Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit are means
tested benefits administered by the local authority on behalf of
the Government.
This simplified introduction to Housing Benefit and Council Tax
Benefit is for guidance only. It does not cover all
rules for all benefits in every situation and should not be treated
as a complete and authoritative statement of the
law.
Tenants of a local authority or a
private landlord can get assistance to pay rent and Council Tax;
owner-occupiers can get assistance to pay their Council Tax.
Working Age or Pension Age
The forms you complete and the benefit you receive may
be affected by your age, please make sure you know which category
you fall into before downloading any information or application
forms.
If you are of pension age there are claim notes
which help you complete the claim form. There are also additional
forms to complete if you are a private tenant, are working or
self-employed, or have any other adults or any dependant children
living with you.
Claim notes and additional forms
View our Frequently Asked Questions page How to claim? to download and print claim notes
and additional forms.
Working Age means you are not entitled to
State Retirement Pension and/or Pension Credit.
Pension Age means you are entitled to
State Retirement Pension and/or Pension Credit.
If you are unsure which category you fall into, please contact the
Benefits Team.
In order to make a claim you must provide proof of
your identity, National Insurance number, income, savings and all
capital; this information is also required for your partner if you
have one. If you are living together as a couple your income is
assessed jointly.
Benefit is normally paid from the Monday after we
receive your claim form. This means it is essential that you make
your claim as soon as possible and do not delay. If you wish to
register your claim quickly, please download a short claim form which you
should complete and return to us as soon as possible - we will
contact you for further information and to complete a full claim
form. If you wish to submit a full claim now, view our FAQ
page 'How to claim'.
If your own income is too high for you to qualify for Council
Tax Benefit, but someone else in your household is on a low income,
you may be entitled to a Second Adult rebate of up to 25% of your
Council Tax liability.
If you want to find out if you may be entitled to Housing and /
or Council Tax Benefit then you can use the benefits calculator as
a guide - Benefit Calculator.
However, please note that the results of this calculator are not
necessarily accurate as your actual entitlement cannot be assessed
until all evidence required to assess your entitlement is received
by the Benefits Team. If you rent a property from a private
landlord then the rent amount that you should use in the calculator
is your applicable Local Housing Allowance Rate. Current rates can
be found on our LHA rates page - view current rates.
If you have any questions or would like to discuss your own claim
please contact the Benefits Team.