The Housing Executive - Paying your rates (2024)

FAQs

Am I entitled to rates relief NI? ›

Rate Relief may be payable to you if you receive either no help or partial help with rates through the Housing Benefit scheme. The Rate Relief Scheme helps you if you are on a low income, and: you and your partner's total capital and savings do not exceed £16,000, if you are under pension age.

The rates you pay contribute to public services such as health, education, justice and other regional services.

To be eligible for Housing Benefit, you and your partner must be of pension age. You must be liable for paying rent or rates on a property you live in as your main home. To decide how much Housing Benefit you're entitled to, the Housing Executive compares your income with the amount the government says you need.

Under the House Sales Scheme, eligible tenants of social housing landlords have the right to buy their homes at a discount. They're tenants of the Housing Executive or registered housing associations. This scheme closed for tenants of registered housing associations in Northern Ireland on 28 August 2022.

The RSG budget is a discretionary amount of funding which is able to provide financial support to less wealthier councils as defined in Section 27 of the Local Government Finance Act (Northern Ireland) 2011 and Local Government (Rates Support Grant) Regulations 2011.

The Discretionary Housing Payment scheme allows us to provide extra help with your rent if your Universal Credit or Housing Benefit does not fully cover your rent charge. Each Discretionary Housing Payment is considered on a case-by-case basis and on its own merit.

Maximum LHA rates payable

The maximum housing benefit that you can receive cannot be more than the rent that you pay or the LHA evaluation, whichever is the lowest. The LHA rates for the area that you live in are published on the VOA website.

The number, age and sex of the people in your household affects your LHA rate. Most single private renters under 35 only get the shared accommodation rate of LHA - even if you do not share your home with others. But there are exceptions and some single renters qualify for a higher LHA rate.

If you and/or your partner have £16,000 or more in savings, you won't be entitled to Universal Credit. If you and/or your partner have any savings or capital of between £6,000 and £16,000, the first £6,000 is ignored. The rest is treated as if it gives you a monthly income of £4.35 for each £250, or part of £250.

If the equity split is amicable, buying someone out of a house and mortgage can take between 4 and 6 weeks. But if there are disagreements between how the equity is split, or you are struggling to find a mortgage lender who will lend to you by yourself, this can make the process take longer.

What is a local housing association? ›

Housing associations are not-for-profit organisations set up to provide affordable homes and support local communities. They don't make profits for shareholders. Instead, they invest all the income they make into delivering on their social purpose.

property in the ownership of the National Trust is inalienable - it cannot be sold on, or taken away from them.

Lone Pensioner Allowance (LPA) is a discount of 20% for ratepayers who are aged 70 or over and live alone. LPA is not means-tested so any social security benefits you receive will not normally be affected.

You can apply for an exclusion from rates if: you qualified for compensation from the local council because your home flooded after heavy rain or a tidal surge. no-one has continuously lived in your property for at least four weeks. your property was your main home before the flooding.

Most full-time uni students in Northern Ireland aren't exempt from paying domestic rates. So, you'll need to factor this into your budget. You can either make the full payment upfront or spread the cost over 10 months. Look into tax-free ISAs for students to get the most out of your savings.

Discretionary Housing Payment

If you rent from a private landlord and are entitled to the housing element of Universal Credit but it does not cover all of your rent, you may be able to get additional help with your rent from the Northern Ireland Housing Executive.