Housing benefit

If you are having trouble paying your rent you may be able to claim housing benefit.

In this section you will find information on:

A number of changes to the current Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit and Council Tax schemes come in to effect from 1 April 2013, for more information see:

Benefit changes

Will you qualify?

Whether you qualify for help will depend upon:

Your income (includes your earnings, other benefits and tax credits)
Your savings (limited to £16,000)
The size of your family
The income of anyone else who lives with you (such as grown up children or parents)
Your rent

Complete our online benefits calculator for an estimate of the amount of benefit available to you:

Online benefits calculator

Local Housing Allowance rates

Housing benefits are calculated under the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) scheme and are based on the area you live in (known as the Broad Rental Market Area BRMA) and the number of bedrooms you require. The shared room rate is applicable to applicants aged under 35.

Find out which BRMA you are in on a map

2013 monthly rates

	Bedrooms
	Shared	1	2	3	4
Cherwell	303.33	505.87	650.00	775.02	995.02
Oxford	350.52	675.00	817.61	950.00	1300.00
Cheltenham	286.00	475.02	623.44	740.96	1022.02