Housing Benefit For Benefit Assessors

What you'll learn: 

• By the end of the course, delegates will be able to:

• Describe how and where customers can claim Housing Benefit

• Explain when HB can be paid on two homes and where the claimant is temporarily absent from their home.

• Clarify how to work out the ‘date of claim’ and the date that entitlement should start

• Explain how to work out the eligible rent and the maximum rent for HB purposes

•  State how to work out if a household is ‘under-occupying’ the dwelling and how to reduce their HB entitlement

• Describe how to calculate the claimant’s capital and income that should be used in the assessment

• Explain how and when to apply a non-dependant deduction

• Explain how to work out a claimant’s applicable amount

• Manually calculate Rent Rebate, Rent Allowance, Local Housing Allowance and Council Tax Support entitlement.

• State the difference between a ‘revision’ and a ‘supersession’

• Explain the significance of correctly classifying HB overpayments

• List at least 2 indicators of possible fraudulent activity in a claim

Who's it for?

There are no formal pre-requisites for this course; the course is equally suited to new staff as an induction and to more experienced staff who need to update their skills:

• New assessment staff

• Experienced assessment staff

• Team Leaders and Managers 

How it's delivered: 

This course is delivered ‘live on-line’ with a trainer and can be accessed via a PC, Mac or Tablet. With live online, you can interact, ask questions and practice new skills – all without leaving your desk! Perfect for dispersed teams working from home.  

Pricing:

Please get in touch for a quote if you'd like to book this as a private course for people in your organisation.

Content:

Day One: 

Data Protection

• The principles of Data Protection (GDPR compliance)

• Disclosure of data

State Benefits

• Overview of state benefits scheme

• Means tested/non-means tested benefits

• Basic rules for claiming Universal Credit

• Total Benefit Cap

• Help and advice for claimants

• Sources of information

Making a claim

• The application form

• When and where claims may be made

• Pensioner claims

• Date of claim

• Standard claims

• Passport claims

• New liability

• Entitlement date

• Backdating

Day two:

Occupation and Liability

• Liability to pay rent

• Persons treated as not liable to pay

• Occupation as a home

• Benefits on two homes

• Absence from home

• Contrived rent liabilities and non-commercial agreements

Rent

•   Housing Benefit or Local Housing Allowance?

•   Liability to pay rent

•   Eligible / ineligible services

•   Maximum rent

•   Rent Restrictions

•   Size criteria

•   Broad rental market areas

•   Applying the LHA

•   Payment on Account

Removal of the Spare Room Subsidy

•   Under occupation

•   Percentage reductions

•   Foster carers

•   Temporary absence from home i.e. students / armed forces

•   Protection from the reduction / DHP

Day three

• Capital

•  What is capital?

•  Tariff income

•  Valuation of capital

•  Pensioners

Income

•   Unearned income

•   Pension Credit

•   Earnings and disregards

•   Childcare costs

•   Household and applicable amounts

•   Household composition

•   Civil partnerships

•   Applicable amounts

•   Non-dependants and deductions

Day four

• Evidence and supporting information

• Interventions

• Identity and NI number

• Evidence of income, rent, changes of circumstance, etc.

• How evidence is requested

• Final calculation of benefits

• Payment of HB / LHA

• How and who we pay

• 8 weeks arrears and disputes

• Advance or arrears payments

• Safeguards for LHA claimants

• Deductions from payments

• Shortfall of benefit

• Discretionary housing payments

Day five

Suspending Payments

• Suspension and stopping payments

Change in circumstances

• Revision/Supersession

• Change of address / liability frequency / rental amount

• Death of claimant

•  tarting work and extended payments

•  Non-dependents

• LHA changes

• Pensioner rules

Overpayments of benefit

•   Period and calculation of overpayment

•   Classifying the overpayment

•   Underlying entitlement and offsetting

•   Recoverability and choosing from whom to recover

•   How to recover overpayments

Decisions, notifications and appeals

•   Disputes and reconsiderations

•   Appeals

Fraud

•   Types of fraud / indicators