What entitles me to claim housing benefit?
How much local housing allowance can I get?
Information and evidence needed
Make a claim online
Report a change in circumstances
Under occupancy in social housing
What is a non dependant deduction
Fast track your benefit claim
Home Visits and Benefit Take Up
You can claim housing benefit/local housing allowance if you pay rent to live in your home:
- If you have a low income whether from benefits or low-paid work, including if you are self-employed
- If you are moving from benefits into work
- If you have savings of less than £16,000
N.B. If you have a partner we will include their income and savings as well when we work out any benefit entitlement
If you are entitled to housing benefit we will usually pay it from the Monday after we receive your claim. If you want help with your council tax too, you only need to make one claim. We will assess your housing benefit and council tax award at the same time.
The amount of local housing allowance you may get depends on:
- Who lives with you
- Whether anyone living with you is expected to contribute to your rent
- How much money you have coming in and what savings you have
- If you are aged under 35 or; if you share paying your rent or share your accommodation with someone else
- If you are a joint tenant
Local housing allowance is based on the number of bedrooms your household needs, not the number of rooms in the property you rent, or the rent that you are charged. Visit DirectGov to see how many bedrooms you are entitled to.
See the current local housing allowance rates for Bolton (also available under Downloads)
Housing Benefit/local housing allowance is a means tested benefit,so we need to know about all your income and savings, and the income and savings of your partner. Examples of the information and evidence needed are provided on the claim form and when you you complete a claim form online. You can use forms provided by us to get the infomation you need. These are available under our Downloads tab.
The easiest way to provide the evidence is to take your original documents to your nearest One Stop Shop where they can be photocopied and verified. We cannot accept photocopies of original documents.
Make a claim online
Report a change in circumstances
From April 2013 there will be changes to the way housing benefit is calculated if you live in accommodation rented to you by a local authority, registered housing association or other registered social landlord.
A 14% reduction will be made to your eligible rent if you under occupy your home by one bedroom and a 25% reduction for two bedrooms or more.
There are certain circumstances where the size limit rules will not be applied.
- State pension credit age – If you are over state pension credit age or have a partner over state pension credit age
- Temporary accommodation – If you have been accepted as homeless under homelessness legislation of the Housing Act 1996 and placed in temporary accommodation by the local authority
- Shared ownership – If you part own/part rent your home
- Supported “exempt” accommodation – If you live in a property run by housing associations or charities which provide care/support or supervision. A questionnaire can be completed by your landlord if they think that the accommodation should be classed as "exempt".
To see if you are under occupying your property visit www.boltonathome.org.uk
A deduction may be made from your benefit because you have other adults living with you. We call this a non dependant deduction.The amount we deduct depends upon the number of non dependants you have, what their gross income is, and whether you are getting Housing Benefit or help with your Council Tax.
View non dependant deductions.
We will not make a non dependant deduction where:
- You or your partner are registered blind
- You or your partner gets attendance allowance
- You or your partner get disability living allowance for care
This is regardless of the number of non dependants you have living with you.
If you make your claim and provide all the information needed at the same time, we will guarantee to process your claim within five working days. If you make your claim online and provide all the information needed within three days, we will process your claim within five working days.
The Benefits Service has a dedicated team who can visit people in their own homes. A visiting service is provided to:
- residents over the age of 60
- residents with a disability
- residents who are vulnerable
The team offer advice on and complete application forms on a range of benefits, contact us to find out more
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