Benefits

Benefits and Reduction information

Housing Benefit is national welfare benefit scheme to help people on low incomes pay rent for the home they live in. Housing benefit is also sometimes known as rent rebate, rent allowance and Local Housing Allowance.

Council Tax Reduction helps those on a low income towards paying Council Tax. It is now a local reduction scheme decided by local councils and is not a benefit payment.

The Council administers both of these schemes. The amount of help you get depends on a number of different criteria. This is explained on the pages below.

Benefit Changes from April 2013

You may be affected by changes being brought in by the Government. The changes mean some people will get less housing benefit and/or council tax benefit than they did before.

You will see your housing benefit cut if there is someone aged 18 or over living in your household for whom you do not claim benefit.

But perhaps the biggest change is to do with the size of your home - you might have heard this referred to in the media as the "bedroom tax". Changes from April 2013 mean Housing Benefit will be restricted for some people who are living in a property larger than their household size.

Visit the Benefit Changes pages for more information.