If you rent and have too many bedrooms for the size of your family you may lose up to 25% of your housing benefit.
Under the new government rules you're entitled to 1 bedroom for:
Each adult couple
Any other person aged 16 or over
2 children of the same sex under the age of 16
2 children under the age of 10 regardless of their sex
Any other child
An overnight carer (who does not normally live with you).
You're also allowed an extra room if:
You've fostered a child or become an approved foster carer in the last 12 months
You have adult children in the armed forces (as long as they intend to return)
You have severly disabled children who are unable to share.
The bedroom tax will apply if:
- You and your partner need to sleep apart because of a medical condition
- Your children live elsewhere - but you have a spare room for when they stay with you
- You are 16 to 61 years old
- You only get a small amount of housing benefit
- You are sick or disabled.
The bedroom tax does not apply if:
- You live in a 1 bedroom flat or bedsit
- You or your partner are old enough to receive pension credits. In April 2013 the pension credit age will be around 61 years and 6 months. Use this calculator if you need to calculate your pension age.
OK. I have a spare bedroom. How will it affect me?
If you have 1 spare bedroom your housing benefit will be cut by 14% of the rent you pay every week. If you have 2 or more spare bedrooms you'll lose 25%.
Give me an example
If you get £70 per week in housing benefit - and have 1 spare bedroom - your benefit will be cut by 14%. This means you'll end up with £60.20.
These new rules apply from April 2013 - so now's the time to get help and support. Call us:
| I live in | My benefits and income advisor | Contact |
| North West, South West | Kerri Johnson | 01772 666209 |
| Samantha Duffy | 01772 667134 |
| North East, Yorkshire, Midlands | Peter Whittington | 0191 227 5211 |
| Lauren Clucas | 0191 227 5205 |
| London, South East, Milton Keynes | Bhavesh Kotecha | 0207 843 3800 |
| Magdalena Pietrzak | 0208 831 0918 |
| Scotland | Financial inclusion team | 0131 657 0658 |
The government is combining separate benefits into 1 single payment called universal credit. It replaces every other benefit including:
- Income-based job seeker's allowance
- Employment support allowance
- Income support
- Working tax credits
- Child tax credits
- Housing benefit.
What does it mean to me?
All your benefits will be paid in 1 single payment to your household. This will include your housing benefit - even if you've had it paid directly to us in the past. The roll-out of universal credit has already started in parts of the northwest.
To make sure you're prepared for the change you should:
Get a bank account
Set-up a direct debit to pay your rent.
Get some advice on how to budget on a monthly basis.
We can help you with all of this
Call us for free, confidential advice:
| I live in |
My benefits and income advisor |
Contact |
| North West, South West |
Kerri Johnson |
01772 666209 |
| Samantha Duffy |
01772 667134 |
| North East, Yorkshire, Midlands |
Peter Whittington |
0191 227 5211 |
| Lauren Clucas |
0191 227 5205 |
| London, South East, Milton Keynes |
Bhavesh Kotecha |
0207 843 3800 |
| Magdalena Pietrzak |
0208 831 0918 |
| Scotland |
Financial inclusion team |
0131 657 0658 |
The overall amount of benefit you can receive will be capped from April 2013.
The government will add up how much money you get from benefits including: housing benefit, jobseeker’s allowance, income support, employment support allowance, child benefit, child tax credit and carer’s allowance.
If the total comes to more than the maximum amount allowed your housing benefit payments will be reduced.
What's the maximum amount of benefit I can claim?
- Single parents - £500 per week
- Couples with or without children - £500 per week
- Single people without children - £350 per week
This will not apply if:
- You get pension credit or working tax credit
- A member of your household is claiming disability living allowance, attendance allowance, industrial injuries benefit, or the support element of employment support allowance.
What should I do?
Make sure you're claiming all the benefits you can. Call us for expert advice.
| I live in | My benefits and income advisor | Contact |
| North West, South West | Kerri Johnson | 01772 666209 |
| Samantha Duffy | 01772 667134 |
| North East, Yorkshire, Midlands | Peter Whittington | 0191 227 5211 |
| Lauren Clucas | 0191 227 5205 |
| London, South East, Milton Keynes | Bhavesh Kotecha | 0207 843 3800 |
| Magdalena Pietrzak | 0208 831 0918 |
| Scotland | Financial inclusion team | 0131 657 0658 |
The Department of Work and Pensions has created a series of guides to help you with the change to universal credit.
These guides are in PDF format. You probably have a PDF reader on your computer, but if you don't, you can download one here. All guides open in a new browser window.
| Guide | What's it about? | I want a PDF copy |
| Making your universal credit claim from April 2013 | The claim process for claimants in 'Pathfinder' areas of Greater Manchester and Cheshire. | Download |
| Your claim journey | The claim journey you'll go through if you live in one of the 'Pathfinder' areas in Greater Manchester or Cheshire | Download |
| Budgeting for universal credit | How universal credit will be paid and how to prepare for monthly payments | Download |
| Claiming online | How to claim universal credit online and the advantages of doing more online | Download |
| Your commitment | What will be expected in return for receiving universal credit | Download |
| Your family | Help provided to universal credit claimants with children | Download |
| Your home | Support with housing costs that's available through universal credit | Download |
| If you have a disability or health condition | Support that's available through universal credit | Download |
| Universal credit and other benefits | Information about other benefits that are changing | Download |
| Universal credit and work | Looking for work and what happens when you start to work or earn more | Download |
| Improving your skills for work | How universal credit supports claimants through training and preparing for work | Download |
| Self-employment | Support available if you run your own business | Download |