Backdate your claim for Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax Reduction

Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax Reduction is normally awarded from the Monday after the day you made your claim. However, sometimes we can pay from an earlier date. There are separate rules for pensioners and for people of working age.

Rules for pensioners

If you are of pension age, your claim is automatically backdated 3 months, as long as you were of pension age throughout the 3 months, or back to the date you reached pension age if this was within 3 months.

We just need the information necessary to assess your entitlement and you do not have to show any reasons for not claiming earlier.

Rules for people of working age

If you are of working age, the maximum period a claim can be backdated to is 1 month from the time we receive the application. 

You must also have a 'good reason' (or good cause) for not claiming sooner.

There is no particular definition of 'good reason' but some examples are:

• death of a close relative
• in hospital or seriously ill
• wrongly advised by a person who should have known better, these might be a person from the Council, Citizens Advice Bureau, a social worker or the Department of Work and Pensions
• language difficulties
• unable to manage your affairs and not having anyone to help you at the time

The good reason must apply over the full period that you want your award backdated.

We will usually need evidence so please provide as much information as you can to help us make a decision.

Claim backdated benefit

There are 2 ways you can claim backdated benefit, these are:

• at the same time as making your new claim, see Housing Benefit or Council Tax Reduction claim
• complete and return the Backdated benefit claim form.

What happens next

After we have received your claim form or your request for backdated benefit, if made later, we will look at the reasons you have given for failing to make your claim at an earlier date. We may need to contact you to ask for some more information or to try to establish more details.

Once a decision has been made, we will notify you of the outcome and if your request has been successful, money will be issued to you as soon as possible.

If your request for backdated benefit is not agreed, we will notify you as soon as possible. The letter we will send you will explain what to do if you think that the decision we have made is wrong.

More information

Calculate your pension age on the GOV.UK website.