Changes to Single Benefit Claimants aged under 35 on 1 January 2012

The Government has just announced plans to bring forward changes that will effect the entitlement to housing benefit for single claimants who are aged under 35.

From 1 January 2012 single claimants who are aged under 35 will only be entitled to have their housing benefit assessed based on a shared room level of the Local Housing Allowance or the Single Room Rent if subject to a rent referral.

This means that any housing benefit entitlement will be severly restricted.

The changes are:-

• single claimants under age 35 making new claims to HB on or after 1 January 2012 will be entitled to the shared accommodation rate rather than the one-bedroom self-contained rate

• existing claimants at that date who are receiving transitional protection from the April 2011 LHA changes will move to the shared accommodation rate at the same time as their transitional protection ceases. This includes both the single room rent for pre-LHA cases and what was formerly known as the shared room rate for LHA cases.

• existing claimants not receiving transitional protection, i.e. those whose claims are made on or after 1 April 2011 but before 1 January 2012, will move to the shared accommodation rate on the anniversary date of their claim

• pre-LHA cases will move to the shared accommodation rate (previously known as the single room rent) on the annual review of their case.