Shropshire Council's Benefits Service may be able to help you pay your rent and council tax if you have a low income. You may have a low income because you:
- claim benefits
- are a pensioner
- have a low wage
The three types of benefit we can offer are:
Housing benefit
This benefit can help you pay your rent, whether you pay it to a private landlord, to a company (including housing associations) or to Shropshire Council. Housing benefit does not help with the cost of buying your home, for example by contributing to mortgage payments, or with day-to-day living expenses such as gas and electricity bills.
If you are entitled to housing benefit, we will pay you as follows:
If you are a council tenant we will pay your housing benefit straight into your rent account.
If you pay your rent to a private landlord (not a housing association), we can pay your benefit to you by direct payment into your bank or building society account
Please note that we can only pay your housing benefit to your landlord under exceptional circumstances, as detailed within our Safeguard Procedure. For more information on our Safeguard Procedure, go to our 'Local Housing Allowance' page.
If you pay your rent to a housing association, you can choose to have your housing benefit paid to you or your landlord by direct payment into you or your landlord’s bank or building society account.
Council Tax Benefit
This benefit can help you with your council tax payments to Shropshire Council.
If we assess you for this benefit and you qualify for help, any council tax benefit you get will be paid directly into your council tax account. We will then send you a new bill that will confirm the new amount of council tax you should pay. If you do not have any council tax to pay after your benefit has been used to reduce your account, your new bill will show this.
Second Adult Rebate
This benefit can also help you pay your council tax to Shropshire Council.
You only qualify if you are single (separated, divorced, widowed) and have other adults resident with you.
You cannot receive this benefit if you have a partner (including a civil partner) unless they are disregarded for council tax purposes. In order to get second adult rebate, the other adults living in your home must have a low income.
Any second adult rebate you get will be paid directly to your council tax account, and you will be sent a new bill showing the reduced amount you must pay. For more information on second adult rebate, please follow the link on this page.
Effect on other Benefits
Housing benefit, council tax benefit and second adult rebate will not affect your entitlement to any other benefits you may be claiming.
Please note that if you claim another benefit and you have a change of circumstances, it will affect both that benefit and your housing benefit, council tax benefit or second adult rebate. You must therefore tell the Benefits Service immediately in the event of a change of circumstances.
For other related benefits pages, please follow the links on this page.
These include links as follows:
- Directgov - the government's advice website for customers, containing useful information about various welfare benefits
- The Valuation Office Agency - the organisation that sets local housing allowance rates for housing benefit purposes
- The Citizens Advice Bureau, who are independent of the council and will assist you if you need help in querying any decisions we have made
- The Child Poverty Action Group - who campaign for the abolition of child poverty in the UK and for a better deal for low-income families and children
If you have any queries about the information contained within this page, or if you would like to provide feedback, please contact us. Please follow the link on this page to find out the various ways that you can contact the Benefits Service.