Bills and housing costs

Check with your local council to find out if they can give any discounts or help with council tax or rates.

If you are on a low income or claim benefits, local council tax reduction schemes can help towards the cost of your council tax. The way the scheme works is different across the UK.

You can apply if you:

• own your home
• rent your home
• are unemployed
• are working.

You may get a discount automatically. If you are not sure if you already have a discount or want to know if you are eligible, you should:

• check your bill
• contact your local council by visiting gov.uk/find-local-council

If you are a single person, have a second home or have adapted your home due to a disability, your council tax bill may be reduced.

• Single person discount
  You may get a 25% discount on your council tax if you are the only adult living in your home. Sometimes, you may live with other people who do not count towards your council tax. You can find out if you are eligible from your local council. There is more information on the Citizens Advice website.
• If you have a second home
  If you have a second home you do not live in for certain reasons, you may get a discount on your council bill. This could include:
  • an empty property that is unsafe to live in
  • a holiday home that no one lives in permanently – you may be able to get a short-term discount under certain circumstances
  • a home connected to your property that is used by a dependent family member or is empty.
• If you or someone you live with is disabled
  The council may reduce your bill if you can show that a disabled person lives there and there are some adjustments to the home as a result.

If you are claiming Universal Credit, you may be eligible for a Rate Rebate. You must be:

• living in a property you own
• renting from the Housing Executive or a housing association
• renting from a private landlord.

You are not eligible if you live in supported accommodation. You are also not eligible if you rent your home from a member of your or your partner’s family. Visit nidirect.gov.uk for more information on Rate Rebates.

How to apply

You can apply for a rebate online, by creating an account. You must then provide:

• your date of birth
• your postcode
• your National Insurance number
• information about your husband, wife or civil partner, if you have one
• information about other people living in the property, if they are joint owners
• information about who else lives at the property, if you rent
• your tenancy reference number, if you live in social housing
• your landlord’s information, if you rent.

If you are aged over 70 and live alone, you may be eligible for Lone Pensioner Allowance. This gives a 20% discount on your rates.

If you or someone in your household is disabled and adjustments have been made to your home as a result, you may be eligible for a rate discount. This gives a 25% discount on your rates.

Visit nidirect.gov.uk to learn more.

If you are worried about paying your mortgage payments, contact your lender as soon as possible. Lenders must look at ways to try and help you. They might allow you to:

• pay reduced mortgage payments
• stop mortgage payments for a set period – this is called a payment holiday
• only pay the interest on your mortgage for a set period
• extend the term (duration) of your mortgage
• review the interest rate you pay.

We have more information about managing your rent, mortgage or other housing costs. You can also call our financial guides for free on 0808 808 00 00 to discuss your options.

If you have a mortgage, you may have taken out insurance when you first bought your home. For example, you may have insurance that will pay your mortgage payments if you are off work. Or insurance that will pay off the loan if you are diagnosed with a life-threatening condition.

You may be able to claim on this insurance if you:

• have a cancer diagnosis
• are off work for treatment.

If you own your home, you may be able to get help from the government towards interest payments for your mortgage or loans you have to make improvements to your home. This help is a loan that you repay with interest. You usually need to be getting means-tested benefits to apply.

If you qualify, you can get help paying the interest on up to £200,000 of your loan or mortgage. This changes to £100,000 if you:

• are getting Pension Credit
• started claiming another qualifying benefit before January 2009, and you were below State Pension age then.

You must repay the loan with interest when you sell or transfer ownership of your home. Or you can move the loan to another property.

You can choose to start repaying the loan sooner. The minimum voluntary repayment is £100, if the balance is at least £100.

You should get independent financial advice about whether to proceed with a secured loan. You can speak to our welfare rights advisers or financial guides for more information. Call us free on 0808 808 00 00.

Phone calls are a great way to stay in touch with your friends or family, or with work. Phone bills are essential costs when you are unable to go out due to illness or if you are in hospital.

There are ways you may be able to reduce the cost of your phone and broadband bills:

• Check that you are on the best deal for your home phone and mobile phone, if you have them. You may be able to get a better deal with a different provider.
• Check if you could save money on your broadband bill. Some providers offer bundles where you pay 1 price for broadband, home phone and TV channels. Compare these costs with the price of buying each separately.
• Most monthly mobile tariffs include a set number of minutes to UK landlines and mobiles. If you have a high number of mobile minutes to use, use your mobile phone instead of your landline for calls.
• If you have a monthly mobile contract, you could save money by switching to a pay-as-you-go deal. If you do this, you can set a limit for how much you spend in a week or month. Remember to check if there is any charge for cancelling your contract first.
• You can also save money by making phone calls and sending messages online. You will need to download a free app such as Skype or WhatsApp.
• The website saynoto0870.com can help you avoid phone numbers that can be more expensive to call – these often begin with 0870, 0845 or 0844. It helps you find cheaper alternatives for many well-known companies.

If you need to repair, improve or adapt your home for health reasons, you may be able to get financial help from your local council or the Northern Ireland Housing Executive. This could help you:

• widen doors and install ramps
• improve access to rooms – for example, you may need to put in a stairlift or downstairs bathroom
• provide a heating system suitable for your needs
• adapt heating or lighting controls to make them easier to use.

To find more information about grants for home adaptations and how to apply:

• in England or Wales, contact your local council or visit gov.uk/disabled-facilities-grants
• In Scotland, contact your local council, call Care and Repair Scotland on 0141 221 9879 or visit mygov.scot/care-equipment-adaptations
• in Northern Ireland, contact your local health and social care trust or visit the Housing Executive website.

The council or Housing Executive usually sends a professional called an occupational therapist to visit you at home. They look at your situation and recommend what adaptations you need. You are also sent an application form.

The waiting list for a home assessment, and for help, can be long in some areas. You may not get a grant if you start work on the property before your application has been approved.

A grant for home adaptations does not affect any benefits you get.

In England, your council must provide information about getting a council home and how long it may take. You can ask them for this information.

In Scotland, organisations decide who gets housing based on points or banding systems. You can ask your local council or a housing association how long it may take to get a council home.

In Wales, your council will have a policy about who gets priority in each area. You can get a leaflet with information about allocations from your council housing office, in some libraries and community centres, or on GOV.UK.

In Northern Ireland, landlords use a points system to allocate housing.

In some cases, you may move up a waiting list based on your situation. This may be called reasonable preference. Having reasonable preference, or going up in priority, will not guarantee you a place.

When you apply to change priority, you should give your local council as much information as possible. You will likely need to provide letters from your healthcare team or social workers. The council may contact your GP.

The council will then carry out an assessment of your needs. You may need to find another option while you wait.

The council may be able to reduce or take away your priority if you recover from an illness that gave you extra priority.

Visit Shelter or Housing Rights NI for more information about priority groups and accessing council housing.

In England, you may be moved to a lower priority on the waiting list if you have missed payments before. This is especially true if the missed payments (arrears) are with a council or housing association.

Sometimes you can get your priority increased if you make a repayment plan and adhere to it for a set period of time. Check your council’s policy.

Council housing can take a long time to get.

In Northern Ireland, to stay on the waiting list, you have to renew your application every year.

You may need to find another option while you wait if you are:

• already in housing, but it is no longer suitable since your cancer diagnosis
• on the housing waitlist.

Learn more on the Shelter and Housing Advice NI websites.

Here are some things you may consider doing while you wait.

• Rent privately
  You may be able to find a landlord who accepts people currently getting benefits.
• Apply to more than 1 list
  In England, you can apply to council housing in multiple areas at the same time. You can join more than 1 waiting list.
  
  In Scotland, you can apply through a common housing register instead of filling in separate applications for each landlord.
• Apply to other registers or associations
  Some housing associations have their own waiting list. You can search for these and apply online.
• Housing swaps or transfers
  In some areas, you can find out if someone else is interested in swapping (exchanging) houses. Check with your council to see if they offer this service in your area. Some schemes can help you move to a council home in a different part of the UK.
• Apply for homelessness
  If you are homeless or think you soon may be, you can apply to the local council or the Housing Executive for help. You may be given temporary housing.