This content applies to England only.

Housing laws vary between England and Scotland. Get advice relating to Scotland

Did you delay making a claim for housing benefit when you could have been entitled? You may be able to claim for backdated housing benefit. Some people can get this automatically, but most have to show a good reason for not claiming earlier.

Why does it matter when I claim?

It can be much harder to get paid benefit for a past period compared with claiming within the usual time limits. Backdated awards can only be made for a limited period, depending on your age, for a maximum of either three or six months. If you miss out on benefits you could have received, you could end up behind with your rent.

Backdating if you are of pension age

If you are of pension credit age, your housing benefit should automatically be backdated for up to three months. The rules about pension credit age are not as straightforward as they once were – the age you can claim varies according to when you were born.

• If you were born before 6 April 1950, you can claim from the age of 60.
• If you were born after this date will need to check the age you can claim from. For more information see Calculating your state pension age on the Directgov website.

You don’t have to give any reasons for not claiming in time, but will have to show that you would have qualified for housing benefit and you were old enough during that period, (or part of that period if it will not be backdated for the full three months).

This does not apply if you are a man under 65 and you or your partner is getting income support, income-based JSA or income related ESA – in this case you can ask for up six months backdating instead, but will have to show good reasons for claiming late.

Backdating if you are of working age

If you are of working age claims can be backdated for up to a maximum of six months, if you can show you have a good reason for claiming late, and your delay in claiming was reasonable given all the circumstances.
 
You may have a good reason for claiming late if you:

• have been unwell (including mental health problems) and unable to manage your personal affairs
• have experienced a personal trauma or bereavement
• were given information that was incorrect (this must have come from someone who should know about benefits, for example, staff at Jobcentre Plus, the housing benefit or council tax department or an adviser, but not family or friends)
• you misunderstood your rights (and it was reasonable for you to not to have got advice)
• you only became entitled to housing benefit when you became entitled to another benefit.

These are just examples of things that could have prevented you from claiming earlier. You might have other reasons which could also be taken into account, for example if you have difficulty communicating in English, or have difficulty reading or writing and were not able to ask someone to help you. You are generally expected to seek advice.

If you have posted your form or relied on someone else to help you, you are expected to check your claim has arrived. It is usually not enough to say you did not realise that you would have been entitled to benefit, unless there was a good reason why you could not have investigated this yourself.

How can I get my housing benefit backdated?

If you are of working age you have to ask for a claim for housing and/or council tax benefit to be backdated. (If you are of pension credit age your housing benefit should automatically be backdated for up to three months). You should ask for benefit for a past period when you fill in your claim form – often there will be a question asking whether you want to do this. Include a letter or statement with your form explaining why you could not have claimed any earlier. (If you’ve missed this opportunity, you can send a letter separately, but don’t delay).

You can adapt our sample letter. Make sure you enclose any evidence you have to back up your request.
 
Your letter will need to show the housing benefit department that you good reasons for not claiming earlier. Provide them with as much information as you can about why this was and why it was reasonable for you to think or behave in the way you did, given all your circumstances – particularly any unusual stress you were under or difficulties you were facing at the time.

Keep copies of your letter and any evidence you provide. If you can, deliver the letter yourself and get a receipt, or use recorded delivery/get a certificate of posting from the post office.

What evidence should I provide?

It is best if you can provide a letter from someone to support your reasons for not claiming earlier. This could be from your:

• doctor 
• health visitor 
• social worker
• housing officer
• support worker.

This list only gives examples, so you could ask someone who is not on the list to write a supporting letter.

The council’s decision

The council will write to you giving a decision. If you are not happy with it, you can challenge it by asking the council to look at the decision again. You could get an adviser at a Shelter advice centre, Citizens Advice or another advice agency to help you. Use our directory to find one. 

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