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CONTACT

Council Tax Service
Benefits Service

General enquiries: 03450 450 500

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Popular FAQs

• How do I claim Housing Benefit and Council Tax benefit?
• What happens if I cannot pay my council tax?
• I live on my own, can I get a council tax discount?
• How is my benefit worked out?
• What is my council tax band and how is this decided?

Other FAQs

Changes to Housing Benefit from April 2011

Who will be affected?

These changes will not affect Council tenants or people renting from Housing Associations.

It will affect people who rent from private landlords and claim Housing Benefit from 1st April 2011 onwards. People who already have their claims assessed under the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) will also be affected.

What will the changes mean?

The amount of Housing Benefit you get may go down.

If you claim Housing Benefit, you will need to consider how these changes will affect you before you enter into a new tenancy agreement. This will allow you to decide if you can afford the rent before you commit to it.

What is changing?

The levels of LHA will be going down; this is due to a change in the way they will be calculated.

There will no longer be a rate for 5 bedroom properties; the maximum amount of benefit that can be paid will be the 4 bedroom rate. Therefore, even if a family requires a 5 bedroom property due to the number of people benefit will be limited to the 4 bedroom rate.

Currently if a persons' rent is lower than the LHA rate, the amount that benefit is based on can be up to £15 per week above their actual rent; this is often referred to as 'the cap'. This will stop and the maximum rent that benefit will pay will be either the actual rent or LHA rate, whichever is lower.

When will the changes affect me?

If you are making a new claim, including if you have a break in your entitlement after 1st April 2011, the changes will apply immediately.

'The cap' (see above) will end from the date your LHA rate is first reviewed after 1st April 2011. There is no protection for this.

If you are already getting Housing Benefit your LHA rate is reviewed every 52 weeks. When your LHA rate is reviewed, if the new LHA rate is lower than the rate previously used, your benefit will be protected for 9 months.

This will end sooner if are currently getting benefit and

• you move; or
• someone moves out of your household which means the number of rooms you need reduces; or
• your benefit entitlement ends and you have to make a new claim.

Where to go for more information

• To help you plan for these changes you can compare the current LHA rates against what the new rates are likely to be for the area you live in. These can be found on the Direct Gov website Local Housing Allowance page (This link will open in a new window).
• You can contact the benefit section at South Cambridgeshire District Council on 03450 450 061.
• Further information on the changes can be found on the Direct Gov website (This link will open in a new window).
• The Citizens Advice service provides a wide range of advice. To find your local Citizens Advice Bureau, look in the phone book or visit their website at www.citizensadvice.org.uk (This link will open in a new window).

If you are concerned about the effect these changes will have on your tenancy and would like Housing Advice please contact Housing Advice and Homelessness Section on 01954 713055.

Important information

This is only a guide and does not cover every circumstance. We have done our best to make sure that the information here is correct [as of December 2010]. Some of the information may be oversimplified; it may also become inaccurate over time, due to changes in the law.