This content applies to Scotland only.

Housing laws vary between Scotland and England. Get advice relating to England

If you are between the ages of 16 and 35 and thinking about claiming housing benefit, find out more about how your age will affect your claim. This page explains about the different types of housing benefit that are available for young people.

What type of benefit will I get?

There are two types of housing benefit that help people pay their rent:

• council tenants or housing association tenants receive housing benefit,  
• tenants of private landlords receive local housing allowance.

How much housing benefit will I get?

If you are receiving jobseeker's allowance or income support, and you are renting from the council or a housing association then it is likely you will receive enough benefit to cover your whole rent. If you are working you will probably have to make up the difference from your own money.

For more information check the page on how housing benefit is calculated. 

How much local housing allowance will I get?

The local housing allowance you receive will depend on how many bedrooms you need for your household and the area in which you live. However, if you are under 35 and have no dependants then you will only receive the shared accommodation rate (see below) for that area.

Once the housing benefit department have worked out the maximum amount of local housing allowance you could receive, they will then work out how much money you should be able to pay from any income that you have, for example, wages, welfare benefits and savings.

The amount of local housing allowance that you get will be the difference between your maximum rent and how much the housing benefit department think you should pay towards the rent.

What is the shared accommodation rate?

If you are single, under 35 and rent from a private landlord, you will normally only be entitled to enough housing benefit or local housing allowance to cover the average cost of a single room in a shared house in your area. This is the case even if you rent on your own. This rule is known as the shared accommodation rate. It may not apply to you if you:

• are a single parent
• are living with a husband, wife, civil partner or partner (including a same sex partner)
• rent from the council or a housing association
• are under 22 and have spent time in care since the age of 16
• are severely disabled
• live with a non-dependant (someone over the age of 18 who is not your husband, wife, civil partner or partner)
• receive employment and support allowance credits only (instead of contribution-based or income-based employment and support allowance)
• are aged between 25 to 34 and have been living in a homeless hotel or hostels for the three months and have been offered support to help you become resettled into the community
• are aged between 25 to 34 and are an ex-offender who is still considered a risk to the public.

If you were able to pay your own rent when you moved into your home and you have not claimed local housing allowance in the past year, the shared accommodation rate will not be applied for the first 13 weeks if you claim local housing allowance now.

If the shared accomodation rate is causing you financial hardship you could try to claim a discretionary housing payment.

There are no deductions made from the shared accommodation rate for charges that would not be paid by housing benefit if you were over 35, such as charges for heating, hot water, lighting or cooking.

Extension of the shared accommodation rate to under 35s

On 1 January 2012 the shared accommodation rate was exended to cover people under 35. Previously the shared accommodation rate only applied to people under the age of 25. This means that if you are under 35, renting from a private landlord and have no dependants, the amount of housing benefit you receive may be reduced.

If you think this will affect you and you are worried about not being able to pay the difference between your rent and housing benefit, then you should get advice as soon as possible. Use our advice services directory to a find an adviser in your area or call Shelter Scotland on 0808 800 4444.