Housing Benefit is based on the money you (and your partner) have coming in, your savings, the number and ages of people in your household and how much rent you pay.
Deductions are made from your income for income tax, National Insurance and half of any pension you pay into.
If you pay for childcare (from a registered childcare provider), this can also be disregarded up to a maximum amount, depending on the number of children being cared for. Some state benefits are disregarded in full.
If you have more than £16,000 in savings you will not qualify for benefit unless you are over 60 and you receive Guarantee Pension Credit. The property you live in does not count as savings.
Students do not usually qualify for housing benefit but there are exceptions. Contact the Benefits Service using the contact details at the bottom of the page for more information.
If you rent your home from the Council or from another social housing landlord (housing association) we will only base your benefit on the number of bedrooms your household needs. If you have one bedroom more than you need, the rent that we base your benefit on will be reduced by 14%. If you have two or more bedrooms more than you need, the rent we base your benefit on will be reduced by 25%.
To work out housing benefit we use the Local Housing allowance. These figures are set by the Valuation office and you can find the amount that will apply to you on the Local Housing Allowance pages on gov.uk website (external link).
If you have not lived in the UK for the last 2 years you will be subject to the persons from abroad test.