For any charge to be eligible for housing benefit, it
has to be a condition of your occupation of the home: in other
words, it has to be a charge that you must pay in order to have
permission to stay in your home. Usually, if a payment you make for
the place you live is called "rent", then it is eligible for
Housing Benefit.
The amount of the rent that can be covered by housing
benefit is called the "eligible rent". Not necessarily all of the
rent is eligible, depending on the type of tenancy. If you are a
private landlord tenant, then the amount of eligible rent will be
restricted to a maximum amount called the Local Housing Allowance
(LHA), which is based on the number of rooms the law says you need
according to the number of people living in your house. The LHA for
any given number of rooms also varies according to the local
authority area you live in.
If you are a social housing tenant, then the amount
of your rent eligible for Housing Benefit is usually the full rent
if you have, or your partner has, reached the qualifying age for
pension credit. If you and your partner have not yet reached
pension age, see the section below on The bedroom tax in social
housing.
If your rent includes charges for specific services,
then they may be eligible for Housing Benefit, but in some cases
they may not be eligible. For a charge to be eligible, the first
condition, in every case, is that the charge has to be a condition
of you occupying your home. Specifically excluded from housing
benefit are fuel charges, unless they are for communal areas, water
charges, council tax, charges for meals, and some service
charges.
Some service charges are eligible for housing
benefit, and others are not. If you want further information about
housing benefit for service charges levied by your landlord, seek
advice.
Video transcript: