Make a Housing Benefit claim

Online E-Claim service

The easiest way to make a claim for Housing Benefit is through our online E-Claim service.

In order to make a claim you need to fill out an application form.

Online - Complete the online E-Claim form
By phone - Request help to fill out the online form by calling 01772 906903
In person - You can visit the Contact Centre in person to complete an online form
Housing Associations - If you rent from a housing association, you may be able to complete an online application in one of their offices. Please contact your landlord for further details.
Job Centre Plus and Pension Service - You can apply for Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax Support at the Job Centre when making a claim for unemployment Benefit. You can also apply for benefit via The Pension Service when you make a claim for Pension Credit. You may not even have to fill out an application form.

We need certain information and evidence from you to process your claim as quickly as possible.

We aim to process your Housing Benefit claim as quickly as possible.

You can help to speed up your claim by making sure you supply all the right information that we need. To find out what you will need to supply see our page on Information and evidence needed for Housing and Council Tax Support claims.

You can check details of your benefit claim by opening a self-service account.

Yes, you can ask for your Housing Benefit claim to be backdated but this is not guaranteed.

The decision is made based on information you provide and your personal circumstances.

The Backdated benefit page has more information, along with a backdate request form for you to complete.