Housing Benefit
If you are unemployed or on a low income and live in rented accommodation you could get help paying your rent.
Housing Benefit to pay all or part of your rent if you:
- live in supported accommodation
- are of Pension Credit age
If the above does not apply to you, you will need to claim Universal Credit instead.
You cannot apply for Housing Benefit if you receive or have applied for Universal Credit.
Can I claim?
You can claim Housing Benefit if you live in the property and receive any of the following:
- Income Support
- Job Seeker’s Allowance (Income based)
- Employment and Support Allowance (Income related)
- or have a low income.
If you have over £16,000 in savings you won’t normally qualify for any benefit, unless you qualify for Pension Credit (Guarantee Credit).
You can use an independent benefits calculator on GOV.UK to check if you can apply for Housing Benefit.
How much will I get?
How much you get depends on your income and circumstances and whether you rent from a private or registered social landlord.
If you rent privately, we use Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates to work out Housing Benefit.
We will let you know what your actual award is once we have processed your claim.
How to apply
You can apply online for Housing Benefit.
If you live in shared accommodation you must provide the room number for your address in the additional text box on the application form.
Things we need to know when you apply:
- National Insurance number for you (and your partner if applicable)
- Full name and dates of birth of everyone in your household.
- Landlord’s details, the amount of rent you pay, and any charges included in your rent, such as water or electricity.
- Your household income, savings, investments and expenses – including things like childcare costs and private pension contributions.
You will be able to upload any evidence whilst making your application.
You can save your application at various stages and finish it later. If you save your details part way through, you will be given a Citizen Access Benefits key code. Make a note of this as you'll need it to log back into your form.
If you have saved your application, you must complete and submit it within 14 days or your details will be removed from the system.
Read our privacy notice which tells you how we use your data
How do I log back in to my form?
Use the 'Apply or login' button above and select 'Retrieve a claim I have started'. You will need to enter the Citizen Access Benefits key code you received when you saved your application.
What happens next?
We will let you know what your award is once we have processed your claim.
If you are not happy with our decision about your claim, you can submit an appeal.
If your circumstances change please tell us as it could affect what you are entitled to.