Claim Housing Benefit
Last Updated: 31 July 2023
Who can claim Housing Benefit
Housing Benefit can help you pay your rent if you are on a low income. It can be claimed if you pay rent to a private landlord or housing association, have savings of less than £16,000 and are on a low income.
However, not everyone can claim housing benefit. To include your housing costs you may need to claim Universal Credit.
Only the tenant, the tenant's partner or official appointee can claim Housing Benefit. A landlord cannot claim for them.
How to claim Housing Benefit
You should claim as soon as you need help because a claim cannot normally be backdated.
Housing Benefit entitlement normally starts from the Monday after we have received your claim, so it is essential that you claim promptly.
In most cases, you will only be entitled whilst you are living in the property you are claiming for. This means you will have to pay full rent for any period between taking on a tenancy and actually moving in, or if you move out before your period of notice ends.
You must make a claim in writing for Housing Benefit.
To do this, you can:
- apply for Housing Benefit with our benefits calculator
- ask for an application form to be posted out to you by contacting our Benefits team, details listed below
In certain circumstances we can offer a visiting service to help you complete your Housing Benefit claim, please contact us to request this service.
You must return all forms to our offices within one month of the day they were issued.
Pension Credit
You will be able to claim Housing Benefit during your telephone claim with the Pension Disability and Carers Service. They will send us your claim and confirm you are receiving Pension Credit.
Universal Credit
Check if you are eligible for Universal Credit
To claim you can apply for Universal Credit online.
You will also still need to make any claim for Council Tax Support with us. To claim Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax Support you can:
- apply using our benefits calculator
- ask for an application form to be posted out to you by contacting our Benefits team, details listed below
- collect an application form from any of our offices
In certain circumstances we can offer a visiting service to help you complete your Housing Benefit claim, please contact us to request this service.
You must return all forms to our offices within one month of the day they were issued.
Information needed to support your Housing Benefit claim
The application form sets out clearly in the notes at the side of each page the information you must provide with your claim.
Any documents that you are required to submit in support of your claim must be original documents. Photocopies are not acceptable.
If you do not send in all the information needed at the same time as your claim, this will delay the assessment of your claim. We aim to assess your claim within 14 days of receiving all the necessary information.
If you visit the office to deliver your form this additional information will normally be verified and photocopied immediately, with all your documents returned to you at the time. If you send your application form through the post the documents will be verified, photocopied and returned to you on the day of receipt. We have strict procedures in place for registering and returning documents sent by post.
Checking your Housing Benefit claim
We aim to eliminate fraudulent claims from the system and have procedures for the detailed checking of all claims and verifying that all the information provided is correct. You must tell us promptly if you have a change in circumstances that affects your entitlement. A locality officer may call at your home from time to time to check that the information you have given is correct.
The locality officers will provide proof of their identity. If they do not produce this you should not let them into your home.
The information you provide will be entered onto a computer system and the details may be matched with other sources of information, such as other local authorities, Department for Work and Pensions and Her Majesty's Revenues and Customs, to ensure that there are no discrepancies.
We have a prosecution policy and anyone giving false information on a claim will not only be required to repay the money but will also face prosecution through the courts. This may involve you attending an interview at our offices.