How do I find out about Benefits for my new address?

Private tenants and Local Housing Allowance

The Government has changed the way the Council works out and pays Housing Benefit for some private tenants from April 2008. (By ‘private tenant’ we mean somebody who rents their home from a private landlord.)

Local Housing Allowance is help with the cost of rent and will take the place of Housing Benefit for some private tenants.

The area you live in

An independent Rent Officer has split the borough into different areas called Broad Rental Market Areas (BRMAs). Within your Broad Rental Market Area, the Local Housing Allowance rate that we use to calculate your benefit will be the same for each household that needs the same number of bedrooms.

It is a fixed amount based on which BRMA your property is in, and the number of bedrooms you need. We cannot take account of how much your rent is.

This is the maximum figure that can be used to calculate Local Housing Allowance. The amount of Local Housing Allowance you get will depend upon your income, capital and if you have other adults living with you.

Benefit on two homes (overlapping benefit)

You can ask for Housing Benefit to be paid on two addresses at the same time, for a period of up to four weeks. We can pay you this ‘overlapping benefit’ if you have actually moved into your new home and we accept that you could not have reasonably avoided having to pay two rents for the same period.

If you want to apply, please complete the claim form and return it with supporting evidence.

Telling the council about your move

Contact Us:

Please contact the Revenues and Benefits Service if you have any queries.