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Housing benefit is a social security benefit which helps people on low income with their housing costs. It can cover rent, rates and some service charges.
Housing benefit scheme applies to social tenants and some tenants renting privately. Housing benefit for private tenants is calculated under the Local housing allowance scheme.
Who is in charge of housing benefit?
Housing benefit is paid by the Housing Executive and is sometimes called rent allowance or rent rebate.
You can apply for housing benefit if you are:
Housing benefit cannot be used to pay a mortgage. If you have a mortgage, you may be able to get help with paying the interest from the Social Security Agency. If you own your home, you may also be able to get help with your rates from the Land and Property Services.
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What does it cover?
Housing benefit can cover:
- your rent,
- your rates,
- some service charges, such as upkeep of communal areas or a caretaker,
- other eligible costs, such as payments for B&B and hostel accommodation, site rent for mobile homes, use and occupation payments, "mesne profits", etc.
It cannot cover:
- charges for heating, hot water, lighting or cooking,
- payments for any food or meals provided,
- mortgage payments.
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Who can claim housing benefit?
You may be able to claim housing benefit if you are:
- on a low income, or
- receiving welfare benefits.
If you think that you may be entitled to housing benefit you should submit a claim form . The Housing Executive will let you know if you will be entitled to any help depending on your circumstances.
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When should I claim?
Claim housing benefit as soon as possible if you think that you might be entitled. Housing benefit is usually only paid from the Monday after the housing benefit department receives your claim form, and only if you provide all the information to support your claim within 28 days.
It may be possible to get your claim backdated. However, this can be complicated and you would need to show "good cause" for not claiming earlier.
Get advice if you are thinking about asking to get your housing benefit backdated.
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I am going to claim, can I stop paying rent?
Don't stop paying your rent unless you are confident that you will receive full housing benefit.
You may not be entitled to housing benefit or you might only get help with part of the rent, leaving you to make up the rest. Claims can take a long time to process and you could be left with huge rent arrears.
If you rent from a social landlord, the full amount that you're charged for your accommodation will be used in the calculation of your housing benefit award. However, depending on your income and capital, your entitlement may not cover your total housing costs. The final benefit amount depends on your personal circumstances, such as income, non-dependants in the household and other deductible costs.
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Who gets the housing benefit?
You can ask to have housing benefit paid directly to yourself or directly to your landlord.
If you have more than six weeks' rent arrears, the Housing Executive may have a duty to pay housing benefit directly to your landlord. Your landlord is entitled to ask for such an arrangement.
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