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:

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

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.

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

Online benefits calculator

Local Housing Allowance monthly rates

Rates are calculated monthly. The rate for the month in which you take out a tenancy agreement is the rate which will be applicable until your annual review, unless you have a change of circumstance.

The shared room rate is applicable to applicants aged under 25, although this will apply to applicants aged under 35 from January 2012.

Find out which BRMA you are in on a map

The rates for April 2012 are:

	Bedrooms
	Shared	1	2	3	4
Oxford	342.98	675.00	800.02	950.00	1279.98
Cherwell	303.33	495.00	650.00	769.99	995.02
Cheltenham	286.00	475.02	610.00	725.01	1000.00

The rates for March 2012 were:

	Bedrooms
	Shared	1	2	3	4
Oxford	350.00	650.00	794.99	950.00	1275.00
Cherwell	300.00	495.00	650.00	755.00	995.02
Cheltenham	281.67	475.02	614.99	725.01	1000.00

The rates for February 2012 were:

	Bedrooms
	Shared	1	2	3	4
Oxford	346.67	655.337	794.99	950.00	1249.99
Cherwell	303.33	495.00	650.00	750.01	975.00
Cheltenham	281.02	475.02	599.99	725.01	1000.00