Adur District residents: The Benefits service for Adur District Council is provided by the CenSus Partnership Website, please refer to the CenSus benefits website for full details.
Worthing Borough residents: please refer to the information below 

What is Housing Benefit and 
Council Tax Benefit/Support?

See also:

Housing Benefit

The purpose of Housing Benefit is to help people who are on low income to pay their rent.

You may be eligible for help even if you are working (either on an employed or self-employed basis) because you do not need to be claiming a state benefit from the Department for Work & Pensions to claim.

You can be renting your accommodation from either a private landlord or a housing association, but you will not be eligible for any help if your landlord is a close relative and they live at the same address - for example, adult sons and daughters who live at home with their parents.

Housing Benefit cannot help with mortgage costs.

How to claim

See also: Discretionary Housing Payments

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Council Tax Support Scheme

Adur residents

Adur residents should refer to the Council Tax Support Scheme on the CenSus Partnership website.

Worthing Residents

From 1st April 2013 the national scheme for Council Tax Benefit for working-age customers is being abolished and each Council is able to design its own Council Tax Support Scheme.

The Members (Councillors) of Worthing Borough Council have decided that, as far as possible, the level of support that is provided to working-age customers during 2013/14 should be calculated using the same principles that have been used during 2012/13.

The policy for Council Tax Support in respect of 2013/14 is available below:

See also: Council Tax Benefit/Support (below)

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Council Tax Benefit/Support

The purpose of Council Tax Benefit/Support is to help people who are on a low income to pay their Council Tax. As with Housing Benefit, you may be eligible for help even if you are working (either on an employed or self-employed basis) because you do not need to be claiming a state benefit from the Department for Work & Pensions or The Pension, Disability and Carers Service to claim.

There are two types of benefit:

  • Main Council Tax Benefit/Support: which is based on the low income of the person responsible for paying the Council Tax
  • Second adult rebate: which is based on the low income of a second adult living in the property. It compensates for the loss of the 25% Single Person Discount that is awarded when someone lives on their own

For the purposes of Second Adult Rebate, a second adult is someone other than the customer's partner, a joint owner or tenant, or a boarder, lodger or sub-tenant. There can be more than one 'second adult' in the property, but the person liable to pay the Council Tax must apply for Second Adult Rebate (by completing a claim form) and supply the income and capital details of the second adult(s).

How to claim

See also: Council Tax Support Scheme (above)

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Other Benefits

Other benefits may be available to you, please check the benefits and financial support information on the gov.uk website.

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