You can get housing benefit towards almost any kind of rent, whether paid to a local authority (including a health authority), the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, a housing association, a co-op, a hostel, a bed and breakfast hotel, a private company or a private individual (including a resident landlord – but see Box F.7 ). This is the case whether your letting is a ‘tenancy’ or ‘licence’, whether your payments are for ‘rent’, ‘use and occupation of the dwelling’, ‘mesne profits’ or ‘violent profits’, or whether you have a written or a verbal letting agreement.

If you are buying a share of your home through a shared ownership scheme but still pay rent, you can get housing benefit towards the rent (and you may also get support for mortgage interest loans – see Chapter 24).

You can also get housing benefit towards the following, which count as ‘rent’ for housing benefit: