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Lone Pensioner Allowance

Ratepayers aged 70 or over who live alone may be entitled to 20 per cent discount on their rates. Tenants and homeowners are eligible for Lone Pensioner Allowance (LPA). Your social security benefits should not be affected because the allowance is not means-tested.

How to qualify for LPA

To qualify for LPA, you must be 70 or over and live alone. If you are over 70 and don’t live alone you may be entitled to LPA if you:

  • live with a carer who is not your spouse or partner
  • provide care for someone who lives with you who is not your spouse or partner
  • live with anyone who is under the age of 18
  • live with someone who has a severe mental impairment including your spouse or partner

Applying for LPA with the NI Housing Executive

To apply to the NIHE you can:

More details on how to claim the Lone Pensioner Allowance can be found  on the NIHE website

Applying for LPA with Land and Property Services

To apply to the Land and Property Serivce you must fill in an application form. You will need to sign the form and provide any documents to support your claim to the address shown on the form.

You can get an application form:

or you can write to:

Land & Property Services
Lone Pensioner Allowance
Lanyon Plaza
7 Lanyon Place
Town Parks
Belfast
BT1 3LP

Information you will need to provide

  • your National Insurance Number (on the form)
  • Proof of your date of birth using  a passport, driving licence, smart pass or medical card

Paying your rates

If you apply for help, you must still pay your rates bill while LPS assesses your application. If your application is successful, LPS will refund the amount you have overpaid or credit the amount due to your account.

A ratepayer can be awarded LPA along with Disabled Persons Allowance and Housing Benefit/Rate Relief.  Any award of LPA should not affect your entitlement to social security benefits.

If you want more information about help paying your rates, contact the outreach officer in LPS:

More useful links

 

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What to do next

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

What to do next

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.

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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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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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

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

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

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

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

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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.

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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.

What to do next

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

For queries or advice about property valuation, email:
valuation@lpsni.gov.uk

For queries or advice about land registry, email:
CustomerInformation.LandRegistration@finance-ni.gov.uk

For mapping queries, email:
Mapping.Helpdesk@finance-ni.gov.uk

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