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Whats New?

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This page provides information on recent changes made to the benefit rules, see how these important changes could affect you.

Non dependant deductions will increase from April 2012

The amount deducted from weekly Housing and/or Council Tax benefit awards for each non dependant in a household will be increasing, the new deduction rates will automatically be applied to any benefit you are awarded from April 2012.

The table below shows the new weekly non dependant deductions rates that will apply from April 2012.

Description of the non dependant	Council Tax benefit deduction	Housing benefit deduction
Aged 18 or over and not in remunerative work:	£3.30	£11.45
Aged 18 or over and in remunerative work:
- gross income: less than £124.00	£3.30	£11.45
- gross income: £124 to £182.99	£3.30	£26.25
- gross income: £183 to £237.99	£6.55	£36.10
- gross income: £238 to £315.99	£6.55	£59.05
- gross income: £316 to £393.99	£8.25	£67.25
- gross income: over £394	£9.90	£73.85
Aged 18 – 25 receiving IS, JSA(IB) or ESA(IR) assessment phase	No deduction	No deduction
Aged 25 or over receiving ESA (IR) assessment phase	No deduction	No deduction
Aged 18 – 25 receiving ESA (IR) main phase	No deduction	£11.45
Aged 25 or over receiving IS, JSA(IB), ESA(IR) main phase	No deduction	£11.45

Changes for Single people aged under 35 from January 2012

Single people under the age of 25 living in accommodation that they rent from a private landlord have their Housing Benefit calculated on the shared accommodation rate.

From 1 January 2012 this will be extended to people aged under 35, as a result single people aged under 35 will no longer receive Housing Benefit based on one bedroom self-contained accommodation.

More information regarding these changes, including how it will affect existing claimants aged 25 to 34 can be found in our Changes for people aged under 35 leaflet.

Local Housing Allowance (LHA) changes from April 2011

There have been several changes made to the Local Housing Allowance rules including:

The maximum £15.00 weekly Housing Benefit excess will end, this means your Housing Benefit will never exceed your rental charge
Local Housing Allowance will be restricted to a maximum 4 bedroom rate
You may be allowed an extra bedroom for a non-resident overnight carer

A transitional protection period may apply to some claimants who are affected by the new LHA changes, more information regarding the new LHA changes and how they affect you can be found on the LHA Direct & Direct.gov websites.