Making a claim to Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support

Claim housing benefit and council tax support using our online form.

When completing the form, it is best to have certain details to hand such as:

• Identity and National Insurance numbers
• Income and earnings
• Savings and capital
• Household details
• Rent and tenancy details

Where applicable, we will also ask to see proof of this information to support your application.

Start a new or continue a saved form

Once your claim form has been submitted, we will contact you if any further information is needed.

Once all the necessary information has been received, your claim will be processed, and your benefit will normally be paid from the Monday following the date we received your claim.

You will receive a letter giving details of your award.

Apply for direct payment to landlord

Backdating your Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support

In some circumstances, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support can be backdated for up to one month before the date the claim was made. Good reasons for not claiming earlier must be shown and details and evidence of your income and circumstances for the backdate period must be provided.

If you wish to make a claim for backdated Housing Benefit or Council Tax Support you must fill in the Claim for Backdating Housing or Council Tax Support form

Pension age claimants will have their benefit automatically backdated for a maximum of three months from the date of their claim. You do not need to complete the backdate form for this and good reasons for not claiming earlier do not need to be shown.

Housing Benefit/Council Tax support review

When Housing benefit/Council Tax Support has been awarded we may ask you to complete a review form to check that the information we hold for your household is correct.

If we contact you to complete a review form, you should complete this as soon as possible and within one month. You will need your personal details including your national insurance number and your claim number.

If you report any changes to us, you will need to upload images or copies of supporting evidence. Please ensure the copies are clear and readable.

Complete a review form