Make a claim for benefits

Council Tax Support, Housing Benefit, Universal Credit, Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP), benefits calculators, sending evidence to support your claim

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How much benefit you can claim

You may not receive the maximum amount of Council Tax Support or Housing Benefit, depending on your circumstances.

You can work out how much benefit you can claim by using a benefits calculator.

Housing Benefit

Every privately rented property has a Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rate. The maximum amount of Housing Benefit you can get is 100% of the LHA rate. If your rent is more than the LHA rate, you cannot get Housing Benefit on the difference.

You can search on Directgov for LHA rates by postcode.

Your Housing Benefit may be reduced if:

  • there are other adults living in your household, such as non-dependent children over the age of 18
  • you have more bedrooms than the rules say you need (sometimes referred to as 'bedroom tax')

You can check on Citizens Advice if a room counts as an extra bedroom for Housing Benefit.

Find out more about Housing Benefit.

Council Tax

If you are of working age, the amount of Council Tax Support you receive depends on your household income and savings. 

You cannot apply for Council Tax Support if you and/or your partner have more than £10,000 in capital. For pensioners, the capital limit is £16,000. Capital includes:

  • money held in bank accounts
  • investments
  • properties held in your names

The maximum Council Tax Support is restricted to the level of a band D property. If you live in a Council Tax band E to H property, you will receive support equivalent to a band D property. Find out more about Council Tax bands and charges.

Entitlements below £5 per week will not be paid.

Find out more about Council Tax Support.