Housing Benefit

If you are of pension age you may be entitled to Housing Benefit if you pay rent for your home and your income and savings are below a certain level.

Housing Benefit is largely funded by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and is administered by us on their behalf. It is strictly controlled to ensure that benefit is paid to those in real need.

If you are of working age you should apply for Universal Credit for help with your housing costs.

We cannot accept an application for Housing Benefit unless you are of pension age. You can still apply for Council Tax Reduction even if you do not qualify for Housing Benefit.

Don’t delay – if you think you will qualify apply now or you may lose out.

How to apply

You can download the Housing and Council Tax Benefit application form (PDF 480Kb) or call our Benefits Section to request a form is issued to you.

We will ask you to provide proof of your, and your partner’s if you have one:

• national Insurance number and identity
• household income and savings

If you are already entitled to certain state benefits we may not need to verify your details because this will already have been done by DWP.

Change of circumstances

If you are currently in receipt of Housing Benefit or Council Tax Reduction and your circumstances change you must inform us immediately using our online form below.

Please note if you wish to report a change to your Council Tax account, you should call our Customer Services Team on 01563 554400 (option 3).

If you delay in advising us about a change in your circumstances you will be required to repay any benefits overpaid to you. If you are in receipt of state benefits, you must also tell DWP.

Change of circumstances online form

Typical examples of a change in circumstances will include if:

• you change address
• your rent changes (only if you are not a Council tenant)
• the number of people living with you changes
• your income or the income of another household member changes
• you stop receiving Pension Credit, Income Support, Income based Jobseeker’s Allowance or Employment Support Allowance
• your savings change

How payments are made

A Housing Benefit payment of up to 100% may be available, although restrictions will apply if you rent a property which is considered larger than you and your family need.

Housing Benefit does not cover mortgage interest payments, fuel costs or some service charges. However, if you rent from a private landlord, you may be eligible for Local Housing Allowance.

Reductions to benefit

A rent rebate of up to 100% may be available, although restrictions may apply if you rent a property which is larger than we consider you and your family need.

Housing Benefit does not cover mortgage interest payments, fuel costs or some service charges, however, if you rent from a private landlord you may be eligible for Local Housing Allowance.

Frequently asked questions

For further information see our Frequently Asked Questions.