Your eligibility for Housing Benefit or the Universal Credit Housing Costs element depends on your housing status.

Social housing tenants

Social housing tenants (people who rent from their local council or from a housing association) are eligible for help with all of their 'eligible' rent unless they have spare room, in which case the under occupation rules may apply. The calculator works out how much is payable. You may not get your rent paid in full if you have income or savings above a set amount or if you live with non-dependents.

Private sector tenants

Private sector tenants - people who rent from a private landlord - have their help with housing costs worked out based on the appropriate Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rate. Instead of being based on the actual rent you pay it is based on a standard allowance for each area and the property size your household is thought to need. For more information see Local Housing Allowance.

Mortgage or owned outright

Help is available for some people to meet the cost of interest payments on their mortgage. From April 2018 this help takes the form of a repayable, interest accruing loan not a benefit. In order to get this help you must be claiming Pension Credit, Income Support, Jobseeker's Allowance (income-based), Employment and Support Allowance (income-related) or Universal Credit. For more information see help with housing costs.

Shared Ownership

If you are buying a share in your home through a shared ownership scheme then you may be eligible to receive help to cover the rent part and a Support for Mortgage Interest loan to help with the mortgage interest. For more information see shared ownership.

Supported Accommodation

If you live in supported accommodation you will receive care, support and supervision from your landlord. In order to meet the definition in the benefits calculator you should only select this option if the care, support and supervision you receive is more than 'minimal'. This is because we assume that people selecting supported accommodation are exempt from the benefits cap and under occupation rules, and only where you receive more than 'minimal' support will this be true.

If you live in supported accommodation any help with housing costs will be covered by Housing Benefit, even if you are claiming Universal Credit for help with other costs. For more information see supported exempt accommodation or if you are in doubt please check with your landlord. If your accommodation is not exempt please instead select ‘tenant – social and voluntary’.

Temporary Accommodation

If your council has placed you in temporary accommodation as part of their homelessness duty while they find alternative accommodation for you, any help with housing costs will be covered by Housing Benefit - even if you are claiming Universal Credit for help with other costs.

Caravan /Mobile homes

Universal Credit - If you live in a caravan or mobile home, Universal Credit includes a housing element which can help with the rent and/or site fee (the payment for the site on which your caravan or mobile home stands). Please select 'Tenant - private sector' as your housing status and enter your rent and/or site fee in the rent box on the housing costs page of the calculator. Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rules apply so you cannot get more than the appropriate LHA rate for your situation.

Housing Benefit (for short tenancies) – If you live in a caravan or mobile home and are pension age (or working age and already claiming HB), Housing Benefit can help with the rent and/or site fee (the payment for the site on which your caravan or mobile home stands) if you occupy your home on a tenancy of 21 years or less. Please select 'Tenant - private sector' as your housing status and enter your rent and/or site fee in the rent box on the housing costs page of the calculator. You should also enter that you are exempt from the Local Housing Allowance on the housing costs page of the calculator as LHA rules don’t apply to mobile homes in HB.

Pension Credit (for long tenancies) – If you live in a caravan or mobile home and are pension age, Pension Credit can help with the rent and/or site fee (the payment for the site on which your caravan or mobile home stands), if you occupy your home on a tenancy of more than 21 years. Please select 'Mortgage or owned outright' as your housing status and enter your rent and/or site fee in the ‘Charges, ground rent and other housing costs’ box on the housing costs page of the calculator.