Benefits team Christmas opening hours
Our Benefits team will be closed for Bank Holidays over the Christmas period. They will be closed on Wednesday 25 December 2024, Thursday 26 December 2024, and Wednesday 1 January 2025.
Normal opening hours apply outside of the Bank Holidays.
If you are living on a low income, you may be able to apply for Housing Benefit to help with paying your rent.
Eligibility
To be eligible for Housing Benefit, you must live in the property you are claiming for and your name must be on your tenancy agreement, making you responsible for paying rent.
One of the following conditions must also apply to you.
- You live in specified accommodation (supported accommodation where your landlord is a registered provider of social housing, a charity or not for profit organisation, or where we have housed you. Please contact us if you are unsure if this applies to you).
- You are of pension age (for couples where one member is of pension age and the other is of working age, you will be treated as if both members are of working age).
More entitlement conditions for Housing Benefit
- Rent your home from a close relative who lives with you
- Rent your home from a former partner (if occupied as a couple before)
- Responsible for your landlord's child or children
- You are a full-time student in advanced education (unless you have children or a disability)
- You have £16,000 or more in savings, investments and property between yourself and any partner (unless you receive Guaranteed Pension Credit)
Before you apply
Use the GOV.UK Benefits calculator to find out if you are entitled to Housing Benefit, or any other benefit.
To process a claim for Housing Benefit, we will need to see evidence of your circumstances. Please download our evidence leaflet for a list of documents you will need to provide when you apply.
Available support
How we assess your Housing Benefit will depend on who owns the property you live in.
We will use the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates to calculate how much benefit you could get.
If you are a social tenant who is working, you will receive benefit based on the number of bedrooms your household needs. Government guidelines state that one bedroom is allowed for each of the following occupants.
- A couple
- A person aged 16 or older
- Two children of the same sex under the age of 16
- Two children of the opposite sex under the age of 10
- A carer who lives elsewhere, but may need to stay overnight to provide out of hours care to you or a household member
If your property has more bedrooms than these rules allow, we have to deduct an amount from our contribution to your rent payments. If you cannot afford to make up the extra amount to pay your rent in full, you could ask about moving to a smaller property, or renting out any unoccupied rooms in your home to a paying lodger.
How to apply
Online
To apply for Housing Benefit or Council Tax Support, you must make a claim online.
Applications must be made online, but you can call us for advice and support on 01225 47 72 77 and select the option for 'Benefits' (Monday to Thursday 9am to 5pm, Wednesday 9:30am to 5pm and Friday 9am to 4:30pm).
Next steps
We will review your claim within 10 working days.
If you can show evidence of a good reason for not claiming sooner, we may consider backdating payments by up to one month.
Any change in circumstances may affect your payments. Please tell us about a change as soon as possible.
Find out more about benefits by following the links in the panel on the right.
Need to see someone?
We can offer face to face appointments for those who have in-depth benefit enquires or may have difficulties using our online facilities.
For more information please speak to a Benefits Assessor by calling 01225 47 72 77.