Only if you live in an independent home can you receive housing allowance. Usually this is not the case if you live in student rooms.
When is your room an independent home?
Your room is a ‘self-contained living space’ if you have your own entrance door that you can lock inside and out. And you must have your own kitchen and your own toilet. Do you share the toilet or kitchen with others? Then it is not an independent home.
Do you share a home with other students?
Do you not live in rooms, but do you rent an independent home together? Then you can apply for rent allowance for the entire house together. The applicant is the person listed on the lease. We then see the other residents as fellow residents. To receive housing allowance, you must meet the conditions for housing allowance.
However, rent allowance for ‘designated’ student housing
Do you have a non-self-contained room in a somewhat older student complex? If your room has been designated for the rent allowance before 1 July 1997, you can sometimes receive rent allowance. But how do you find out if your room is designated as such? This is usually stated on the student housing site. Is there nothing there? You can always check it with the landlord.
