We are responsible for Housing Benefit and apply any Council Tax Reduction for people living in Oxford.
Housing Benefit helps people on low incomes, to pay their rent. It can cover rent to a private landlord, to Oxford City Council or to a hostel or guesthouse. It may not cover all of the rent you are charged. You will need to pay for any part of your rent that is not covered by Housing Benefit. Housing Benefit is also sometimes called Rent Allowance or Rent Rebate.
If you have a low income, you may be entitled to a Council Tax Reduction. If you are a full-time student you will not usually have to pay Council Tax. If your partner is a student but you are not, you may be able to receive a Council Tax Reduction.
If you are in or out of work, you don't have to receive any other benefit to claim Housing Benefit or a Council Tax Reduction.
Welfare Reform and Benefit Changes from 2013 Onwards
From April 2013 there will be many changes to the way Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction is paid. Visit our Welfare Reform and benefit changes from 2013 onwards page.
There have also been changes to the amount of Housing Benefit which can be awarded to people aged 25-34 who live by themselves in privately rented accommodation. Please see our list of Frequently Asked Questions about this change.
All Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction Scheme Services
More information
- Other People Who Live With You - information on how benefits are affected if certain other adults live with the claimant. Advice of Second adult rebate
- Students - information on how benefit is affected if somebody is a Student
- Self-employed - information on claiming benefits if you are self-employed
- People from abroad - information about claiming benefits for people from abroad
- Child-care costs - information about how your child-care costs may affect your entitlement to Housing and Council Tax Benefit
- Benefit on Two Homes - the conditions needed to claim benefit on more than one property at the same time
- Extended benefit payments - information about when you might qualify for an extended benefit payment
- Temporary Absence from home - what you should do if you are going to be absent from a property that you are receiving benefit for
Other Benefits
Other types of benefits are dealt with by various other organisations. For information on how to find out about other benefits available to you, visit our Other Benefits page.
Privacy notice
Oxford City Council will use the information we hold about you to process your claim for Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax Reduction.
We may pass the information to other agencies or organisations such as the Department for Work and Pensions or HM Revenues and Customs, as allowed by law.
We may check information you have provided, or information about you that someone else has provided, with other information held by us.
We may also get information about you from certain third parties, or give them information to:
- Prevent or detect crime;
- Protect public funds; and
- Make sure the information is correct.
These third parties include government departments, local authorities and private-sector companies such as banks, organisations that may lend you money and companies that assist us in fraud detection and prevention such as Credit Reference Agencies.
We will not give information about you to anyone else, or use information about you for other purposes, unless the law allows us to.
Page last updated 27 March 2013
