How much benefit will we pay you?

Universal Credit has been being rolled out across Doncaster and you may have to claim Universal Credit instead of Housing Benefit for help with your rent. You will still need to make a claim for Council Tax Reduction if you receive, or are making a claim for, Universal Credit. The amount of Housing Benefit, if you are still eligible to claim, and Council Tax Reduction we will pay you depends on your circumstances.

This includes:

• your Local Housing Allowance rate (if this applies to you)
• how much rent and Council Tax you have to pay each week
• how much money you have coming in each week
• how much you have in savings and investments
• who lives in your household
• the circumstances of other people who live with you
• the Benefit Cap (if this applies to you)

There is more information on who can claim on the Housing Benefit page.

If you can claim Housing Benefit and would like an estimate of how much Housing Benefit you might qualify for, please use our benefits calculator.

If your Housing Benefit is less than the rent you have to pay, you may be entitled to Discretionary Housing Payments.  But, we can only pay you Discretionary Housing Payments if you are suffering hardship and you have special circumstances.

If you are Pension Age you can also get Council Tax Reduction based on the circumstances of other adults who live with you. This is called Second Adult Rebate. The amount of Second Adult Rebate you are entitled to depends on the circumstances of the second adults: you could get 7.5%, 15% or 25% off your Council Tax. If you are a full time student you could get 7.5%, 15% or 100% off your Council Tax, depending on the income of the second adults. When you make a claim for Council Tax Reduction we will automatically work out if you are entitled to Second Adult Rebate and award the one which helps you the most.  

For more information on Council Tax Reduction, see the Council Tax Reduction page. 

For information on other Council Tax discounts and exemptions, see the 'Council Tax discounts and exemptions' page.