How long housing benefit claim

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Hide this message. Home Benefits Benefits and financial support if you're on a low income. Most working-age people now have to claim Universal Credit from the Department for Work and Pensions DWP , which includes help with housing costs if you pay rent.

You can complete a Housing Benefit claim form on someone else's behalf, if they need help with this. Use our online form for a quick and easy way to make a claim - we'll tell you whether you should be claiming Housing Benefit or Universal Credit.

Start or return to claim. You have one month to provide any relevant evidence once we've received your new Housing Benefit claim. We won't pay any Housing Benefit and we'll close your claim if you fail to provide the necessary evidence within one month.

We'll let you know if your Housing Benefit claim will be subject to the benefit cap due to the Welfare Reform Act Read about cookies we use , which are small files that go onto your computer to collect information about how you browse our website. Dismiss cookie message. Contact us. Home Council tax and housing benefit Housing benefit Housing benefit payments Benefit payments during a temporary absence from home. Benefit payments during a temporary absence from home What if I temporarily leave my home?

To decide if we can pay you benefit while you are away from home, we need to know: Why you are away from your home; and How long you will be away If we continue to pay you benefit while you are away, we must decide how long for. Qualifying conditions To continue to receive Housing Benefit while you are away, you must meet the following conditions: You must be planning to return home You must not relet or sublet your home while you are away You must not be away for more than 13 weeks or 52 weeks People claiming who fall under the week rule Convicted prisoners serving a custodial sentence People who are away from home doing paid or unpaid work in the United Kingdom or abroad People who enter residential accommodation on a temporary basis.

This to find out whether it would suit them as a permanent home People who are on holiday or visiting relatives away from home or abroad People claiming who fall under the week rule Prisoners remanded in custody, awaiting trial or awaiting sentence. This includes people in bail hostels Hospital inpatients People receiving medical treatment or medically approved convalescence for themselves, a partner, or child People providing medically approved care.

This means care certified by a medical practitioner People receiving respite care in residential accommodation, but not a person who lives in a residential care home on a trial basis People claiming who are in legal custody A person on remand can receive Housing Benefit for up to 52 weeks from the date on which the absence started If they are then convicted, they will fall under the week rule If the person claiming has a partner, we may ask the partner to claim benefit during the period of absence.

If you are on remand, released, or convicted, tell us immediately. People claiming who are in residential care homes People who are in a residential care home to receive respite care. This falls under the week rule People who go into residential accommodation on a trial basis. This is to see whether they would like to make it their permanent home. This falls under the week rule You must tell us immediately when you are going into residential care.

People claiming who are in hospital Hospital inpatients fall under the week rule. If you go abroad for: A holiday; Religious reasons; or Domestic reasons you may be able to claim Housing Benefit on your usual home for up to 4 weeks. This will help later if you need to prove you reported the change. Give as much information about the change as you can. For example if your partner has moved out, tell the council their name, when they moved and what their new address is.

If you live nearby, you can save the cost of posting the letter by taking it to your local council office. Make sure you get a receipt when you hand it in. Once you know about a change that might affect your Housing Benefit, tell the council as soon as you can. You should report the change within a month if you can. The change might increase your payment and you might miss out on extra money if you tell the council late. You should still tell the council if you think a change might reduce your payment — you won't save money by reporting it later.

If you tell the council late you could get paid too much and have to pay your benefits back to the council. This is called an overpayment — check how councils deals with overpayments. If the change happened in the last 13 months and it means you should get more Housing Benefit, ask the council to pay the extra money from the day the change happened. Check the letter to make sure the council has recorded the right change of circumstances.

Try to save the extra Housing Benefit if you think the council might be paying you too much. This will make it easier to pay it back if you need to. Skip to navigation Skip to content Skip to footer.

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