Eligibility for extra Housing Benefit

You may get extra money included in your Housing Benefit payments, if:

  • You or a member of your family is disabled, or
  • You pay for childcare whilst working

Any money you are eligible for is included in your benefit payments automatically, so you do not have to apply separately.

Extra money will be included in your benefit payments if you are eligible for a premium:  

  1. Disability Premium
  2. Severe Disability Premium
  3. Disabled Child Premium
  4. Childcare disregard
  5. Family Premium (only for claims made before April 2016)

Disability Premium

You and your partner must be under  and either:  

  • registered blind (or recently regained your sight)
  • receive one of these benefits:
    • Disability Living Allowance
    • Personal Independence Allowance
    • Personal Independence Payment
    • Attendance Allowance or a benefit treated as Attendance Allowances
    • War Pensioner's Mobility Supplement
    • Working Tax Credit with a disability or severe disability element
  • have a mobility vehicle from the NHS
  • get the Department for Work and Pensions payments for car running costs
  • are unable to work because of a disability and meet these conditions:
    • you count as disabled or long term sick and you get Severe Disability Allowance or the long term rate of Incapacity Benefit
    • you are unable to work and haven't been able to for 28 weeks if you are terminally ill or 52 weeks in any other case

You are not eligible if you have, or are treated as having limited capability for work (you get Employment and Support Allowance).

Severe Disability Premium

You must get either:

  • Disability Living Allowance care component at the middle or highest rate
  • Attendance Allowance at either rate, or a benefit treated as Attendance Allowance
  • Personal Independence Payment daily living component

You are not eligible if:

  • You have a non-dependant adult living with you
  • Someone is getting Carer's Allowance for looking after you

If you are in a couple, you and your partner must both be eligible unless one of you is registered blind.

Disabled Child Premium

You are eligible for the Disabled Child Premium if your child:

  • is registered blind, or
  • gets Disability Living Allowance or Personal Independence Payment

Childcare disregard

Your child must be under 11 years old.

You must be either:

  • A lone parent working 16 hours or more per week
  • One of a couple both working 16 hours or more per week
  • One of a couple where one member is working 16 hours or more per week and the other member is incapacitated. You are incapacitated if you either:
    • Receive short term higher rate or long term rate of Incapacity Benefit
    • Receive severe Disablement Allowance
    • Receive Attendance Allowance, Disability Living Allowance or Constant Attendance Allowance (or an equivalent award under the War Pension or Industrial Injuries Schemes) or you would be in receipt of one of these benefits but you or are your partner are in hospital
    • Receive Mobility Allowance or have an invalid carriage or similar vehicle
    • You have been treated as incapable of work for a continuous period of 196 days or more

The care must be provided:

  • By a registered child care provider
  • By a school on school premises or a local authority minder where the child is aged between 8 and 11
  • By a childcare scheme operating on Crown property
  • In a school or establishment exempt from registration
  • By an organisation accredited by the Secretary of State for Education and Employment under the scheme established by the tax credit regulations

Family Premium

If you made a claim for Council Tax Support before April 2016, you can still get the Family Premium.

You won't be able to get the Family Premium if you:

  • made a claim on or after 1 May 2016
  • currently claim but are no longer responsible for any children or young people
  • become responsible again for any children or young people in the future after your Family Premium ended