Benefit Changes 2013
Housing Benefit changes planned for 2013
The Government are planning some changes to Housing Benefit. We know exactly how some of these will work but others are still being talked about in Parliament. If you want to know more about this you can look at the Directgov website. This is the official government website and gives the most up to date information.
Link between number of bedrooms and amount you can claim - Housing benefit change from April 2013
The Government plans to put a limit on the amount you can claim depending on the number of ‘spare’ bedrooms you have. This is still being talked about in Parliament and may change or not happen at all. At the moment though, the Government plans to pay less benefit to people who are living in homes that have more bedrooms than they need. This will only affect people who are of working age (below 61 years of age). It will not affect people with disabilities. If this goes ahead as planned, it will not happen any earlier than April 2013.
If this change is introduced, you may wish to consider moving to a smaller house. See our page on 'Changing your home' for more details
Increase in Non-dependant charges - Housing benefit change from April 2013
A non-dependant is a person who lives with you that the Government says should help pay towards the rent,
From April 2013, if you have a non-dependant adult child, family member or friend living with you, their income could affect the amount of housing benefit you receive. This is called a non-dependant deduction. The higher their income, the greater the reduction in your housing benefit, which means you will have to pay more of your rent.
The table below shows the new charges for non-dependants working 16+ hours per week based on our 48 weeks rent payment cycle. Also refer to the associated library document on this page for more information about the new benefit rates based on 52 weeks rent payment cycle.
| Non-dependant earnings (weekly) |
2012/2013 Deductions (weekly) |
New rates from April 2013 Deduction (weekly) |
| Less than £122.00 | £12.40 |
Not yet known |
| £122.00-£179.99 | £28.44 |
Not yet known |
| £180.00-£233.99 |
£39.11 |
Not yet known |
| £234.00-£309.99 | £63.97 |
Not yet known |
| £310.00-£386.99 | £72.85 | Not yet known |
| £387.00+ | £80.00 |
Not yet known |
Please make sure that you and any non-dependants living with you consider the following advice to plan for how these changes may affect you:
• Check if your housing benefit claim details are up to date.
• Make sure you have the correct income details for any non-dependants living with you.
• Is your non-dependant contributing enough? As their income will reduce the amount of housing benefit you receive, they may need to contribute more.
• If rent arrears go up, even because of the non-dependant deduction, the whole household could be evicted.
If you are concerned about these changes or need more information, call our Income Management Team on 01332 711000.
Information for non-dependants
If you are an adult living with the tenant(s) of a council property, you are classed as a non-dependant. From April 2012, changes to the Housing Benefit rules will mean that your income could reduce the amount of housing benefit the tenant receives. This is called a non-dependant deduction.
The council tenant(s) you are living with will need to pay more of their rent themselves because of you, so make sure you are paying or contributing enough to the household budget.
Remember, if rent arrears build up, the whole household could be evicted.
Universal Credit – Housing Benefit change from October 2013
The Government plans to join up a number of separate benefits to make one single benefit. This will include Housing Benefit. The big difference is that Universal Credit will be paid straight to the tenant rather than to Derby Homes. This means that people who get Housing Benefit will have to pay that to Derby Homes themselves. There will be some exceptions to this and the exact way this will work is still be looked at by the Government. At the moment the Government plans to for this to affect new claims and changes to existing claims from October 2013. This may still change.
If this doesn’t change then at the moment the people that would be affected by Universal Credit after October 2013 are:
• New tenants signing for their tenancy on or after October 2013
• People who are already tenants and make a new claim for Housing Benefit after October 2013
• People who are already getting Housing Benefit but who need to change the amount of benefit they get after October 2013
