Make a claim

Housing benefit helps you pay your rent if you are on a low income; council tax benefit can help pay council tax. These are both ‘means-tested’ benefits. If you and your partner have more than £16,000 in savings and investments you cannot claim (unless you receive Guaranteed Pension Credit). Second adult rebate can help if you are a single person who has to pay council tax and you have other adults living with you who are on a low income.

How do I claim?

Fill in a benefits application form (PDF) and return it to us or make a claim online. You can visit us in person or phone for advice. Fill in your application form and return it with all the original documents we ask for as soon as possible.

Express delivery - for new claims: If you submit a fully completed application form for benefit with all supporting evidence at our Rushcliffe Community Contact Centre, we guarantee to process your application within 24 hours.

The application form and supporting evidence will be checked by one of our advisors and then approved without delay by a benefit assessor. If the application is complete, it will be processed and we will call you within 24 hours to tell you how much benefit you are entitled to.

If you want to take advantage of express delivery, contact us on 0115 981 9911 between 8am and 6pm to make an appointment to submit your application. Appointments are available between 9am and 4pm.

If you already get benefits, you can access your benefit account by registering through our online revenues and benefits system.

When should I claim?

Claim as soon as you need to. We can usually start paying benefit from the Monday after the day we get your claim. Sometimes, we can pay benefit from an earlier date if you have a good reason for not claiming earlier. If you want us to consider paying your benefit from an earlier date, tell us when you want benefit from and why you did not claim earlier. We can only backdate for up to six months if you are working age, and three months if you are of pension age.

How will my housing benefit be paid?

When we have worked out your benefit we’ll send you a letter telling you about it. If you are a private tenant, we’ll pay the housing benefit to you. There are some circumstances where we’ll pay it to the landlord. Housing benefit is usually paid in arrears. If we ask you for more information, please send it within one month or you could lose benefit.

How is the rent for my housing benefit worked out?

Housing benefit is to help you with the part of your rent you have to pay just to live in your home. We are not able to help with day-to-day living costs. For more information see the local housing allowance website.

How is my council tax benefit paid?

When we’ve worked out your council tax benefit, we will send you a letter and a new council tax bill showing the revised amount to pay.

How are my housing benefit and council tax benefit worked out?

Housing benefit and council tax benefit will be worked out at the same time. But you only need to fill in one form. The amount of benefit you can get depends on your family circumstances, your income and your savings.

How will my income be worked out?

Your income will be the total amount you and your partner have coming in each week from all sources, including savings and investments. If you work, we will take off your ‘stoppages’ such as tax and National Insurance Contributions and half of any contributions you make to a pension scheme. We also count all other income such as state pensions, tax credits and any other benefits or pensions. Some benefits are ignored, for example Disability Living Allowance and Attendance Allowance, but we still need to know if you are getting them. We have to count income from savings and investments including; bank and building society accounts, post office accounts, stocks and shares, income bonds and so on.

Income from savings and investments

If you are 60 or over, and you have savings or investments of between £10,000 and £16,000 we will add £1 for every £500 or part of £500 you have, onto your weekly income figure. If you are under 60 and have savings and investments of between £6,000 and £16,000 we will add £1 for every £250 or part of £250 you have onto your weekly income figure. If you have more than £16,000 we cannot give you any benefit (unless you receive Guaranteed Pension Credit).