About Council Tax and Housing Benefit

• What are Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit?
• Who can claim Housing Benefit?
• Who must pay Council Tax?
• What is an HMO?
• Do students have to pay Council Tax?
• What about joint tenants?
• How much Housing Benefit can be paid?
• What is a pre-tenancy determination (PTD)
• What is 'eligible rent'?
• What are 'indicative or interim rents'?

 

 

What are Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit?

Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit are national welfare benefits which help people on low income pay rent or Council Tax, or both, on the home they live in.

Local councils run the schemes using regulations set out by the Government.

Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit are means-tested benefits.

This means that the amount people get depends on:

• their income;
• their savings;
• the size and condition of their home;
• their rent; and
• who lives with them.

To get Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit, tenants must fill in a benefit claim form.

 

Who Can Claim Housing Benefit?

Anyone who pays rent for the home they live in can claim. But not everyone who pays rent will qualify.

Tenants may not qualify if:

• their income is too high;
• they live with, and pay rent to, a close relative;
• they used to live with the landlord as a family member, relative or friend, and now pay that person rent;
• they are a member of a religious order;
• they live in a care home such as a nursing or old people's home;
• it is not a business arrangement;
• they rent a former joint home from their ex-partner;
• they are responsible for a child of their landlord;
• they rent their property from a company, and they are a director or employee of that company;
• they rent from a trust and they are the trustee or a beneficiary;
• they used to own the property which they now rent;
• they live in the home as part of their job; or
• they are students. Most students don't qualify but some do, so please contact us for further information. If your tenant is not sure if they qualify, get them to fill in a form and return it to us straightaway. We will write to tell them whether we can pay benefit.
  

Please note You or your tenant should not assume that benefit will be paid, or how much will be paid, until we tell you in writing.

 

Who must pay Council Tax?

An owner-occupier or tenant aged 18 or over living in the property is usually responsible for paying the Council Tax.

In certain circumstances, owners who do not live in the property must pay the Council Tax. The most common example of this is a house in multiple occupation (HMO).

 

What is an HMO?

An HMO is where:

• a tenant or tenants rent a room in the property and share facilities, for example a bathroom or kitchen (or both); and
• each has a separate tenancy agreement with only their name on it.

Generally, this is an HMO and the landlord or owner is responsible for paying Council Tax.

 

Do Students Have to Pay Council Tax?

If all the tenants are full-time students in further or higher education, the property will be exempt from Council Tax during term time, even if it is an HMO.

Courses must be for at least one academic year, and periods of study, tuition or work experience must be at least 21 hours a week.

 

What About Joint Tenants?

If a property is rented out to more than one person and is not classed as an HMO, the tenants are responsible for paying the Council Tax.

If you rent out a joint tenancy like this, there should usually only be one tenancy agreement. It should show all the tenants' names and should have only one rent charge.

 

How Much Housing Benefit Can Be Paid?

This depends on things like:

• how much income a tenant and their family has; and
• how much rent the Rent Officer says we can use in our calculation.

 

What Is a Pre-Tenancy Determination(PTD)?

Future tenants can apply for a PTD. It will help them know if they'll have to pay some of the rent themselves to top up their Housing Benefit.

They might decide they can't afford to take on the tenancy, and may decide to look for somewhere else to live rather than get into debt.

Before signing up to the tenancy, your future tenant should ask the Rent Service to decide what rent we must use to work out their Housing Benefit.

You can't apply yourself, but you will have to sign your future tenant's request for a PTD.

You will, however, get a copy of the Rent Officer's decision.

This free service usually takes about five days.

We will use the decision to pay the proper amount of benefit more quickly.

Your tenant can get a PTD application form from us.

You should send the form to us and we will pass it to the Rent Service.

Decisions stay in force for 12 months unless there is a change in the property or the number of people in the household.

Please note

• PTDs don't guarantee that your tenant will get benefit.
• Your tenant must still fill in a claim form and send us all the proof we need so that we can work out their benefit.
• We can tell your tenant roughly how much benefit they will get using the Rent Service's PTD

 

What are Indicative or Interim Rents?

When your tenant claims benefit, and has given us all the information we need, we speed things up by paying benefit based on a provisional 'indicative rent' provided by the local Rent Service.

This is sometimes called an 'interim rent' or a 'payment on account'.

Later, when the Rent Service gives us its final decision on the level of rent to use for benefits, we work out the benefit again

 

What Is Eligible Rent?

'Eligible rent' is the rent we use to work out your tenant's Housing Benefit.

Eligible rent is not always the same as the rent being charged for the following reasons.

• Housing Benefit does not cover some service charges like heating, water or meals, so we cannot include those in the rent.
• We must base Housing Benefit on a rent level set by the Rent Officer Service (a government agency independent of local authorities), not on the rent you charge your tenant.
  
  All the rents that private landlords charge are referred to this Rent Service for consideration.
  
  You can't appeal about the figures the Rent Service sets for us to work out your tenant's benefit.
  
  Your tenant can appeal to us and we will ask the Rent Service to look at their decision again.
• We must usually limit benefit for single people under 25, without children, to a 'single-room rent' set by the Rent Service.

Housing Benefit is not always the same as the 'eligible rent'.

Once we have the eligible rent, we then have to take off certain amounts because of the tenant's income, or because they have other adults living with them for example, an adult son or daughter, other relative or friend.

If Housing Benefit does not cover the full rent, the tenant is responsible for paying any difference to the landlord.

Tenants are also responsible for paying rent for any periods not covered by Housing Benefit.

 

Should you need further information about anything on this page please contact us at:

Benefits Section
Chester City Council
The Forum
Chester
CH1 2HS
Telephone: 01244 402236
Email benefits@chester.gov.uk

Customer Services opening hours

08.30am - 4.45pm        Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday
10.00am - 4.45pm        Wednesday