Your location: Housing benefit and notice periods
This content applies to England only.
Housing laws vary between England and Scotland. This page applies to England only. Get advice relating to Scotland
Housing benefit usually stops the day you move out of your home. If you have to move out immediately but still have to give your landlord notice that you are leaving, it may be possible to get housing benefit for up to four weeks after you move out.
If you are moving from one home to another and you will have a period where you have to pay rent for both homes, you will need to claim housing benefit for two homes.
If you have moved to a new home where you do not have to pay rent but you will still have to pay rent on your old home, you may be able to get housing benefit paid for up to four weeks, so that you can give your landlord notice that you wish to leave. You will have to show that you could not avoid having to pay rent after you moved out, ie you could not have known that you would have to move and therefore couldn't have given notice before you moved out. For example:
- you were taken into hospital permanently,
- you were given a prison sentence of more than 13 weeks, or
- you went to stay with relatives because you are frail or elderly and won't be able to return home
