Your last two payslips if you are paid monthly
Your last three payslips if you are paid four weekly or fortnightly
If you have only recently started work and not yet been paid, we will need either your contract of employment showing your expected hours and wage or a letter from your employer containing this information. We will use this to calculate your benefit until you receive your first payslips.

If you are self-employed, we will need your certified accounts for the last financial year and a completed self-employed form.

If you have just started trading, please complete a self-employed form to show your estimated earnings for the first three months of trade.

Notify - Benefits: Self Employed Questionnaire (Printable)

If I make a new claim, how quickly will it be assessed?

Torbay Council aims to calculate your benefit as quickly as possible. Help us to help you by ensuring that when your claim is submitted, you have provided all of the required supporting evidence outlined on the claim form. If we need more information we will ring and/or write to you as soon as possible. The quicker you provide this, the quicker your benefit will be paid.

Please be aware however that benefit normally only starts from the Monday after the Council receives your claim form or the date you first contacted the Council. Do not delay in making your claim if you do not have all of the supporting information and evidence needed.

What proof do I need to provide in support of my claim?

Housing and Council Tax Benefit

Identification: We need two items of proof of ID for you and your partner and proof of your National Insurance numbers. Quite often the proof of your income and capital you provide can be used to confirm your ID as well.

Income and Capital: We will need to see proof of all of you and your partner’s income and capital. If there are any other adults living with you, we will also need proof of their income. All of the information and types of proof needed is outlined in the section called 'checklist' in the benefit claim form.

Housing Benefit

Rent: We will need proof of your rent liability. If you have a tenancy agreement, please provide this. If you do not, you can either provide a completed "landlord certificate" form (this needs to be completed by your landlord and not yourself), your rent book, receipts for rent paid and/or a letter from your landlord outlining the arrangement you have.

How much benefit will I be entitled to?

Housing and Council Tax Benefit are both means tested which means that your income and capital are taken into account in the calculation.

Certain types of income are disregarded but we still need to know that you are in receipt of these as they could affect your entitlement in a different way.

You can obtain an estimate of how much benefit you might be entitled to using the on line .

When will my benefit start from?

Your benefit will usually start from the Monday after we receive your claim form. It is important that you return your claim form to us as soon as possible as any delay may result in you losing benefit.

If you move into a new address we can start your claim on the date that you move in as long as we receive the claim form before you move in or within the same benefit week. (A benefit week begins on a Monday and ends on a Sunday).

If you are already in receipt of Income Support, Income based Job Seekers Allowance or Income Related Employment and Support Allowance (your notification letters from the Jobcentre will tell you this), and you are moving into a new address, your benefit will start on the date that you moved in if you submit a claim form within one month of that date.

If you are a pensioner, you are automatically entitled to benefit for 3 months before you made your claim as long as you would have been entitled for this period.

How will Housing Benefit be paid?

Council tenants:

If you rent your accommodation from the Council, your Housing Benefit will be paid directly into your rent account.

Housing Association (or Registered Social Landlord) tenants:

You can choose to have your benefit paid to yourself or your landlord. Please confirm which you would prefer on your claim form. If you have rent arrears amounting to 8 weeks or more, we will automatically pay your benefit to your landlord.

Tenants of other private landlords:

If you are making a new claim or changing address, you will more than likely come under the Local Housing Allowance rules, which came in on 7 April of 2008, and Housing Benefit will normally be paid direct to you.

There are some exceptions to this. If you have 8 weeks or more of rent arrears, we will pay your landlord.

If you feel that you cannot manage your finances or have had rent arrears in the past or health problems which might mean you would not be able to accept the responsibility of paying the rent yourself, you may come under the Council’s Safeguarding Policy. You need to either complete one of our Safeguard Application forms for payment of Local Housing Allowance to your landlord or write to us with the reasons why you feel you could not have payments made to yourself and we will write to you with a decision. You can ask someone else to help you with the application form or letter (including your landlord) as long as you sign the form or letter yourself.

Payments into bank accounts (BACS payments):

We are now able to offer you a new safer and more efficient way of having your Housing Benefit paid. We can now pay your Housing Benefit straight into your bank account by BACS and recommend that you opt to have your Housing Benefit paid in this way.

The Advantages are;

Paying your benefit directly into your bank account is much safer.

You will not have to worry about cheques delayed in the post or going missing.

You will have access to your benefit sooner.

You will not have to wait for cheques to clear before being able to pay your rent. If paid by cheque, you would normally receive your benefit cheque through the post on a Monday then have to wait a minimum of three days after paying it into your account for the cheque to clear. If you opt to have your benefit paid by BACS it will be credited to your bank account on the Monday it is due and the money will be available the same day.

You will not need to make a special trip to the bank to pay in your benefit cheque.

Paying by BACS also helps your Council save money as it is a less expensive way of making payments.

There are some accounts that we are unable to make payments into, such as Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs), Post Office Card Accounts and some Savings Accounts. You can check with your bank or building society to see whether your account can accept BACS payments.

If you close or change your bank account, please inform us of the change as quickly as possible, or your payments could be delayed.

How will Council Tax Benefit be paid?

Council Tax Benefit will be automatically credited to your Council Tax Account. We will notify you in writing how much you are entitled to and send you a new council tax bill showing the reduced amount you need to pay.

Can my claim be backdated?

If you would like to ask that your benefit is backdated, please complete the relevant section of the claim form and give as much information as you can about why you did not make a claim at an earlier date.

If you are under 60, your Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax Benefit claim could be backdated for a period up to 6 months from the date you make a request for backdated benefit. This only applies if you can demonstrate that continuous 'good cause' for not making an earlier claim existed throughout the period for which backdating is requested.

'Good cause' has been defined by the Social Security Commissioners as follows;

"Some fact which having regard to all the circumstances (including the claimant's state of health and the information which he had received and that which he might have obtained) would probably have caused a reasonable person of his age and experience to act (or fail to act) as the claimant did”.

If you are aged 60 or over, we will automatically look at backdating your claim for three months.

Can I find out the amount of Housing Benefit I might be entitled to before I move into a property?

If you are moving into privately rented accommodation you can find out an approximate idea of how much benefit you might be entitled to by checking the rates of Local Housing Allowance against the room calculator.

This will show you the amount of the maximum eligible rent which will be used to calculate your benefit. Your income and capital will then be taken into account. You can also use the benefits calculator to input your income.

If you are moving into a Housing Association property, your actual rent minus any ineligible services will be used to calculate your benefit. Again, your income and capital will be taken into account.

What income is taken into account in the calculation?

Most of your income is taken into account in the calculation of benefit although some incomes are partially or fully disregarded.

We still need to know about income which can be disregarded as it can affect your entitlement in other ways.

Some examples of income which is disregarded in full for Housing and Council Tax Benefit purposes are;

Maintenance payments for children who live with you
Disability Living Allowance
Attendance Allowance
From 2nd November 2009, Child Benefit.

Extra money might be able to be disregarded from your earnings and/or Tax Credits if you pay for child care. Please ensure you complete the section of the claim form relating to this.

How will my savings affect my entitlement to Housing/Council Tax Benefit?

You will probably not be entitled to Housing or Council Tax Benefit if you have savings of over £16,000.

If you have less than £16,000, we may have to take something called tariff income into account as part of your income in the calculation. This is calculated as follows;

·Income from savings less than £16,000:

For those customers under 60: If you have savings between £6000 and £16000 we will add £1 a week to the income we use to work out your benefit for each £250 (or part of £250). For example, if you have £6001 we will add £1 a week.
·For those customers over 60: If you have savings between £6000 and £16000 we will add £1 a week to the income we use to work out your benefit for each £500 (or part of £500). For example, if you have £6001 we will add £1 a week.
·From 02^nd November 2009: The capital threshold increases for customers over 60 to £10,000. This means that we will add £1 a week to your income for each £500 (or part of £500) over £10,000.

If you claim Pension Credit through the Pension Service then they will determine the amount of capital you have and the income form those savings and tell the Council about it.

What happens if I am entitled to Income Based Job Seekers Allowance, Income Related Employment and Support Allowance or Pension Credit Guarantee?

If you receive any of these, you will be entitled to the maximum help possible towards your rent.

You will also be entitled to full Council Tax Benefit minus any amounts for other adults living with you that need to be deducted (see below).

What happens if there is another adult, other than my partner, living with me?

Your benefit may be reduced if there is another adult in your household such as a grown up son or daughter or family friend (we call this a non dependant).

We will need to see proof of their income. If they are a student, we will need proof of this.

The amount to be deducted in the calculation will depend on their income and circumstances.

What should I do if my circumstances change

If you do not report changes in your circumstances promptly you may lose benefit or be overpaid. If the change would mean that you would be entitled to more benefit and you do not report this within a month, your benefit can usually only be altered from when you tell us about the change. Most overpayments are recoverable.

The following are examples of changes which you should write to the Council about as soon as they happen. Please note that these are only examples and as such do not cover everything that you should tell us about.

Changes to you or your partner’s income or capital.
Changes to the income of any non-dependants or second adults living with you.
If you, your partner or any non dependent or second adult stop receiving Income Support, Jobseekers Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance or any other benefits.
Changes in the number of people living with you.
If any of your children leave school or college or you stop receiving Child Benefit for them.
If someone in your household starts work.
If the rent you pay to your landlord changes.
If you move to different accommodation. Report - Change of Address
If you are absent from your home for any reason, even if you are still being charged rent and intend to return there.
If the child care you pay for changes, stops or if you start to pay for child care.

Any changes in circumstances can be reported in person at our Connections Offices, by telephone, in writing or by email.

I have started work, what do I need to do?

Notify us by calling 01803 207201 or write to us.

Extended Payment (EP):

If you are starting work which you expect to last five weeks of more and have been in continuous receipt of any of the benefits in the list below (or any combination of them) for 26 weeks immediately before you start, you may be entitled to an Extended Payment.

Qualifying benefits for an extended payment are as follows;

Income Support
Income Based Jobseekers Allowance
Contributions Based Jobseekers Allowance
Income Related Employment and Support Allowance
Contributions Based Employment and Support Allowance
Incapacity Benefit
Severe Disablement Allowance

If you are entitled to an Extended Payment, this means that for the first four weeks after you start work, you will continue to receive the same amount of Housing and/or Council Tax Benefit.

We should automatically award an Extended Payment if you are entitled to it, however if you think you might be and it has not been awarded, please contact us.

Remember, you might still be entitled to Housing and/or Council Tax Benefit after you start working if your income is still low. We will need you to complete a Change of Circumstances form to show what your new income is. We will also need proof of your earnings and any other income you have. If you do not have any wage slips, we can assess your wage based on your contract of employment or a letter from your employer confirming your hours and rate of pay until you receive these.

If you are not sure about whether it is worth claiming, please contact us.

I am already in receipt of Housing Benefit but still struggling with my rent. Can I get any extra help?

If there is a shortfall between the rent that you have to pay and your Housing Benefit entitlement, which you are struggling to pay, you could apply for Discretionary Housing Payments to help with this. These payments are not part of the Housing and Council Tax Benefit scheme and are totally at the discretion of the Council. They can normally only be paid as a temporary measure.

You will not be entitled to Discretionary Housing Payments if you have savings over £3000 or more.

Discretionary Housing Payments cannot help with a shortfall caused by the fact that there are services which are not eligible for Housing Benefit purposes included in your rent such as water rates, electric or meals or if deductions are being taken from your benefit for overpayments.

If you would like to make a claim for Discretionary Housing Payments, please contact us for a form.

What happens if I need to temporarily go away from my normal home?

If you are going to be absent from your home for any length of time, you should tell us straight away.

There are specific rules for people who are temporarily absent from their home and Housing and Council Tax benefit may be payable for either 13 or 52 weeks depending on the reason for the absence.

In all cases where benefit can continue to be paid, you must:

intend to return to the your normal home; and
still be liable to pay rent and/or Council Tax while you are away; and
your accommodation must not be let to anyone else while you are away.

Some examples of when benefit can be paid during an absence of up to 52 weeks are as follows;

If you have to go into hospital
If you are in fear of violence in your normal home
If you are caring for a child whose parent or guardian is away from their normal home in order to receive medical treatment or medically approved care.

Going into Prison

If you are in prison and on remand, you can still receive benefit for up to 52 weeks.

Once you are sentenced to imprisonment your Housing benefit will stop unless your total absence is not likely to be for more than 13 weeks. You should let the Council know if you are imprisoned and that you wish to continue to claim Housing Benefit. The prison workers will be able to advise you on this and should be able to help you with the letter

I am a student. Can I claim Housing and/or Council Tax Benefit?

Most part time students will be entitled to Housing and/or Council Tax Benefit.

Most full time students will not be entitled to Housing and/or Council Tax Benefit, however there are exceptions to this rule.

If you are a full time student and one of the following, you might be entitled to benefit;

A lone parent
Disabled
In receipt of Income Support, Income Related Employment and Support Allowance or Income Based Jobseekers Allowance
A student couple with a dependent child or children
Aged under 20 and In further education

This is not a full list of the circumstances in which a student could be entitled to benefit. If you need more information, please contact the Council.

I have come to live from outside the UK, Republic of Ireland, Channel Islands and Isle of Man. Can I claim Housing and Council tax Benefit?

There are complex rules relating to people who have come to live and/or work in the UK from another country. Depending on the country you are travelling from, your financial situation and your immigration status you may or may not be entitled to receive Housing and Council Tax Benefit.

In each case we will require certain documentation from you in order to reach the correct decision about whether you are entitled to receive benefits:

Along with proof of your income, please provide two proofs of you and your partners identity and National Insurance numbers.
If you are an EEA worker and have a workers registration card (photo card) and a workers registration certificate for each job that you do then please supply these documents.
If you have travelled from outside the EEA (European Economic Area) then please supply your passport and all home office documents detailing the terms and conditions of entry and stay in the country. You may also have an identity card, if so you should also supply it to us.
If you are a UK national and returned to live and/or work in the UK in the 2 years prior to claiming benefit then we will need to know your reasons for returning to live in the country and whether you have any links to your previous address.

If you have any queries about what documentation you need to supply then please contact the Council on 01803 207201 or visit one of the Connections offices.

Further Questions

If the above questions do not cover enquiry your please contact the Benefits Section.

Related Websites

Related Tasks

Contact Benefits Service

Tel: 01803 207201
Email: housing.benefits@torbay.gov.uk
Fax: 01803 292866

Torbay Council

A to Z of Council Services

Main Navigation

Sub Navigation