The benefit cap
The benefit cap is a limit on the total amount of benefit a working-age household can receive. It does not set your Housing Benefit directly. It adds up your capped benefits, and if the total is above the cap level, your Housing Benefit is reduced by the excess. That is why a household can have its rent, income and savings all assessed correctly and still receive less than the calculation suggests: the cap is a second ceiling applied afterwards.
The cap levels, frozen for 2026/27
The Department for Work and Pensions rates for 2026 to 2027 confirm that the cap is unchanged from the previous year. The levels are:
| Household | Greater London (weekly) | Rest of Great Britain (weekly) |
|---|---|---|
| Couple, with or without children, or a single claimant with a child of qualifying age | £486.98 (£25,323 a year) | £423.46 (£22,020 a year) |
| Single adult household without children | £326.29 (£16,967 a year) | £283.71 (£14,753 a year) |
The monthly equivalents in the DWP table are £2,110.25 and £1,413.92 in Greater London, and £1,835.00 and £1,229.42 in the rest of Great Britain. Because the cap is frozen while other benefits rise, a household that was just under the cap one year can be capped the next without any change in its own circumstances. If your total benefits are close to these levels, check the cap calculation explicitly rather than assuming an uprating has moved you clear of it.
Who the cap applies to, and who is exempt
The cap applies to most people aged 16 or over who have not reached State Pension age. It does not apply once you have reached State Pension age, which is why pension-age Housing Benefit claimants are generally outside it. Households are also exempt where a member receives a benefit that takes the household outside the cap, including Personal Independence Payment, Disability Living Allowance, Attendance Allowance, Carer's Allowance, or Employment and Support Allowance in the support group, and where the household qualifies for Working Tax Credit or the equivalent earnings exemption. There is also a grace period of up to nine months for households that were previously working and meet the earnings conditions. If you think an exemption applies to you but your Housing Benefit has been capped, raise it with your council with the evidence for the exempting benefit.
How the cap interacts with Housing Benefit
For Housing Benefit claimants, the cap is applied by reducing Housing Benefit itself, which means the reduction falls directly on rent money. A household capped by £40 a week receives £40 a week less towards its rent, and must find that £40 from other income or fall into arrears. That is the point at which a Discretionary Housing Payment becomes relevant: councils can make discretionary payments to households affected by the cap, but they are time-limited, decided case by case, and never a permanent substitute for the capped amount. If the cap is the reason for a shortfall, say so in the Discretionary Housing Payment application, with the cap calculation attached.
A worked example
Take a lone parent outside Greater London whose capped benefits total £460 a week. The cap for her household is £423.46 a week, so the excess is £36.54 a week, and her Housing Benefit is reduced by £36.54 a week. Her rent has not changed, her income has not changed, and no other rule has been broken. The cap alone creates a £36.54 weekly shortfall. Worked examples like this one use the published cap levels and a stated total; your own figures come from your award letters, and your council can provide the cap calculation on request.