Housing Benefit

Housing benefit helps people who are on a low income to pay their rent. You can claim housing benefit if you pay rent for a property you live in as your home.

* A Benefit Cap will be phased in from April 2013. It is not expected to affect claimants in Cardiff until the summer of 2013. The Benefit Cap is a limit on the total amount of benefit that working age people can receive. It will not affect those of pension credit qualifying age.

Housing benefit is reduced for council and housing association tenants who have one or more 'spare' bedroom. This does not affect those of pension credit qualifying age

If there is one spare bedroom, housing benefit is cut by at least 14%. If there are two or more spare bedrooms, it is cut by at least 25%.  

Two children are expected to share a room until they are aged 10, whether they are a girl or a boy. Two children of the same sex are expected to share until they are aged 16.

There are some exemptions to the size restriction including those of pension credit qualifying age, tenants in some types of temporary accommodation and tenants in supported housing.

The cap is set at £350 a week for single adults with no children; and at £500 for couples and families.

The cap is applied by reducing housing benefit payments.

More information can be found at www.cardiff.gov.uk/welfarereform