Housing and Council Tax Benefit - Further Guidance

Savings

The capital limit of savings is £16,000.00, anything over this and you would not qualify for Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit unless you are receiving the guaranteed element of Pension Credit.

If your savings are £6,000 or less they are ignored. If your savings are between £6,000 and £16,000, they are taken into account. For every £250 (or part of) between £6,000 and £16,000 we will have to add £1 to your weekly income, unless you are over 60, in which case we add £1 for each £500 (or part of). If your savings are more than £16,000 you cannot claim. We do not count any actual interest you get on your savings.

The type of savings we count include: cash savings, building society savings, all bank and post office savings, premium bonds, National Savings Certificates, stocks, shares and unit trusts, the value of any land or property you own apart from your home, redundancy pay ( with some exceptions).

Non-Dependants

A non-dependant is someone who lives with you as part of your family but is not your partner. Examples of non-dependants are adult sons and daughters, elderly relatives or friends. Boarders, sub-tenants and joint tenants are not usually classed as non-dependants.

Normally, we take a certain amount off your weekly Housing or Council Tax Benefit for each non-dependant who lives with you. This amount is called a non-dependant deduction. The amount we take off your benefit depends on the circumstances of the non-dependant and how much income they get. The Government sets the level of non-dependant deductions and normally changes them every year. However if the claimant or partner receives Attendance Allowance or the care element of Disability Living Allowance there is no non-dependant charge.

In most cases the government expects other adults living with you to contribute towards your rent. Adults such as relatives, grown up children and friends who live with you are called non-dependants. We make a non-dependant deduction from your Housing/Council Tax Benefit for most people aged 18 or over who live with you. These deductions vary depending on their circumstances. We need proof of their income and savings.  No deduction is made for anyone under 18, or for Youth Trainees, full time students, (except during the summer vacation if they work full time), or anyone in hospital for more than 52 weeks or in legal custody.  If you are over 65 there may be a delay of up to 26 weeks before the deduction is applied. If you or your partner are registered blind, receiving Attendance Allowance or the care component of Disability Living Allowance then nothing will be taken off your benefit for non-dependants.

Backdated Benefit

Backdated housing and council tax benefit is benefit that may be paid to you for a period in the past when you were unable to claim because of certain personal circumstances.

We can backdate a housing benefit and council tax benefit claim for up to 52 weeks for you, counting back from the date we receive a written request from you, which states why you haven’t applied for benefit before. There must also be continuous good cause for not applying earlier.

You must apply to us in writing if you want your housing or council tax benefit backdated. Depending on what you tell us we may ask for supporting evidence, such as a letter from your doctor if you are/were ill.

We can only backdate your housing and council tax benefit if you are able to show us ‘continuous good cause’ why you did not claim the money at the time, so we need official supporting evidence.  This may be a letter from your doctor if you have been ill and were unable to put in an application or a letter from your Support worker or Social worker confirming your state of mind or situation.

Visiting Officers

This authority is compliant with a Government procedure called the verification framework. This means that sometime during the course of your claim you will receive visit/visits from a council officer. It is routine procedure in order to ensure that you are receiving the correct level of benefit.

Rent Officer

The Rent Officer sets the Local Housing Allowance rates for private rented property in Argyll and Bute. He also decides an appropriate rent for certain properties such as caravans, mobile homes etc.

If you wish to appeal against the rent officer's decision, you can only do this after you have moved into the property.  To appeal, you must let us know in writing, telling us why you think the decision is wrong, and we will get the rent officer to review his/her decision.
You cannot appeal the Local Housing Allowance rate.

If you are single and under 25, you will generally receive Housing Benefit based on the cost of renting single room accommodation with shared use of a toilet and kitchen facilities but without board. If you live alone and are aged 25 or under, the Rent Officer is likely to set a single room rent. Depending upon where you live, the single room rent could be as low as £35 per week. The condition of the property is also taken into account.  Any entitlement to Housing Benefit will be based on the Rent Officer's decision. This means that the rent your landlord is charging may not be completely covered by Housing Benefit.

A Pre-Tenancy Determination (PTD) is set by the local Rent Officer. It tells you, the landlord and us the maximum rent which we will use to work out your Housing Benefit and is only for caravans, hostels and accommodation providing 2 meals or more a day.

Once your rent level is set, unless there is a major change in the terms of your tenancy or household composition, or if you move house, it will remain at that level for 12 months.