MISSING OUT on HOUSING BENEFIT
MILLIONS OF POUNDS ARE GOING UNCLAIMED
More than a million eligible families do not claim their housing benefits. Latest figures from the Department for Work and Pension (DWP) show that up to £4.2 billion worth of housing benefit went unclaimed by up to 1.3 million families in 2016/17.
That works out as an average £3,248 unclaimed by each family in the year.
In contrast, £23 billion worth of housing credit was claimed.
It means around two in every 10 people entitled to claim the benefit did not do so.
The 1.3 million families who did not claim the benefit is actually down from 1.4 the previous year, but up from 1.1 million families in 2012/13 when modern records began.
However, those 1.1 million recipients accounted for 17 per cent of eligible people who did not claim housing benefits.
It means the proportion of people who do not claim their housing benefit is on the rise.
Experts have said this is because of the stigma surrounding benefit claimants.
People are entitled to housing benefits if they pay a rent, they’re on a low income or claiming benefits and their savings are below a certain level (usually £16,000).
Housing benefit take up in 2016/17 was highest among single parents with children, with 87 per cent claiming the benefit - though that was still down from 90 per cent in 2012/13. Couples with children, on the other hand, were least likely to claim their housing benefit with just 59 per cent doing so. Again, this was down from 64 per cent in 2012/13. The DWP said it was difficult to explain why a person might not take their housing benefit.
They did say, though, that take up may be affected by factors such as the attractiveness of the benefit, lack of awareness of the benefit or application procedure, lack of awareness of entitlement, or the perceived stigma of receiving a benefit.
Matthew Geer, Campaign Manager at Turn2us, said: “It is frustrating to hear that 1.3 million families are missing out on the benefits they are entitled to.
“We regularly hear that the stigma surrounding benefit claimants is a major hurdle stopping people from asking for help. Serious action needs to be taken at both governmental and societal levels to help change this perception, before more families are dragged into poverty.
“The consequences of not claiming your entitlements can be huge. We hear from people every day that they have to make choices between heating and eating, and it extreme circumstances it ends in homelessness. “We recommend that anyone struggling to get by takes the time to do a benefit calculation and find out what they are entitled to.”