About non-dependents
A non-dependant could be any friend or family member over the age of 18 living with you.
The Government expects most adults living with you to contribute towards rent. This means that changes to your benefits can happen whether the non-dependant is contributing to the rent or not.
There are some reasons why we may not change your benefits if you have non-dependents living with you.
It's up to you to let us know when a non-dependant starts living with you, either when they move in or turn 18.
If you don't tell us about non-dependents, you may get benefit overpayments.
How your benefits are changed
We base any change to your benefits on the weekly income before tax of each non-dependant person living with you.
You'll get a letter from us when you make a benefit claim which shows you:
- how we've worked out your weekly benefit amount
- the names of any non-dependant people living with you
- the amount your benefits have changed because of non-dependents living with you
You'll get another letter each time we review your claim.
You need to check these letters to make sure our information is correct. If anything is wrong, let us know by reporting a change in circumstance or emailing us at housing.benefits@brighton-hove.gov.uk.