Help with your housing costs
Getting Help With Your Housing Costs
Depending on your circumstances you may be able to get help to pay your housing costs. This may come from Housing Benefit, which is dealt with by your local authority (council) or Universal Credit which is claimed online.
Benefits calculators
Use an independent benefits calculator to find out:
- what benefits you could get
- how to claim
- how your benefits will be affected if you start work
https://www.gov.uk/benefits-calculators
To determine whether you should claim Housing Benefit or Universal Credit, please check on this website https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit
Universal Credit is a benefit that is being rolled out in East Anglia from October 2017 for people who are of a working age and receive any of the following benefits:
- Housing Benefit
- Income Support
- Income-Based Jobseekers Allowance
- Income-Related Employment and Support Allowance
- Child Tax Credit
- Working Tax Credit
It applies to new Job Seeker claimants or people who need to make a new claim for any of the benefits listed above following a change of circumstances. Universal Credit is combining and replacing all of these benefits into a single monthly payment which is paid directly into the claimants account each month, like a salary.
The Universal Credit payment can include an allowance for housing costs and claimants are responsible for making sure their rent is paid in full to their landlord. We would recommend that tenants who receive Universal Credit pay their rent to Suffolk Housing as soon as they receive their benefit each month to make sure that they do not get into rent arrears and risk losing their home.
More information about Universal Credit can be found on our website http://www.suffolkhousing.org/2017/09/universal-credit
Housing Benefit is only paid from the date you move in, so you must make your claim as soon as possible. You can ask for the payment to be made directly to Suffolk Housing on your behalf. If there is a shortfall between the amount you are awarded and your rent, you will need to make up the difference.
If you are moving from one rented property to another, you may be able to get housing benefit on both properties for a short time and should contact your local council to ask for more details.
- If your circumstances change while you are claiming housing benefit, you must tell the council straight away so that they can adjust the amount you receive. This includes:
- If someone moves in
- If you move to a new address
- If your income changes, for example you start work or change or lose your job
- A child leaves school
- Your rent changes
- You go away for more than one month
- A non-dependent who is living with you starts work
Spare Room Subsidy (Sometimes called the “Bedroom Tax”) Under the Government’s Welfare Reform changes, if you are considered to be under occupying your property, you may receive a letter from your Local Council advising you that your Housing Benefit will be reduced. If this is the case you would need to make up the shortfall in your Housing Benefit yourself.
If you have any questions about getting help with your housing costs please feel free to:
- call us on 01284 767224
- email us at enquiries@suffolkhousing.org