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A Guide to Claiming Housing Benefit - For Under 25's

This guide provides general information about claiming Housing Benefit if you are single and under 25 years of age.

For Housing Benefit purposes, being single means you do not have a partner who lives with you and you are not responsible for a child or young person.

Thinking of renting a property from a private landlord and you need help with rental costs?

You need to be aware of the following:-

  • From October 7th 1996 limits were imposed on the amount of Housing Benefit payable to single people aged under 25, living in private accommodation.
  • If you rent a self contained flat (e.g. a one bedroom flat) your Housing Benefit award will not be assessed on the actual property that you live in but will be restricted to a Single Room Rent.

What is a Single Room Rent?

A Single Room Rent is the most that the law allows to be paid to a single person under 25 living in privately rented accommodation.

It is based on the general level of rent in the private sector for a single room with shared toilet, bathroom, kitchen and living room.

The Benefits Section will calculate your Benefit entitlement based on the Single Room Rent.

There are exceptions to the Under 25 rules. Here are some examples:

  • if you meet the criteria for a Severe Disability Premium in the assessment of your Income Support/Job Seekers Allowance (Income Based) or Housing Benefit
  • if you are under 22 and were subject to a care order which continued to apply after your 16th birthday. (You will need to provide us with evidence. Your social worker should be able to supply you with this).
  • If you have one or more non-dependants living with you. (This does not mean sub-tenants, boarders or other joint tenants who may share your accommodation).

What happens when I reach 25?

Your Housing Benefit will automatically be reassessed using the Rent Officer's decision for your home, without the restrictions of the Single Room Rent. If this causes your Housing Benefit to change, we will write to you.

What happens if the benefit I receive is less than the rent I have to pay?

You may have to top up the difference between the amount of benefit paid to you and the amount of rent charged by your landlord.

For example, if you rented a property for £60.00 per week as a single under 25 person, living alone and in receipt of Income Support/Job Seekers Allowance (IB), the maximum Housing Benefit would be restricted to the Single Room Rent. If this were, for instance, £40.00 per week, you would have to pay your landlord £20.00 per week out of your own income.

If you were working, Housing Benefit could be restricted even further depending on the level of your income.

You could apply to us for something called a Discretionary Housing Payment to help with the difference between your Housing Benefit and your rent. However, this is not a payment of housing benefit and is not subject to the Housing Benefit rules. It is a limited fund and your claim may not be successful or any award made may only be paid for a short period of time. You can obtain further information about Discretionary Housing Payments by contacting your local area housing office or the Private Benefit Team.

For further information please use the contact us box or you can access copies of this leaflet by using the box at the right.

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