Benefits for Students in Scotland Handbook 2020/21Part 1: Benefits and tax creditsChapter 6: Housing benefit 2. Who is eligible
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2. Who is eligible
To qualify for housing benefit (HB), you must be a student who is eligible to get HB (see below), your accommodation must be eligible for HB (see here) and you must satisfy the basic HB rules (see here). As new claims cannot usually be made (see above for exceptions), most students getting HB will be those who were already on HB before starting the course, and who are eligible for HB as a student. If you cannot claim HB, you may be able to get help with your rent through universal credit (UC; see Chapter 11).
Full-time students
If you are a full-time student ‘attending or undertaking a full-time course of study’, you cannot normally get HB.1Regs 53(1), definition of ‘full-time student’, and 56(1) HB Regs However, there are exceptions for some students.
You start being a student from the first day you attend or undertake the course. You stop being a student after the last day of the final academic term in which you are enrolled, or from the day you finally abandon your course or are dismissed from it.2Reg 53(1), definition of ‘last day of the course’, and (2)(b) HB Regs
 
1     Regs 53(1), definition of ‘full-time student’, and 56(1) HB Regs »
2     Reg 53(1), definition of ‘last day of the course’, and (2)(b) HB Regs »
Who counts as a full-time student
In most cases you are treated as a full-time student if your college or university says your course is full time.
If you are at a further education college, not on a higher education course, and your course is government funded, a learning agreement from the college shows how many hours are involved in the course and a 16/21-hour rule determines whether it is full or part time.1Reg 53(1), definition of ‘full-time course of study’, HB Regs The rules on whether or not you count as a full-time student are the same as for income support (IS), except that there is no 12-hour rule if you are claiming HB and are aged under 20 and in relevant education. In this case, the 16/21-hour rule applies (see here).
Guidance states that postgraduates stop being treated as full-time students for HB purposes when their course ends. If you go on to do further research or write up a thesis, whether or not you are regarded as full time depends on how much work you are doing at the time, not on whether the course is full time.2para 2.354 C2 GM
 
1     Reg 53(1), definition of ‘full-time course of study’, HB Regs »
2     para 2.354 C2 GM »
Who can get housing benefit
You are eligible for HB as a full-time student if you are in one of the following groups.1Reg 56(2) HB Regs
    •You are under 21 on a full-time course of non-advanced education (see here) (benefit can continue if you turn 21 on your course, but stops once you turn 22), or you are a child or qualifying young person for child benefit purposes (see Chapter 2), even if no one gets child benefit for you.2Reg 56(2)(h) HB Regs Note: if you are a care leaver and are aged 16 or 17, you cannot get HB, even if you come into one of the groups below, because the local authority should be supporting you.
    •You are on IS, income-based jobseeker’s allowance (JSA) or income-related employment and support allowance (ESA), or UC and are not eligible for help with housing costs within UC (ie, because you are in specified or temporary accommodation).3Reg 56(2)(aa) HB Regs
    •You are a lone parent of a child under 16, or under 20 if s/he is still a qualifying young person (see here). Lone parents can only usually get IS until their youngest child’s fifth birthday (see here). If your IS stops, make sure you tell the local authority that pays your HB.
    •You or your partner have reached pension age. Pension age reached 66 in October 2020. For more details, see CPAG’s Welfare Benefits and Tax Credits Handbook.
    •You qualify for a disability premium or severe disability premium with your HB – eg, you get disability living allowance, personal independence payment or long-term incapacity benefit (IB), or are certified as severely sight impaired or blind. See here–here for details. Note: you cannot qualify for a disability premium if you have limited capability for work.4Sch 3 paras 12 and 13(9) HB Regs
    •You have been incapable of work for the last 28 weeks. Since 27 October 2008, new claimants are assessed under the limited capability for work test (see below). However, the previous incapacity for work test may still apply to you if you are already getting IB, or IS on the basis of disability.
    •You have had limited capability for work for the last 28 weeks and you continue to have limited capability for work. You should claim ESA to have your limited capability for work acknowledged (although you do not have to get any ESA to qualify). You can add together weeks of limited capability for work on either side of a gap of up to 12 weeks.
    •You get a disabled students’ allowance because of deafness. You are eligible for HB from the date you apply for the allowance.5Reg 56(2)(i) HB Regs However, if you are still waiting to hear about the allowance, the local authority may postpone making a decision on your HB claim, but should then fully backdate your benefit.6para 2.30 C2 GM
    •You are in a couple, your partner is also a full-time student and you have a dependent child under 16, or under 20 if s/he is a qualifying young person (see here). If you are on IS or income-based JSA, remember that if these benefits stop, you must tell the local authority so it can reassess your HB. If your partner is not a student, s/he can get HB for both of you, whether or not you have a child.
    •You are single and caring for a child boarded out with you by the social work department.
 
1     Reg 56(2) HB Regs »
2     Reg 56(2)(h) HB Regs »
3     Reg 56(2)(aa) HB Regs  »
4     Sch 3 paras 12 and 13(9) HB Regs »
5     Reg 56(2)(i) HB Regs  »
6     para 2.30 C2 GM »
Studying part time
You can get HB throughout your studies. You must meet all the basic rules below, including being liable for rent and being in eligible accommodation. You are a part-time student if you do not count as a full-time student under the definition on here. The rules on who counts as full time are the same as those for IS, with one exception. If you are under 20 and in ‘relevant education’, there is no 12-hour rule. The 16/21-hour rule applies to you if you are on a non-advanced course, whatever your age.