The number of people who live with you as members of your household determines how many bedrooms you need and the size of the accommodation you will qualify for under bedroom entitlement rules used to identify the appropriate Local Housing Allowance for private tenants. These rules are also used to see if working age social tenants are under occupying their homes.

Couples

Couples are entitled to one bedroom unless they meet the rules to qualify for an extra bedroom (see the end of this help page).

If you are private tenants claiming Housing Benefit as a couple and share facilities with other joint tenants you will only get the shared accommodation rate of Local Housing Allowance. This does not apply to couples claiming Universal Credit who are still entitled to one bedroom.

By couple we mean a man and a woman who are married or living together as if they are married, or two people of the same sex who are Civil Partners/Married or living together as if they were.

Single people

Single social tenants are entitled to one bedroom.

Single private tenants aged 35 or over are entitled to one bedroom under Local Housing Allowance rules in the same way as couples.

If you claim Housing Benefit and share facilities with other joint tenants you get the shared accommodation rate of Local Housing Allowance. If you claim Universal Credit you can still get the one bedroom rate.

Single private tenants aged under 35 are limited to the shared accommodation rate of Local Housing Allowance in both Housing Benefit and Universal Credit, even if they don't share accommodation, but there are some exceptions. For more information see shared accommodation rate.

Children

The number of bedrooms allowed for children depends on how old they are and their sex.

The bedroom entitlement rules assume that:

• two children aged 0-9 can share a bedroom whatever their sex
• two children aged 0-15 can share a bedroom if they are the same sex

Children aged 16-19 and non-dependants

Children aged 16-19 are counted as needing their own bedroom.

If your household includes any non-dependants (such as a grown-up child or a parent) they also count as needing their own bedroom. If any of the adults who live with you are in a couple then they count as needing one bedroom to share if you claim Housing Benefit but get a bedroom each in your entitlement if claiming Universal Credit.

When entering the number of adults who live with you do not include yourself or your partner, joint tenants or your landlord.

If your household includes adults who live with you the amount of benefit you get may be reduced if they are classified as non-dependants.

Joint tenants that share facilities

If you have a tenancy agreement where you and one or more other people are jointly liable for paying the rent then you are a joint tenant. This will be the case where you have one tenancy agreement covering a number of people.

For more information on how Local Housing Allowance rules could affect you please see joint tenants.

Sub-tenants/lodgers

Under Housing Benefit any sub-tenants or lodgers you have can be included as an adult occupant of your home when assessing your bedroom entitlement. However, the income you get from sub-tenants or lodgers is included when working out your benefits.

In contrast, under Universal Credit you will be able to keep in full all the rental income from sub-tenants or lodgers without it counted as income. However, lodgers, boarders and sub-tenants will not be counted as being entitled to a room when working out your bedroom entitlement.

This means for social tenants claiming Universal Credit, the room the lodger, boarder or sub tenant occupies will still be counted as spare and you could get an under occupation deduction on your UC Housing Element ("bedroom tax").

Qualifying for an extra bedroom - disabled or have a carer who stays overnight

The number of bedrooms a household needs can be increased in certain circumstances. Special rules affect the following groups:

• A disabled adult, child or non-dependant who needs overnight care from a non-resident carer or group of carers
• An adult couple who are unable to share a room because of a disability or a disabled child who would be expected to share a bedroom but cannot share because of a disability
• Foster carers between placements if they have fostered a child, or became a foster parent, within the last 12 months.
• Households with adult children in the armed forces who are away from home

If you qualify under any of these exemptions an extra bedroom can be included in your bedroom entitlement. You must actually have an extra bedroom to use for this purpose. The rules in this area are complicated and you may need to take advice on your individual situation. Please contact your local council for information on your entitlement.