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    1. Home
    2. Property and housing
    3. A guide to rates
    4. Help paying your rates
    5. Rates Housing Benefit and Rate Relief
    Colour banner for pages about paying rates on your home
    Colour banner on a guide to rates pages

    Housing Benefit and Rate Relief for homeowners

    Homeowners who are pensioners can apply for Housing Benefit and Rate Relief to help pay all or some of their rates. The Housing Executive is in charge of the Housing Benefit and Rate Relief scheme for homeowners.

    Homeowners who can apply

    If both you and your partner (if you have one) have reached pension age you must:

    • not have capital over £50k
    • be an owner occupier
    • not be in a co-ownership or rental buy scheme
    • not already get Housing Benefit and Rate Relief from the Housing Executive
    • not already get Universal Credit

    State Pension age calculator

    You can use the Government State Pension age calculator to check your state pension age at: Check your State Pension age

    Receiving Universal Credit

    You can't claim Housing Benefit and Rate Relief to help pay your rates if you're of working age and can claim or already get Universal Credit.  You must apply for Rate Rebate if you want help paying your rates.

    • Homeowners and tenants applying for Rate Rebate

    Homeowners already receiving other allowances

    If you are entitled to other allowance schemes for rates, such as Disabled Person’s Allowance (DPA) or Lone Pensioner’s Allowance (LPA), this will not affect your entitlement to Housing Benefit and Rate Relief. You will need to apply to Land & Property Services (LPS) for these allowances.

    Your income and household

    To assess your application for Housing Benefit and Rate Relief, the Housing Executive needs information about your income and household circumstances.

    They’ll ask about:

    • you and your partner, if you have one
    • your children or anyone  living with you
    • anyone you share ownership of the property with, other than your partner
    • you and your partner’s income, including any benefits you already receive as wages,  grants, pensions (from your former employer), or any income you receive from  additional property or land you own
    • capital you and your partner have in stocks, shares, bank, building society  or savings accounts

    Applying for Housing Benefit and Rate Relief

    To apply for Housing Benefit and Rate Relief as a homeowner, you must complete an application form and send the form to the Housing Executive, along with supporting documents.

    • Apply for Housing Benefit and Rate Relief as a homeowner

    More useful links

    • Rate Rebate Scheme
    • Unclaimed benefits? Make the call

     

     

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    Rates Housing Benefit and Rate Relief

    • Housing Benefit and Rate Relief for homeowners
    • Housing Benefit and Rate Relief for tenants

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    What to do next

    Comments or queries about angling can be emailed to anglingcorrespondence@daera-ni.gov.uk 

    If you have a comment or query about benefits, you will need to contact the government department or agency which handles that benefit.  Contacts for common benefits are listed below.

    Carer's Allowance

    Call 0800 587 0912
    Email 
    dcs.incomingpostteamdhc2@nissa.gsi.gov.uk

    Discretionary support / Short-term benefit advance

    Call 0800 587 2750 
    Email 
    customerservice.unit@communities-ni.gov.uk

    Disability Living Allowance

    Call 0800 587 0912 
    Email dcs.incomingpostteamdhc2@nissa.gsi.gov.uk

    Employment and Support Allowance

    Call 0800 587 1377

    Jobseeker’s Allowance

    Contact your local Jobs & Benefits office

    Personal Independence Payment

    Call 0800 587 0932

    If your query is about another benefit, select ‘Other’ from the drop-down menu above.

    Comments or queries about the Blue Badge scheme can be emailed to bluebadges@infrastructure-ni.gov.uk or you can also call 0300 200 7818.

    For queries or advice about careers, contact the Careers Service.

    For queries or advice about Child Maintenance, contact the Child Maintenance Service.

    For queries or advice about claiming compensation due to a road problem, contact DFI Roads claim unit.

    If you can’t find the information you’re looking for in the Coronavirus (COVID-19) section, then for queries about:

    • Restrictions or regulations — contact the Department of Health
    • Travel advice (including self-isolation) — contact the Department of Health
    • Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccinations — contact the Department of Health or Public Health Agency

    If your query is about another topic, select ‘Other’ from the drop-down menu above.

    For queries about your identity check, email nida@nidirect.gov.uk and for queries about your certificate, email covidcertni@hscni.net.

    For queries or advice about criminal record checks, email ani@accessni.gov.uk

    Application and payment queries can be emailed to ema_ni@slc.co.uk

    For queries or advice about employment rights, contact the Labour Relations Agency.

    For queries or advice about birth, death, marriage and civil partnership certificates and research, contact the General Register Office Northern Ireland (GRONI) by email gro_nisra@finance-ni.gov.uk

    For queries about your GRONI account, email gro_nisra@finance-ni.gov.uk.

    For queries about the High Street Spend Local Scheme,  email HSSS.mail@economy-ni.gov.uk.

    For queries about:

    • Car tax, vehicle registration and SORN
      contact the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), Swansea
       
    • Driver licensing and tests, MOT and vehicle testing
      contact the Driver & Vehicle Agency (DVA), Northern Ireland

    If your query is about another topic, select ‘Other’ from the drop-down menu above.

    For queries about your identity check, email nida@nidirect.gov.uk.

     

    For queries or advice about passports, contact HM Passport Office.

    For queries or advice about Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs), including parking tickets and bus lane PCNs, email dcu@infrastructure-ni.gov.uk

    For queries or advice about pensions, contact the Northern Ireland Pension Centre.

    If you wish to report a problem with a road or street you can do so online in this section.

    If you wish to check on a problem or fault you have already reported, contact DfI Roads.

    For queries or advice about historical, social or cultural records relating to Northern Ireland, use the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) enquiry service.

    For queries or advice about rates, email LPSCustomerTeam@lpsni.gov.uk

    For queries or advice about  60+ and Senior Citizen SmartPasses (which can be used to get concessionary travel on public transport), contact Smartpass - Translink.

    If you have a question about a government service or policy, you should contact the relevant government organisation directly.  We don't have access to information about you.

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