If you live in a Housing Association property and you have 1 or more spare bedrooms, your Housing Benefit may be reduced.
This will affect you if:
- you are of working age
- you are sick or disabled
You will not be affected if:
- you live in a 1-bedroom property, or a studio flat
- you or your partner are old enough to receive State Pension Credit
You may also be entitled to an extra bedroom if you have a severely disabled child in your household who cannot share with another child due to medical reasons. For your claim to be reconsidered, you should write to us to describe your situation and provide supporting medical evidence.
The method for calculating your bedroom requirement can be found at Directgov
If you have 1 or more extra bedrooms the rent and eligible service charges used in the calculation of your rent will be reduced by:
14% if you have 1 extra bedroom, or
25% if you have 2 or more extra bedrooms.
If your benefit is reduced you will have to pay to your landlord the difference between your Housing Benefit entitlement and your rent - if you don't, your tenancy will be at risk.