Having problems paying your rent? You might qualify for Housing Benefit...
What is it?Housing Benefit can be claimed by people on low incomes who cannot afford to pay their rent. You may still qualify for housing benefit if you are working.
How much will I get?
This will depend on:
- The level of income coming into your home
- The number of non-dependants living with you
- The number of children living with you
- Any savings or other assets you may have
- The level of the rent
'Entitled to' is a web based benefits calculator (which includes housing benefit) and can be found here: http://www.entitledto.co.uk/entitlementcalculator.aspx. Complete the boxes with the relevant information, and the calculator will tell you how much Housing Benefit you are likely to receive.
Turn2us is another great website which provides a benefit checking service. A new advanced form-based checker which allows ‘what if’ calculations, to show the effects that claiming different benefits would have on a person's income.
Access the site here: http://www.turn2us.org.uk/benefits_search.aspx
How to apply
You will need to complete a claim form, and provide the information to go with it which is listed on the form.
The form and the information then need to be returned to Cornwall Council for assessment. Once a decision has been made, you will receive a letter from Cornwall Council confirming any entitlement.
Forms are available from our office, or by phoning us on 0808 2027728 or Cornwall Council on 01209 614000. Alternatively you can download a copy of the form by clicking here.
How we can help
We can help you fill in the housing benefit form. We can also provide benefit calculations, help and advise with claiming and backdate requests, and reduce overpayment recovery rates.
We are in regular contact with the housing benefit team at Cornwall Council. With your permission, we can establish where any problems are with a claim. We can then work with you to help overcome them.
Coastline’s housing benefit verification service
Many frontline staff at Coastline have been trained in housing benefit verification. This means checking that your claim and the supporting information are in order. So you can now hand in housing benefit claims and supporting information at our office. We will verify the information received and ensure it gets to Cornwall Council for assessment.
Our Income Management Team carry out arrears visits each week. They can collect outstanding documents from you such as birth certificates, verify them and submit them on your behalf.
Overpayments
If you receive housing benefit for a period where you were not entitled to it, or you receive more housing benefit than you were entitled to, this will create an overpayment.
Coastline's customers have their housing benefit payments sent directly to their Landlord. Overpayments are usually paid by in installments from your ongoing weekly housing benefit award. So because your housing benefit is paid to your Landlord, you will then need to make up this difference by paying any shortfall in your rent to your Landlord.
If you find the amount being recovered each week towards your overpayment is too high, and is causing you to struggle financially, you can ask the local authority to lower the amount being recovered each week. You will need to complete a financial statement and send it to the local authority for assessing. These forms can be accessed here.
If you need any help to complete a housing benefit form or a financial statement, a member of Coastline's Income Management Team will be happy to help.
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