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Housing Benefit is money paid by the Housing Executive to help with you with your housing costs. It can help with rent and some service charges and also with rates. It does not matter if your landlord is a private landlord or the Housing Executive. You have to be the person who is responsible for paying the rent and rates to get Housing Benefit.
Housing Benefit does not necessarily cover all your rent or the housing costs that are included in your rent and rates.
Housing Benefit does not cover a mortgage, but if you own your own home you can claim Housing Benefit to help with the rates. Housing Benefit for rates is sometimes called 'rate relief'.
You do not qualify for Housing Benefit if you live in the home of a close relative or if you are a full-time student (unless you have a disability or children).
If you are single and aged under 25, you can only get Housing Benefit for one room in shared accommodation.
If you live with a partner, only one of you can get Housing Benefit.
You might be able to get Housing Benefit if you are getting certain other benefits. Or you might qualify if you are working full-time or part-time – in this case, whether you get it or not depends on your income and savings. You must have no more than £16,000 in savings, although this limit does not apply if you are getting the guarantee part of Pension Credit.
The Turn2us Benefit Checker can help you calculate your eligibility for Housing Benefit in Northern Ireland.
If you are a Housing Executive or registered housing association tenant, you will not be paid Housing Benefit directly. Instead it will be taken off the rent you have to pay so you pay less or no rent.
If you have a private landlord, you will be paid by cheque (to cash at a post office) or straight into your bank account. Sometimes the Housing Executive can pay your landlord directly.
Housing Benefit for rate relief reduces your rates bill.
If you get benefits like Income Support, you will get the maximum amount of Housing Benefit, which could cover the whole of your rent and rates. But even if you are working, you might get some Housing Benefit to cover some of your rent and rates. This depends on your income and savings and on your personal circumstances, for example, if you have children, if you are disabled or if you care for a disabled person.
Remember that even if you get the maximum amount of Housing Benefit, it will not necessarily cover all your rent. If you are a private tenant, the Housing Executive will calculate how much of your rent can be paid by Housing Benefit. They might decide that not all of your rent can be paid because your home is too large or too expensive. If this is the case, you will have to make up the difference yourself or find cheaper accommodation.
Housing Benefit is not a taxable benefit.
If you are making a claim for benefits like Income Support, you can get form HBCTB1 to claim Housing Benefit for rent at the same time. If you claim Pension Credit by telephone from the Pension Service, you can claim Housing Benefit at the same time. You will need to check with the Housing Executive if they need you to fill out one of their own claim forms as well.
If you are not claiming these benefits, you can phone the Housing Executive on: 08448 920 902 to request a Housing Benefit application form. You can also download the Housing Benefit claim form (link opens in a new window) from the Housing Executive website, or you can call in to any Housing Executive Office and collect one.
If you download the form, you should also contact them immediately on the number above to let them know that you are going to make a claim. The date of your phone call may be used to decide when your right to Housing Benefit, if any, will start.
If you own your own home and need Housing Benefit for help to pay your rates, you apply to Land and Property Services (link opens in a new window) instead of the of the Housing Executive. You can ask for an application form by phone on: 0800 5877 477 or download an application form (PDF 650kb) (link opens in a new window) from their website.
To make a claim for Housing Benefit, you may be able to fill in a shortened form known as a 'rapid reclaim'. To fill in a rapid reclaim, you must have made a claim for Income Support, Incapacity Benefit or income-based Jobseeker's Allowance before, within the last 26 weeks. You must also be claiming this benefit again and your circumstances must not have changed since your last claim.
If you are under 60, you may be able to claim backdated Housing Benefit for up to six months. You have to show you have a good reason for not claiming earlier, for example, you were given wrong advice. If you or your partner are 60 or over, and you are not getting Income Support or income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, you may be able to claim some backdated Housing Benefit for up to three months. You do not have to show you have a good reason for not claiming earlier.
When you claim Housing Benefit, you must give your national insurance number and evidence of who you are, for example, a birth certificate or driving licence. You also need to give evidence that you must pay the rent, for example, your rent book. If you are not claiming benefits like Income Support, you must give evidence of your income and savings, for example, bank statements or pay slips.
The Citizens Advice website (link opens in a new window) can give you more information about Housing Benefit for rent and rates in Northern Ireland.
The Housing Executive can give you more information about claiming Housing Benefit (link opens in a new window). Contact them on: 08448 920 900.
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This information has been produced by Citizens Advice.
Updated: 10 February 2009
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