Eligible rent for
Housing Benefit
We cannot always treat the whole
of a tenant's rent as eligible for Housing Benefit:
- Housing Benefit cannot cover certain service charges, for
example charges for fuel and water
- If a landlord does not identify relevant charges, we may still
make a deduction from the tenant's benefit if we think it is part
of the rent. For example, we will do this for fuel charges if
tenants do not have their own gas or electricity bills
- For most claims from private tenants, the Rent Service decides
the maximum rent we can use for Housing Benefit. Sometimes the
maximum rent is less than the rent being charges by the
landlord
- Prospective tenants can find out
what their maximum Housing Benefit will be by asking for a
pre-tenancy determination. The Rent Service will then tell the
tenant and the landlord what the maximum rent will be before they
commit to a tenancy
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