Housing benefit

You can apply for both Housing Benefit (help with your rent) and Council Tax Benefit (help with your Council Tax) by completing the Council's housing and council tax benefit application form. However, if you have already filled in the Benefits Agency form (HCTB1 or Local Authority Input Document) along with an application for Income Support or Income Based Job Seekers Allowance, you do not need to also complete the Council form unless you wish to claim Housing Benefit as a tenant of a private landlord.
You will need to submit all the documentary proof that is asked for (original documents only) including evidence of your identity and your National Insurance number. For further information please go to the Information Required page.
Please answer all the questions on the form, and provide the necessary supporting evidence as quickly as possible, to allow us to assess your claim promptly. If you don't have the documentary evidence immediately available do not delay submitting your claim for housing and council tax benefit otherwise you may lose benefit to which you are entitled. (See question 5 regarding backdating of entitlement.)
For more information go to the Housing and Council Tax benefit entitlement page.

We aim to assess new claims within 14 days of receiving all of the required information. Things that may delay your claim being processed include:
If all sections of the application form are not fully completed, including the declaration and signature.
If you do not supply all of the supporting documentation.
If the Council is waiting for information about your claim from another agency such as Her Majesty's Revenues and Customs, the Pension Service, or the Department of work and Pensions.
If the Council needs further information from you regarding your claim (in which case we will contact you). You have up to 1 month to provide the information but this delays processing your claim so we would appreciate your early response to requests for information.
You will be sent a notification letter once your application has been processed, advising you of your housing and council tax benefit entitlement.

Your entitlement will continue for as long as there is no change in the circumstances declared on your original claim form. It is important that any change of circumstances is reported promptly so always check that you have reported any change both to the Department for Work and Pensions (Job Centre Plus or the Pension Service) and to the Council.

Both housing benefit and council tax benefit are means tested benefits. The calculation takes account of the claimant's income, savings, capital, the number of residents in the household and their personal and financial circumstances. The calculation also includes the amount of any rent and/or council tax payable. You may qualify for up to 100 per cent housing and council tax benefit.
For claims made now some claimants will qualify for Local Housing Allowance which does not take account of the actual rent payable. For further information please go to the Local Housing Allowance page.

Your weekly entitlement to council tax benefit will be converted to an annual amount, credited directly to your Council Tax account and be deducted from the balance that is due to be paid.

Payment of Housing Benefit will depend upon the type of your tenancy and other circumstances for example:

If you are a Council tenant then your weekly entitlement will be credited to your rent account so that the actual weekly rent that you pay will be the difference between the full rent and your housing benefit entitlement.

If you are a tenant of a private or Registered Social Landlord then your Housing Benefit entitlement may be paid either, to you, or to your landlord, by BACS (Bankers Automated Credit System) straight into a bank account or by cheque. If it is paid to you then you will be paid in arrears every 2 weeks but if it is paid to your landlord it will be paid in arrears every 4 weeks. You can sometimes decide who should receive the payment. However, if you are 8 weeks or more in arrears with your rent your landlord can insist that housing benefit be paid directly to them. Claims made now, at a new address, will be subject to the Local Housing Allowance rules which mean that, with certain exceptions, housing benefit is only paid to the tenant.

Housing and council tax benefit entitlement normally commences from the Monday following the date that you first indicated to the Council's Benefit Section, or any associated office, that you wished to claim housing and council tax benefit, provided that you then submitted your application within one month of that date of first contact.
However, if you apply during the week in which your tenancy or Council Tax liability starts then benefit will be paid from that date. It is important therefore to submit your application as soon as possible. Please don't wait until you have all of the supporting evidence that is required. For example you can submit your claim with 3 payslips even though 5 are requested. The remaining 2 can be submitted when they are available as long as that is within 4 weeks of submitting the original claim.

If you pay rent to a landlord who is also a close relative and you live in the same property then you will not be able to claim housing benefit.
If you pay rent to a landlord who is also a close relative and you do not live in the same property then you may be able to claim housing benefit. However the Council will need to ensure that the tenancy meets all the criteria of a fully commercial arrangement and will probably ask you for more details in support of your claim.
The Council cannot normally pay housing benefit if you are renting from a relative, a property that you previously owned, or if you are paying rent to a former partner/spouse.

In certain circumstances some students can claim housing and council tax benefit for example lone parent students, or if you are the partner of a student. However, the rules regarding definition of a student and eligibility for HB/CTB are complex so you are advised to contact the Benefit Section for advice.

The fact that you are in receipt of one of these benefits does not give an automatic entitlement to housing and council tax and a claim must always be submitted to the Council. When claiming Income Support or income based Job Seekers Allowance a housing and council tax benefit application form (called an HCTB1 form or Local Authority Input Document) is provided by the Department for Work and Pensions and should be completed and returned to them. They will pass that form to the Council but you are advised to check that the Council has received it.
Receipt of form HCTB1 or Local Authority Input Document, along with confirmation of entitlement to Income Support or income based Job Seekers Allowance, will usually, but not always, allow the Council to award housing benefit or council tax benefit without carrying out any further enquiries into your household or income. However, further information may be required (such as rent details) and you may be asked to provide this information by completing the Council's own housing and council tax benefit claim form.

You can only get help with your rent for things that are eligible. Amounts included in your rent for things like water rates, lighting, meals and heating are not eligible for housing benefit.
You may have a 'non-dependant' living with you (this is someone aged 18 or over who is not legally dependent upon you), and an amount is deducted from your Housing Benefit based upon the circumstances of the non-dependant. The housing benefit scheme expects that the non-dependant will contribute towards the cost of the rent.
If you are renting from a private sector landlord then the amount of housing benefit that you receive will be based upon a maximum rent figure for your property/tenancy which is provided by the local Rent Service. This maximum rent figure will be less than your actual rent paid in situations where your accommodation is larger than you need, or the rent for your property is higher than the local average for similar properties.
In most instances, new claims made now, the information regarding the Rent Service will not apply to tenants renting from the private sector whose housing benefit is paid under the Local Housing Allowance Scheme.