A BENEFITS charity says that people living in Tenbury and the Teme Valley are not always getting the help that they are entitled to receive.

Leading UK poverty charity Turn2us has said that many private renters who are struggling to pay their rent are unaware of the help that they are eligible for.

The charity says that there are 33,429 claimants receiving housing benefit in Worcestershire.

However, it says that some private renters who are seeking help, who are told that they don’t qualify for housing benefit, are not aware that could be eligible for Universal Credit.

The charity says that the problem is with private renters who aren’t receiving means-tested benefits not being signposted clearly to the fact that they could receive support via Universal Credit.

It is feared that, when eligible people do eventually become aware that they can apply, the six-week wait for Universal Credit will mean that many will be vulnerable to falling into arrears or further arrears and may lose their home.

The charity says that the delay in claiming can be compounded by the payment of the housing costs element of Universal Credit being held up.

Turn2us says that a key issue is that many people who are eligible for Universal Credit are not aware that they are eligible for it at all and miss out on the support that could help them with housing costs.

Another barrier to people claiming Universal Credit to help with housing costs is that the claim often requires a confirmation from a landlord to the amount of rent.