5. Claiming housing benefit
If you can still make a claim for housing benefit (HB) (see here), you can get a claim form from your local authority HB office. You may also be able to claim online. Your HB starts from when you make your claim. It can be backdated for up to one month if you are working age and you had continuous ‘good cause’ for not claiming sooner.1Reg 83(12) HB Regs; R(S) 2/63(T) If you have reached pension age (see here) and are not on income support, income-based jobseeker’s allowance or income-related employment and support allowance, HB can be backdated for up to three months whatever the reason for the delay. HB is usually paid directly into your rent account if you are a council tenant, otherwise it is either paid to you or directly to your landlord.
You should be paid within 14 days of the local authority receiving your completed claim form or as soon as possible after that. If this is delayed and you are a private or housing association tenant, ask for a ‘payment on account’ until your claim can be properly assessed. Local authorities are legally obliged to give you an interim payment of a reasonable amount, unless it is obvious that you will not be entitled to HB or you have not supplied information that has been requested.