How to claim Housing Benefit
This advice applies to England. See advice for See advice for Northern Ireland, See advice for Scotland, See advice for Wales
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Housing Benefit has ended for most people under State Pension age
You might be able to make a new claim for Housing Benefit if:
you've reached State Pension age
you live in temporary or supported housing - it doesn’t matter what age you are
You usually need to apply for Housing Benefit through your local council.
If Housing Benefit will not cover all your rent, you might also be able to get a Housing Payment. This is an extra payment to help you pay your rent. Housing Payments used to be called Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP).
Applying for Housing Benefit in your area
Check your local council’s website to find out how to apply. You can find your local council’s website on GOV.UK. The website should also say if you can get any extra help with applying - for example, you might be able to apply in person if you’d find it difficult to apply online.
If you’re applying for Pension Credit
You can tell the Pension Service you'd like to apply for Housing Benefit at the same time.
The Pension Service should send your completed form to your local council.
If you don't hear anything after 2 weeks, you can:
contact your local council and ask for an update
apply for Housing Benefit directly through your local council
If you’re in this situation, you can get your Housing Benefit backdated to when you first applied for it with Pension Credit.
If you live with your partner
Only one of you needs to claim Housing Benefit.
You’ll need to put your and your partner’s details on the form. Your local council will look at both your incomes to decide how much Housing Benefit you’ll get.
Filling in the form
Be as specific as you can when you’re answering the questions. It’s a good idea to gather all the information you’ll need before you start. For example, check how much you earn and whose name is written on your tenancy agreement.
If your income changes, explain how much you think you’re going to get and over what period of time. It’s OK to give an estimate - just let the council know.
If you get other benefits
Make sure you include details of any other benefits you get. It might mean you’re automatically entitled to the maximum amount of Housing Benefit.
If the form doesn’t ask about your other benefits, write on a separate piece of paper:
the benefits you get
how long you’ve been claiming them
how much you get each week in benefit payments
If you pay a service charge
Include details of service charges you pay for things like collecting rubbish or cleaning shared areas outside your flat. You might get Housing Benefit to cover the charges if:
it’s a service for the whole building - not just your flat
you have to pay the charge to live in the building
Housing Benefit won’t cover service charges that are just for you or your home - like meals or heating for your flat. You can use the Turn2us benefit calculator to find out what other help you could get with these charges.
If you were eligible for Housing Benefit before you applied
Ask for your Housing Benefit to be backdated when you apply.
The form should have a section about backdating - it’s sometimes called a ‘late claim’.
If there isn’t a section about backdating or late claims, write on a separate piece of paper:
the date you became eligible for Housing Benefit - and want your claim backdated to
the reason you couldn’t claim earlier
If you’re under State Pension age
Your claim can be backdated for up to a month if either:
you’re single
your partner is also under State Pension age
You'll need a good reason for not claiming earlier - for example if a close relative died or the council gave you the wrong advice about Housing Benefit. You can check your State Pension age on GOV.UK.
If you’ve reached State Pension age
Your claim can be backdated for up to 3 months if either:
you’re single
your partner has also reached State Pension age
You won’t need to explain why you couldn’t claim earlier.
If you’re part of a couple and only one of you has reached State Pension age
You should talk to an adviser.
If you get compensation because you were given Thalidomide or infected blood
Make sure you include details of any money you get from:
a Thalidomide Health Grant
the Infected Blood Scheme (IBS) or Scottish Infected Blood Support Scheme (SIBSS)
You might be getting compensation from the IBS or SIBSS if you had NHS treatment in the 1970s or 1980s and the NHS gave you blood that was infected with HIV or Hepatitis C.
Your payments will be part of the IBS or SIBSS if you used to get them from:
the Caxton Foundation
the Eileen Trust
the Macfarlane Trust
MFET Ltd
the Skipton Fund
The DWP will ignore this money when they’re working out your income, so you might get more Housing Benefit.
Send the form to your local council
If you live near your local council office, you could deliver the form yourself to save the cost of posting it. Make sure you get a receipt when you hand it in.
If you post the form, ask the Post Office for proof of postage - you might need to prove when you sent it.
If Housing Benefit won’t cover your rent
You can apply for a Housing Payment - this is an extra payment to help you pay your rent for a short time. You won’t have to pay the money back.
You can ask for a Housing Payment:
as soon as you’ve applied for Housing Benefit
when the council tell you how much Housing Benefit you’ll get
You can find out how to apply for a Housing Payment.
To get an estimate of how much Housing Benefit you’ll get, you can use the Turn2us benefits checker.
What happens next
If your claim is successful, you should get a letter from your local council telling you how much Housing Benefit you’ll get. Contact your local council and ask for an update if you don’t hear anything after 2 weeks.
The letter should also explain how your Housing Benefit will be paid. For example, it will usually be paid directly to your bank account if you rent from a private landlord or a Housing Association.
If you rent from your local council, you’ll only have to pay the rent that’s not covered by your Housing Benefit. If Housing Benefit covers all your rent, this means you won’t have to pay rent to the council. You’ll still need to check your rent account regularly to make sure the rent’s being paid.
If your claim is unsuccessful, you should get a letter from your local council telling you why. You can challenge this decision if you think it’s wrong.
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Page last reviewed on 01 July 2026