Housing Benefit

Find out if you qualify for Housing Benefit, make a new claim, payments and overpayments

Housing Benefit is a benefit to help some people pay their rent.

How much you get depends on your household income, circumstances and housing arrangements.

However, most people of working age now claim for help with their housing costs as part of a claim for Universal Credit. For more details, see our Universal Credit page.

Some people may be entitled to Housing Benefit instead. This includes people who:

  • are of state pension age
  • live in supported, sheltered or temporary housing

Visit the government’s Housing Benefit page for more information on eligibility, supporting documents and payments.

If you are on a low income you may be able to claim Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax Support to help pay your rent and Council Tax bill.

Changes to service

For in-person Housing Benefit and Council Tax customer enquiries, the support we provide at the Council Offices is changing from 1 December 2024

Our front desk customer service advisors will no longer have direct access to the Council Tax and benefit IT system so will not be able to look up account details. However, we will continue to provide as much support to you as we can.

For all queries relating to Housing Benefit or Council Tax support, please:

Apply for Housing Benefit

You should apply straightaway if you think you are eligible for Housing Benefit as it is not always possible to backdate payments.

You should also let us know immediately if your circumstances change as any overpayment must be paid back to the Council. More details on this are below.

Please use our benefits calculator to see which benefits you may be entitled to before applying for Housing Benefit. The online calculator covers all benefits, including Universal Credit.

Housing Benefit is a means-tested benefit. This means that your income and savings are taken into consideration when applying.

Apply for Housing Benefit

Housing Benefit payments

Housing Benefit is normally awarded from the Monday following the date you first contact us. It may be possible in certain circumstances to award benefit from an earlier date. This is called ‘backdating’. You can apply for backdated benefit either by:

Within your request for backdated benefit, you must provide details of why you did not apply earlier.

Non-dependant deductions

If you have any other adults living with you (over the age of 18) such as grown up children, we may have to reduce the Housing Benefit we can pay you.

The amount we deduct will depend on the non-dependant's circumstances, for example, whether they are working, the number of hours they work and how much they earn.

Non-dependant deductions 2024/25

The table below shows the weekly deductions from Housing Benefit from 1 April 2024.

Weekly gross income of non-dependant Weekly amount
Aged 25 and over in receipt of Income Support and Jobseekers Allowance (income based) or any age in receipt of main phase Employment and Support Allowance (income related) and not in remunerative work 19.30
Aged over 18 or over and in remunerative work:  
  • gross income: less than £176
 19.30
  • gross income: £176 to £255.99
 44.40
  • gross income: £256 to £333.99
 60.95
  • gross income: £334 to £444.99
 99.65
  • gross income: £445 to £553.99 
 113.50
  • gross income: £554 and above 
 124.55

Housing Benefit overpayments

Housing Benefit overpayments happen when we have paid you (or someone else on your behalf) benefit which you are not entitled to. This might be because:

When we ask you to pay back an overpayment, we will:

  • send you an invoice and ask you to repay the amount. You can do this via our payment page, selecting Housing Benefit overpayment, or
  • take weekly deductions from your Housing Benefit payments, which will vary depending on your circumstances 

Housing Benefit appeals

If you disagree with our decision about your entitlement to Housing Benefit, you must write or email to us within one month of the date of your benefit decision letter using the contact details on this page. You must tell us:

  • which decision(s) you are disputing
  • the grounds for your request - why you think it is wrong
  • any supporting evidence that you feel is relevant
  • the date of your appeal

We will write to you to confirm the outcome of your appeal.