Who can apply?

To apply for one of these loans you must have been receiving income-based Jobseekers Allowance or Income Support for at least 26 weeks (breaks of less than 28 days in your claim can be ignored for this).

Help with Rent in Advance

•  One of the reasons you can apply for a budgeting loan is rent in advance (but you cannot get a budgeting loan for a deposit)

•  To have a chance of success, you need a letter from the landlord saying that they are prepared to give you the tenancy if you can pay rent in advance. You will probably also need help from an advice agency to sort this all out – see Getting Help and Advice.

What are my chances?

•  If you are applying as a single person you start off with the lowest rating for a loan.

•  Whether you get a loan will then depend on two further factors: how long you have been on benefit and the amount of money in the budget for the local jobcentre area.

How much can I get?

•  The lowest loan that can be made is £100 and the highest £1000.

•  The amount that you can borrow will be reduced by the amount of any other budgeting loans or crisis loans that you have outstanding.

•  You can only be given an amount that the jobcentre thinks you are likely to be able to repay over a two year period.

Repaying these loans

Standard repayment rates are either 5%, 10% or 12% from your Jobseekers Allowance or Income Support.

How do I apply?

•  You apply on form SF500. You can get a copy from your local jobcentre or download a copy here. Make sure you include all the information requested about your personal circumstances

•  Decisions are usually made within one week