What we don't pay for

The maximum amount of Council Tax Benefit you can receive is the full amount of Council Tax you are charged. We cannot pay benefit for water and sewerage charges.

If you live on your own, you will receive a 25% reduction in your Council Tax bill. For Benefits purposes, we will calculate your Council Tax Benefit on the new amount of Council Tax you are charged i.e. 75% of the full charge.

Rent

You may not be allowed benefit for all of the rent you are charged.

We cannot pay benefit for:

• heating
• hot water
• lighting
• cooking
• insurance
• other service charges which may be included in the rent you pay

Private tenants' rents will be based on the rent amount that the rent officer thinks is reasonable to charge for the property; this is called the weekly eligible rent. We advise that you complete a pre-tenancy determination form before you move into any privately rented accommodation, as this will let you know how much the rent officer thinks is a reasonable amount of rent to be charged.

Find out about Local Housing Allowance.