Care and support

Housing benefit

If you have to pay rent or board and lodging, and you are not living with a close relative, you may get housing benefit, even if you don't get income support, ESA or jobseeker's allowance. You will have to prove what your income is. Working people can get housing benefit too.

If you are a full-time or part-time student, you will only get housing benefit in very limited circumstances - such as if you are a lone parent, disabled or getting income support/JSA/ESA.

If you live in privately rented accommodation your housing benefit could be restricted to the typical rent for a room in a shared house, even if you rent a flat on your own. This means that housing benefit might not cover all your rent. There are exceptions to this rule, eg if you live in a council flat, a housing association flat, if you have been in care, if you are a couple, if you are disabled or if you have children.

If you move into privately-rented accommodation, you will have your housing benefit worked out using a local housing allowance figure instead of the actual rent. The LHA is based on a flat-rate figure so you might get more LHA than the rent you pay – it’s unlikely, but if it happens, you can keep the difference. However, the Government is proposing to change these rules next year so that no one will get more LHA than they pay in rent. The LHA will normally be paid to you, not your landlord.

You can claim housing benefit on a form from your district or borough council.

For more information about housing benefit, click on the link called extra money for your housing costs on the right hand side of the page.

People who are under 18 and still in care can’t get housing benefit, even if they can get income support. See next section for more about young care leavers.