Understanding a housing benefit decision
This content applies to England only.
Housing laws vary between England and Scotland. Get advice relating to Scotland
Once your claim for housing or council tax benefit has been processed, you will receive a decision letter. Find out how to work out what the letter says and what you can do if you disagree with it.
Understanding the letter
The decision letter will tell you if you are entitled to any benefit and, if so, how much. The letter should include all of the things described below.
Eligible or maximum rent
This is usually the actual amount of rent charged by your landlord, minus any service charges that housing benefit will not pay. You will need to pay these service charges yourself. Check to see whether the letter says your maximum rent is paid weekly, fortnightly or monthly.
Housing benefit or rent allowance
This is the amount of benefit that you will receive or that will be paid directly to your landlord. If this amount is the same as your eligible rent then you will receive full housing benefit. (If there are any service charges that housing benefit will not pay, you will have to pay them yourself.)
If the amount here is less than the eligible rent, then there is a shortfall between your benefit and your rent charge. You will have to make up this shortfall yourself.
The date benefit is to be paid from
The letter should state the date that you will be paid benefit from. This should be from the date or the Monday after the date that you notified the housing benefit department that you wanted to make a claim.
If you get a letter that contains information about your housing benefit but not your council tax benefit and you have applied for both, contact the council to check that both parts of your claim have been processed.
Ask for an explanation
If there is anything in the letter that you are not sure about, you can ask the housing or council tax benefit department for an explanation. You can phone or ask in writing. You can always get advice from a Citizens Advice or another local advice centre. Use the Advice Services Directory to find agencies in your area.
You can ask the housing benefit department to provide an explanation in writing. This is called a statement of reasons.
Mistakes, disputes and appeals
If there is something in the letter that you disagree with or you think that there has been a mistake, you can ask the council to have another look at their decision. An adviser from a Shelter advice centre, Citizens Advice or another agency may be able to check the decision to see if it is correct. They will also be able to help you challenge the council if the decision is not correct.
Share your story
Our housing crisis is affecting millions of people across the country. The most effective way for Shelter to show just how bad things have got and how much needs to be done is by highlighting the real-life experiences of people around the country.
If you have had a bad housing experience you can help Shelter by sharing your story with us 
