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Benefit cap

Will the benefit cap affect you?

The government is limiting the total amount of benefit you can receive.

This may leave you facing a shortfall.

If the total amount of benefits you receive each week is more than the maximum allowed, your Housing Benefit payments will be cut.

The current cap amounts for Greater London are listed below:

Couples (with or without children) or a single parent:

  • £442.31 per week

Single person without children or not living with your children:

  • £296.35 per week

The cap applies to the benefits you get as a household. It includes benefits received by you, your partner and any dependent children who live with you.

Will the benefit cap affect you?

The benefit cap will affect you if:

  1. Both you and your partner are 60 or under.
  2. You or your partner are not entitled to Working Tax Credit.
  3. No one in the household qualifies for the these benefits:

 

  •  Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
  •  Industrial Injuries Allowance
  • War Widow’s or War Widower’s Pension
  • Attendance Allowance (AA)
  • Employment Support Allowance (ESA) support element (work related activity
    group not exempted)
  • Personal Independence Payment from April 2013
  • Carer's Allowance/Guardian's Allowance

Talk to us

We have a dedicated team ready to help you through the changes

Tel: 020 7364 5015 (option 3, then option 3)
Email:welfare.reform@towerhamletshomes.org.uk

What to do if you’re affected by the benefit cap

Contact your landlord

If you’re worried about finding the money to pay your rent, the first thing you should do is to talk to your landlord to explain your situation and talk about what your options are.

If you rent a social housing property, your council or housing association might be able to offer you a cheaper property (if any are available).

Apply to your local authority for a Discretionary Housing Payment

You might be able to apply to your council to help in the short term with a Discretionary Housing Payment.

Draw up a budget

If you don’t already have a household budget (a list of all your income and outgoings) then now’s the time to draw one up.

And if you do have a budget, you will need to see whether you can still make ends meet after your Housing Benefit is reduced.

Look at ways to cut costs

You might also find it useful to read some of our pages on saving money on household bills.

Smart shopping: simple tips and tricks to save you money

Get help with your job search

More about finding a job on the GOV.UK website.

Take on more work

You could also consider taking another job, or working more hours in your current job.

Read our guide Second job tax and pay to find out more about tax when you’re working more than one job.

Get more information

Find out more about the benefit cap on the GOV.UK website.

This article is provided by the Money Advice Service.

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