Make a claim for Housing Benefit

We aim to assess your claim within 14 days of receiving all the necessary information.

We will give you a decision in writing about your claim. If you disagree with it, you can ask us to look at it again within one month of the date of the decision letter.

You can contact us to:

• ask us to explain our decision
• ask us to look at your claim again or
• appeal against our decision

You must be the person affected by our decision to ask us for any of these options.

If you’re not happy with the decision

You can ask us to give you a statement in writing to explain how we made our decision. This does not affect your right to appeal against our decision. The time we take to provide the statement will mean you have more time to ask us to look at our decision again or appeal to the Tribunal Service.

Appeal a Housing Benefit decision

If your benefits do not cover your full rent

A Discretionary Housing payment can:

• be made to help make up any shortfall in the amount of housing costs included in your Universal Credit and your rent
• help towards moving costs
• help towards deposits needed to move to more suitable accommodation that may be more affordable to you

Apply for Discretionary Housing payments