Support from Newport Council to help you pay your rent

If you are on a low income and cannot afford the rent for a property in the private sector you might be able to get financial support from Newport Council to help you meet the rent. To receive this you will need to make a claim for Local Housing Allowance from your local Council Housing Benefit Team.

If you are going to claim Local Housing Allowance, you should check what size of property is considered to be the right size for you and what the Local Housing Allowance rate is for the size of the property.

How to find out what size of home is the right size for you

It is important that you check this before you look for a property as the amount of Local Housing Allowance you will receive will affect the properties you can consider renting. The council will only pay you Local Housing Allowance for a property that has the right number of rooms for you and the people who live with you. If you rent a home that has more bedrooms than you need you will usually have to pay some of the rent yourself.

Also, the maximum Local Housing Allowance rate is for a four bedroom property. If you rent a property larger than this, even if your household is big enough to need a larger home, you will still only be paid Housing Benefit based on the four bedroom Local Housing Allowance rate.

How many bedrooms do I need?

You are entitled to one bedroom for each of the following members of your household.

a married or unmarried couple
a single person aged 16 or over
two children of the same sex who are under 16
two children (of the same or opposite sex) under 10
someone who doesn't normally live with you but who comes in to provide 'regular and frequent' overnight care needed by the Housing Benefit claimant or their partner (as long as there is a spare bedroom for that person to use).

If you are single and aged under 35 years old you will normally only be allowed Local Housing Allowance at the rate for a room in shared accommodation, even you are renting a one bedroom self contained flat. Self-contained accommodation is accommodation where you do not share facilities with anyone else.

There are a few exceptions to this rule for people who would be particularly vulnerable in shared housing. Check with the Housing Benefit Team if you think this may affect you.

You can use this information to work out the total number of rooms in a property that the council would pay for under the Local Housing Allowance rules.

What is the Local Housing Allowance rate for the property?

Once you have worked out the size of the property you are entitled to you should check the Local Housing Allowance rate for that size of home. You can request this information from the Benefits Team. This will give you a guide to the level of rent that you can afford to pay. If the rent on the property you wish to rent is greater than the Local Housing Allowance rate you are entitled to you will be responsible for paying the difference between the two from your own income.