If you are a private tenant on a low income renting a house, flat or room from a private landlord, you may be entitled to Housing Benefit to help pay the rent. If you have a carer to help you, whether the carer lives with you or just sometimes stays overnight, you may be entitled to additional allowances.
Resident carers
There is an extra room allowance if your carer lives with you full-time.
Non-resident carers
A non-resident carer can either be a paid care worker or an unpaid carer – such as a relative – but their main home must be elsewhere. If your carer sometimes needs to stay overnight at your house in an available bedroom, you may be entitled to a higher rate of Housing Benefit. To qualify, you’ll need to:
- provide us with evidence that this type of care is required for you or your partner
- receive attendance allowance or disability living allowance at the middle rate or high rate
- confirm there is a person engaged in providing overnight care for you or your partner
- confirm the person stays regularly overnight to care for you but also has a home elsewhere
- have a spare bedroom
Of course, you cannot receive more money than the actual rent being charged by your landlord. Most people who live alone will only be entitled to claim up to a maximum allowance for a one bedroom property. These maximum allowances are set by Portsmouth City Council annually and are called local housing allowances.
For further information contact us at the Housing Benefit team:
E-mail: hbsupportteam@portsmouthcc.gov.uk
Tel: 023 9283 4556