Sometimes you will not be able to claim Housing Benefit, this could be because; 

• Your savings are over £16,000
• You are not liable to pay rent
• You live in a care home
• You pay rent to a close relative and you live in the same property as them
• You rent a former joint home from your ex-partner
• You are the parent or guardian of your landlords child
• You occupy your home as part of your job

You can receive Housing Benefit up to 100% of your rent; the minimum amount of Housing Benefit you can receive is £0.50 a week.

You can use the Benefit calculator to gain an idea of whether you may qualify for benefit.

If you would like to discuss a decision that the Benefit calculator provides please contact us, see contacts.

Your Housing Benefit will usually be paid from the Monday after your claim is received at our offices. 
If you would like to claim backdated benefit you will need to apply in writing, advising the date that you would like benefit to be backdated to, the reasons why you have not applied before and provide proof of your income, savings, your household's income and savings for that period.

Pensioners can only be considered for an automatic backdate of second adult rebate for up to three months prior to the date that we received their claim in our offices.

There is an exception to this though - if you are the liable person for Council Tax and are a man aged 60 - 64 years old and request backdating, providing you are not claiming Pension Credit or have a partner who is receiving Income Support or Jobseekers Allowance (Income Based) you can be considered for backdated benefit for up to six months prior to the date that we received your claim form in our offices. However, you must prove that "good cause*" existed throughout the period that you have asked for backdating.

People of working age can only be considered for backdating for up to six months prior to the date that we receive their claim form in our offices. Again they must provide proof of good cause for this request to be considered.

* "Good Cause" means a reason which stopped you, as the person liable for Council Tax, from claiming second adult rebate from an earlier date. There could be one or more reasons why you were unable to claim. Here are some examples of common causes for claiming late:

• You have been seriously ill or in hospital
• You have been seriously ill or in hospital
• You have been out of the country for a long time and did not know you could claim
• You have problems with English and no one to help you claim

If you would like more information about backdated benefit please contact us.

If you are:

• A tenant of a Registered Social Landlord (Housing Association)
• In a tenancy that began before 1989
• Renting from a charitable organisation that provides support
• Living in a caravan, houseboat, mobile home or hostel
• Living in board and attendance accomodation

Then we must consider whether the rent you pay is a reasonable amount. We are required by law to refer the above cases to the Rent Service. The Rent Service will make a rent determination. This amount will be the maximum amount of Housing benefit we can pay you. For further information see The Rent Service. Factors that are taken into consideration when making a rent determination include the location of your home, whether the property has been adapted if you have any disabilities and if the size of your home reflects your needs. You can find out the maximum amount of rent that you will receive before you take on a tenancy. You will need to complete a pre-tenancy determination form. On this form you provide all the information about a property the Rent Service needs to make a determination. You will need to get your landlord to sign this.

If you are not in the list above, your rent will not be referred to the Rent Service and you will be considered under the Local Housing Allowance scheme. To find out more about this, please click on the following link:

Local Housing Allowance

In some cases if you are under 25 years of age and single your rent may be substantially restricted. Your rent may be restricted to an amount equal to a fair rent on a single room rented, and not the whole property. There are exceptions to these rules for example if you have children, certain disabilities or someone that lives with you who is not liable for rent. For more information about single room rents, please contact our service, see contact us.

We will send you a notification letter explaining our decision, the amount that you are entitled to and how we have worked this out.

If you are a Local Authority tenant, your benefit will go straight to your Housing Rent account. The weekly amount that you are entitled to will show on your rent account each week.

If you would like a member of staff to amend your rent card you can take it to the main reception at the Council Offices at Argents Mead, Hinckley. If you are renting in the private sector and are entitled to benefit, it is usually paid in arrears.

This can be paid by:

• A crossed cheque to you, paid every two weeks. If we send you a cheque you will need to have a bank account.
• Directly to your bank account using the Bank Automated Credit System (BACS). You will need to complete our Payment direct to account form.
• A crossed cheque sent directly to your landlord every four weeks.
• Directly to your landlords bank account using the Bank Automated Credit system. Your landlord will need to complete our Payment direct to account form.

(Please note that we can only pay your landlord if you are not receiving Local Housing Allowance or you are classed as "Vulnerable" under the safeguard policy - please contact us for more details).

Once we have all the information to assess your claim, we will usually assess your claim within 14 days of receipt of the last document. If you are able to return your completed claim form with proof of all your income and capital before 3pm, we can assess your claim while you wait! Please see further details about The Golden Promise.

If you are entitled to Housing Benefit you may be eligible for a Discretionary Housing payment. This is paid in addition to your Housing benefit. You must be entitled to benefit before you can apply. For more information see Discretionary Housing payments. You can ask us to look at our decision again, please see appeals. You can also contact other organisations for help, see useful contacts.

You can find out more information about Housing Benefit by contacting our offices, visiting other web sites and organisations. See contact us, useful contacts and printable leaflets and forms.