Apply for benefits

How to claim

Claiming help with your rent

If you’re working age, you’ll need to claim Universal Credit to get help with your rent - unless:

• You’ve been placed in temporary accommodation by our Housing Choices Team or
• You live in supported accommodation

Find out more by visiting the Universal Credit website.

If you’re pension age, you can claim Housing Benefit.

Claiming Council Tax Support

If you need help to pay your Council Tax, you’ll need to complete a claim form - even if you claim Universal Credit.

Check your entitlement before you apply

Use a free, anonymous and independent benefit calculator on the Gov.uk website.

How do I make a claim?

Complete an online claim form and provide documents to support your claim - it’s quick and easy to do.

Your online form will tell you what evidence to give and when to upload it. We can check some information ourselves, so you’ll only need to supply the documents that we ask for.

Please make sure that your evidence is up to date. If you can’t provide everything when submitting your online claim, please supply it within one month of making your application.

If you’re under pension age, your benefit will normally start from the Monday following the date you make your claim.  But we can backdate it if you can give special reasons why you couldn't claim earlier.

If you’re over pension age, we'll automatically look at your benefit for a three month earlier period.

Apply online for Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support.