Housing and Council Tax Benefit

We are responsible for Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit for people living in Oxford.

Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit help people on low incomes to pay their rent and Council Tax. If you are in or out of work, you don't have to receive any other benefit to claim Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit.

Housing Benefit Changes

There have been changes to the amount of Housing Benefit which can be awarded to people aged 25-34 who live by themselves in privately rented accommodation. Please see our list of Frequently Asked Questions about this change.

You can also find details of the Changes made to housing benefit from April 2011.

Other Benefits

Other types of benefits are dealt with by various other organisations. For information on how to find out about other benefits available to you, visit our Other Benefits page.

Housing Benefit

Housing Benefit can cover or pay towards your rent. You will need to pay for any part of your rent that is not covered by Housing Benefit.

Housing Benefit:

• can cover rent to a private landlord or to Oxford City Council, or to a hostel or guesthouse
• may not cover all of your rent in certain circumstances 
• does not normally pay for charges like food, water and personal laundry that may be part of your rent agreement

Housing Benefit is sometimes also called Rent Allowance or Rent Rebate.

Council Tax Benefit

Council Tax Benefit can cover or pay towards your Council Tax bill.

If you are a full-time student you will not usually have to pay Council Tax. 

If your partner is a student but you are not, you may be able to get Council Tax Benefit.

Getting Your Application Off to a Good Start

Download the leaflet below for information on how to get started with your Housing and Council Tax benefit claim:

Get Your Benefit Claim off to a Good Start Leaflet (1.1MB PDF)

Online Benefits Calculator

You can use our online benefits calculator to see if you are entitled to Housing or Council Tax Benefit and an estimate of how much you are likely to get.

It is quick and easy to use with helpful notes at each stage.

The calculator is not a benefit claim and will only provide you with an estimate of your entitlement. We can only work out the exact amount that you are due if you complete and send in an application form.

Visit our Benefit Calculator page for full details.

Privacy notice

Oxford City Council will use the information we hold about you to process your claim for Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit.

We may pass the information to other agencies or organisations such as the Department for Work and Pensions or HM Revenues and Customs, as allowed by law.

We may check information you have provided, or information about you that someone else has provided, with other information held by us.

We may also get information about you from certain third parties, or give them information to:

• Prevent or detect crime;
• Protect public funds; and
• Make sure the information is correct.

These third parties include government departments, local authorities and private-sector companies such as banks, organisations that may lend you money and companies that assist us in fraud detection and prevention such as Credit Reference Agencies.

We will not give information about you to anyone else, or use information about you for other purposes, unless the law allows us to.

Page last reviewed 3 May 2012