Dealing with the benefit cap

The benefit cap affected around 86,000 households in May 2023.

9 out of 10 affected households are families with children.

The benefit cap limits how much most working age people can get from benefits.

You could be affected if you:

are working age
would get more in benefits than the cap
have children or live in an area with high private rents

Find out which benefits are included in the cap on GOV.UK

Housing benefit is not included if you live in a homeless hostel, refuge and most types of supported or temporary housing.

How much is the benefit cap?

The rates on this page apply from April 2023.

The cap is different inside and outside London.

Table: Living in a London borough

This is the most you can get if you're affected by the cap and live in London.

The figures in this table are rounded to the nearest pound.

	Monthly	Weekly
Families with children	£2,110	£487
Couples without children	£2,110	£487
Single people	£1,414	£326

Table: Living outside London

This is the most you can get if you're affected by the cap and live outside London.

The figures in this table are rounded to the nearest pound.

	Monthly	Weekly
Families with children	£1,835	£423
Couples without children	£1,835	£423
Single people	£1,229	£284

How does the benefit cap work?

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) cuts your universal credit so that your total benefits are not more than the cap.

If you get housing benefit, the council cuts this instead.

This makes it harder to pay your rent and meet your living costs.

What you can do about the benefit cap

You should:

Check if the benefit cap applies in your situation
Apply for discretionary housing payments if you cannot afford your rent
Find emergency grants, loans or money help
Ask for council help if you're facing homelessness
Tell your MP about problems with the benefit cap

Check if the benefit cap applies

There are some situations where the cap does not apply.

You earn more than £722 a month

The cap does not apply if you:

get universal credit
earn at least £722.45 a month after tax and national insurance

Your earnings can be from an employer or self employment.

If you claim as a couple, it's your combined earnings that count.

You stop work or your earnings fall below £722

In this situation, the benefit cap might not start for 9 months.

The DWP call this a 'grace period'.

For universal credit, your monthly earnings in the last year must have been at least:

£722.45 from 1 April 2023
£658.67 before 1 April 2023

Combined earnings count if you claim as a couple.

For a housing benefit grace period, you must have been in work for at least a year and not been entitled to income support, JSA or ESA during that time.

Your benefits go down after 9 months unless you're exempt from the cap for another reason.

You qualify for working tax credit

The cap does not apply if you qualify for working tax credit.

This usually means you must work at least:

16 hours a week if you're a single parent or disabled person
24 hours a week for a couple with children - 1 of you must work at least 16 hours
30 hours a week if you're aged 25 to 59 and do not have dependent children

You claim certain disability or carer benefits

The cap does not apply if you, your partner or any children who live with you get any of the following benefits:

attendance allowance
disability living allowance (DLA)
personal independence payment (PIP)
carer's allowance or guardian's allowance
employment and support allowance (ESA) - support component
universal credit - carer element or limited capability for work-related activity element

Check you are getting everything that you should be.

Use the entitledto benefits calculator to see what you could get.