Yes, if you are on a low income or claiming benefit you may be able to get help with your rent.  This is called Housing Benefit and is paid by the Local Authority.

No, providing you have a formal tenancy and you can prove that you are liable to pay rent, you will get some help. It does not matter who the landlord is.

The amount of Housing Benefit you get will depend on how much money you have got coming into the household. The lLocal Authority will work out how much benefit you are entitled to, based on your income and any savings or capital that you have.

You will not be entitled to housing benefit if you and your partner have joint savings of more than £16,000.

Yes it might. Some years ago, landlords were charging very high rents and this became very expensive so the Local Authorities now restrict Housing Benefit to what is classed as a ‘market rent’ for the area. The Local authority is also entitled to restrict the amount of Housing Benefit paid if a person is occupying a property that is too big for them. 

Once a tenancy as already been taken, as a tenant you can appeal the decision if you do not think that the council are paying enough of the rent.  Alternatively you could apply for additional payments but this is very difficult. To prevent this situation you could apply to the council for a ‘Pre Tenancy Determination’. This means that before you move into a property the council will look at the property you want to rent and tell you how much Housing Benefit you will get. You can then decide whether you can afford to move in or not.