Housing benefits

Housing Benefit can help you to pay your rent if you are unemployed, on a low income or claiming benefits.

For most people Housing Benefit has been replaced by Universal Credit.

If you need help to pay your Council Tax you will still need to claim Council Tax Support.

Who can get Housing Benefit

You can only make a new claim for Housing Benefit if:

you live in supported housing (hostels or sheltered housing)
you are homeless and the council has placed you in temporary accommodation
you or your partner have reached State Pension age
you or your partner have been getting Pension Credit since before 15 May 2019

If none of these apply to you, you will need to claim Universal Credit

Who can't claim Housing Benefit

Usually you won't get Housing Benefit if you:

are receiving or are able to claim Universal Credit (includes an amount for housing costs).
rent your home from a close relative who lives in the same house
own the property you're claiming benefit for (or have a mortgage on that property)
and any partner have joint savings or investments of more than £16,000
are an EU citizen, EEA or Swiss national who has not applied to the EU Settlement Scheme and been granted settled status or pre-settled status (who must also have a right to reside).
are a foreign national subject to immigration control

Apply for Housing Benefit

Housing Benefit can help pay for rent and some service charges. It doesn't help with water, care, heating, food or mortgage payments.

Any evidence needed will be listed at the end of the form.

The amount of Housing Benefit you can get is based on:

the amount of rent you pay
your household income, including any benefits and pensions
savings and investments (over £6,000 for those of working age and £10,000 for those of pension age (you can't get Housing Benefit if you have savings of £16,000 or more unless you're a pensioner and receive the guarantee credit part of Pension Credit)
your circumstances, for example the ages of people in your household and if someone has a disability
if you're a housing association tenant under pension age how much you get also depends on whether you have spare bedrooms
if you rent from a private landlord how much you get depends on the local housing allowance rate which may be lower than your actual rent

It takes on average 15 days to process a new Housing Benefit claim. If you provide all the evidence needed as soon as possible, we can process claims more quickly.

Apply for Housing Benefit

Changes to your circumstances

If you already claim Housing Benefit, you must let us know if you have a change in your circumstances.

You will need your claim reference number (you will find this on your notification letter) and your National Insurance Number to help confirm your identity.

Tell us about a change as soon as possible, the change may mean that you're eligible for more Housing Benefit. If you do not let us know within one month, we may not be able to backdate the change.

View your Housing Benefit online

With a My Plymouth account you can see:

any payments made to you
your award information
any documents we have sent you

You will need:

benefit reference number (you can find this on your award letter)
National Insurance Number

Access My Account

Is the information correct?

Let us know if the information on this page is wrong and needs to be updated.

Want to create a page on the Plymouth Online Directory? Register for free and add a page; it only takes a few minutes.