Pension age customers can claim Housing Benefit.
Most working age customers must claim Universal Credit from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). However, working age tenants living in supported accommodation can claim Housing Benefit.
The main conditions for receiving Housing Benefit are that the claimant meets all the below requirements:
Type household | Supported accommodation? | Can claim help with rent from |
---|---|---|
Single working age | No | Universal Credit (DWP) |
Single working age | Yes | Housing Benefit |
Single pension age | No | Housing Benefit |
Single pension age | Yes | Housing Benefit |
Couple, one pension and one working age | No | Universal Credit (DWP) |
Couple, one pension and one working age | Yes | Housing Benefit |
Couple, both pension age | No | Housing Benefit |
Couple, both pension age | Yes | Housing Benefit |
We can only give you information about a tenant’s Housing Benefit if they give us permission. They can do this in the claim form or tell us in writing or by email.
If they give us permission, we can tell you:
Unless authorised, we cannot give you confidential information about their personal circumstances.
We will send a decision notice to tell you:
Housing Benefit will be paid 4 weekly in the tenant’s bank account.
We can pay a landlord direct if:
The tenant owes 8 weeks or more rent
An owner-occupier or tenant aged 18 or over living in the property is usually responsible for paying the Council Tax.
In certain circumstances, owners who do not live in the property must pay the Council Tax. For example, where the house is in multiple occupation (HMO).
An HMO is where:
If we pay your tenant’s Housing Benefit to you, you must tell us about changes that could affect the amount payable or how we pay you.
You should tell the Benefits Team if:
Email: benefits@reading.gov.uk
Phone: 0118 937 3707
Writing to: Reading Borough Council, Benefits Team, Bridge Street, Reading RG1 7LU
If your tenant has rent arrears and is waiting on a Housing Benefit decision, please contact us before starting eviction proceedings.
We will do our best to make a prompt decision, providing we have all the information needed to assess the claim.
When we pay Housing Benefit direct to a landlord and their tenant’s entitlement changes, we may ask the landlord to repay the money which has been overpaid.
If we decide it is appropriate to recover the money from the landlord, we will raise an invoice for repayment.
Only a person affected by a decision about Housing Benefit can appeal the decision.
A landlord can also be a ‘person affected’ in the following circumstances:
Landlords affected by a Housing Benefit decision can ask us to:
This should be done within one month of the date of the decision letter.