Who can get universal credit, housing benefit and council tax rebate?

This page is for new arrivals. If you are a housing adviser please click here for information more relevant to you.

What is universal credit (UC)?

Universal credit is a cash social security benefit for people who are under state pension age and who are out-of-work or have a low income. In Great Britain it is administered by the DWP and in Northern Ireland by the Department for Communities (DfC). It helps you with living expenses (including rent) if you have a low income. If you claimed income-related employment and support allowance (ESA(IR)) before December 2018 you can continue to receive it and housing benefit (HB) to help pay your rent instead of UC. If you get ESA(IR) and HB, you will be transferred to UC sometime before April 2026 (the DWP/DfC will write to you when it is time to transfer).

If you are eligible for universal credit but you live in temporary accommodation or certain kinds of supported accommodation your UC award will only cover your basic living expenses. You must claim HB instead from the council/Northern Ireland Housing Executive to cover your rent.

To qualify for universal credit you must:

• make a valid claim
• sign a ‘claimant commitment’ and comply with any work-related requirements set out in it
• be an eligible person
• have no more £16,000 in savings, and
• have a low enough income.

The law on universal credit sets the rules about who is eligible according to whether you are British or Irish, a national of an EEA member state, or from outside the EEA.

What is housing benefit (HB) and State Pension Credit (SPC)?

Housing benefit (HB) is a cash social security benefit to help you pay your rent if you are over state pension age and have a low income. If you are a couple, both you and your partner must be over state pension age. In Scotland, HB is administered by local councils and in Northern Ireland it is administered by the Housing Executive. In Northern Ireland, HB also helps you pay your domestic rates. To qualify for HB you must:

• make a valid claim
• be liable for rent
• be an eligible person
• have no more £16,000 in savings, and
• have a low enough income.

The law on housing benefit sets out the rules about who is eligible according to whether you are British or Irish, a national of an EEA member state or from outside the EEA.

State pension credit (SPC) is a cash social security benefit to help with living expenses other than rent if you (or you and your partner) are over state pension age and have a low income. It is administered by the DWP/DfC.

SPC comprises of two components – the guarantee credit to top up your pension income to a minimum level (the minimum income guarantee) and the savings credit. You can only qualify for the savings credit if you (or you and your partner) reached state pension age before 6 April 2016 and get either or both components.

To qualify for SPC you must:

• make a valid claim
• be an eligible person, and
• either
• have a low enough income to qualify for guarantee credit, or
• for savings credit, your total pension income falls between the minimum and maximum limits.

If you are awarded the guarantee credit you receive the maximum help with your rent/rates in your HB award. The law on state pension credit sets out about who is eligible.

Starting some time in 2026, state pension credit will replace HB for help with your rent through a new component called ‘housing credit’. At first this will apply to new claims only, but eventually existing HB awards will be transferred onto housing credit.

What is council tax rebate (CTR) and rate rebate/rate relief?

In Scotland and Northern Ireland, all householders (whether owners or tenants) pay council tax/domestic rates to their local councils, based on the property value. Council tax rebates and rate rebates can help you pay your council tax/rates if you have a low income. Both council tax and rate rebates count as ‘public funds’.

The Scottish Government sets the rules for council tax rebates (CTR) for all local councils and these  are very similar to the rules for HB – any differences are described as they arise. If your income is low enough the whole of your council tax bill is covered by a rebate (unlike most council areas in England). You can find out more about CTR on the law about council tax rebate page.

In Northern Ireland if you (or you and your partner) are working age and liable for rates you can apply for a rate rebate (also called rate relief) but you will not be entitled unless you receive UC. If you (or you and your partner) are of pension age you can get a rate rebate as part of your HB. Apart from having a low enough income, there are no other conditions but you will not be able to get a rate rebate unless you are eligible for UC or HB.

How much help will you get with your rent or council tax?

The maximum help you can get with your rent from UC/HB is:

• your ‘eligible rent’, minus
• any ‘non-dependant deductions’ that apply. These are the assumed contribution that other adults who live you make towards the rent (whether they do or not). In UC they are a flat rate amount. In HB they vary according to the income of the non-dependant person.

But the amount you get may be less than this if your income is above the figure the DWP/ your local council use as your basic living expenses. You automatically get the maximum help for UC if your only income is UC and/or child benefit, or for HB if you receive the guarantee credit element of pension credit.

Your ‘eligible rent’ isn’t necessarily the same as the full rent you pay. If your landlord is a local council or a housing association your eligible rent is your full rent, less:

• any charges included in it for ineligible services. Typically, for heating, lighting, and water supplied to your home (other than the common parts). But also charges for meals, leisure items, laundry or personal care or support;
• if you and your partner are under pension age, a further reduction of 14% or 25% if you are under-occupying your home.

If you rent your home from a private landlord your eligible rent is the actual rent you pay or the appropriate 'local housing allowance' figure that applies to you, whichever is the lower of the two.

The maximum help you can receive with your council tax or rates is your full liability.

Other reasons why help with your rent may be reduced

If you are under pension age and out of work (unemployed, sick, caring for a child etc) the maximum help you are entitled to with your rent may be reduced if the total of your ‘welfare benefits’ exceeds the ‘benefit cap’.

The amount of the benefit cap is:

• £283.71 per week (£1229.42 per month) if you are single (i.e. without children); or
• £423.46 per week (£1835.00 per month) if you are a couple or a lone parent.

If your total ‘welfare benefits’ exceed this, you receive the capped amount instead. Your ‘welfare benefits’ means your maximum universal credit (including your ‘eligible rent’) plus your child benefit. If you are on housing benefit it is your income-related ESA plus your housing benefit.

You can be exempt from the benefit cap if you or a child in your family receive adult disability payment (Scotland) or personal independence payment (Northern Ireland) or certain other benefits for disability or for caring. You can also be exempt from the cap for up to nine months if you were previously in work for at least one year immediately before the cap started applying to you.

Your benefit can also be reduced (whether or the cap applies to you) for other reasons: if you gave up work or were dismissed from a job without good reason; if you received an advance of your award from the DWP; if part of your award is being paid to your landlord or energy/water supplier to pay off arrears; if you have been overpaid benefit; and/or if you have been involved in benefit fraud. If any of these apply to you or if your benefit has been capped, you should get advice.

Rules about age

You are entitled to UC if:

• you (if you are single) or you or your partner (if you are couple) are under state pension age; and
• you (if you are single) or you and your partner (if you are a couple) are at least aged 18 years.

If you are a couple and only one of you meets these conditions, you may be able to claim UC as a single person. (If you are aged 16 or 17 you can also get UC if you meet certain other conditions, but if you are being looked after by the local authority or have recently left their care you might not get help with your housing costs in your UC.)

If you are single you are entitled to SPC if you are over state pension age. If you are a couple you are entitled to SPC if both you and your partner are over state pension age – including if you claim it as a single person because your partner is ineligible.

Claiming UC or SPC if you are a member of a couple

If you are a member of a couple you usually claim UC jointly with your partner – and if you do you must both be eligible, but for SPC only one of you is the claimant and must be eligible. However, for both UC and SPC if only one of you is eligible (e.g. if your spouse is British and you have leave with a ‘no public funds’ condition) then that person can claim UC or SPC as a single person. If your partner claims UC or SPC as a single person this ensures you don’t break the terms of your leave if it was granted with a condition of ‘no public funds’.

However, this does not guarantee that your leave will be renewed when you reapply. You should get advice from a registered adviser before your partner makes a claim (or as soon as possible if a claim has already been made). 

Claiming HB if you are a member of a couple

For HB, if you are a member of a couple only one of you is the claimant and must be eligible. But if you have leave with a ‘no public funds’ condition and your partner’s award is higher than what it would have been had they been single, this counts as you receiving public funds and you are breaking the terms of your leave. You should get advice from a registered adviser before your partner makes a claim (or as soon as possible if a claim has already been made).

If you are not a sponsored migrant and you have leave with access to public funds, but you are not habitually resident, your partner can claim HB and it will not affect your immigration status even if they get a higher award.

Claiming UC/SPC/HB for a child or young person in your household

Your UC/SPC/HB claim includes an amount for any child or young person you get child benefit for who lives with you regardless of their immigration status. However, if you are responsible for a child/young person who has leave with a 'no public funds' condition (or who requires leave but does not have it), you should seek advice from a registered immigration adviser before you claim because it might put their right to live in the UK at risk.

If you have been granted leave following your claim for asylum

If you have been granted refugee status, humanitarian protection or discretionary leave following your application for asylum, you are entitled to UC/SPC/HB from the date you receive the letter that confirms you have been granted leave (unless, unusually, your leave has a 'no public funds' condition). You do not need to show you are habitually resident.

British and Irish citizens and people with settled status

If you are a British Citizen, Irish Citizen, a citizen of a Commonwealth country with ‘right of abode’ in the UK or have been granted indefinite leave to remain (also known as ‘Settled Status’ - see below) you are entitled to UC/SPC/HB if:

• you have made your home here (you are ‘habitually resident’)
• you arrived in the UK from Afghanistan due to the takeover by the Taliban, or you arrived from Ukraine, Sudan, Israel, Palestine or Lebanon due to the war/conflict there (you are treated as ‘habitually resident’) or
• you have been deported, expelled or removed from another country to the UK.

You are also entitled to HB if you have been awarded state pension credit.

EEA nationals and EEA family members

If you are an EEA national or EEA family member who applied to the EU Settlement Scheme and you have been granted EU settled status you are eligible for UC/SPC/HB if you are habitually resident.

If you are an EEA national or EEA family member who applied to the EU Settlement Scheme and you have been granted EU pre-settled status you are eligible for UC/SPC/HB if you have a ‘qualifying right to reside’ and you are habitually resident.

If you are an EEA national or EEA family member who applied to the EU Settlement Scheme but you are waiting for a decision, you are eligible for UC/SPC/HB on the same terms as a person with EU pre-settled status.

The qualifying rights to reside are the same as those that applied immediately before the UK left the EU (Brexit). You have a qualifying right to reside if:

• you are in self-employment in the UK;
• you are an EEA worker;
• you are a former EEA worker or self-employed person who is temporarily unable to work (e.g. unemployed or off sick);
• you are a frontier worker;
• you are an EEA family member of any of the above;
• you have taken retirement after working in the UK for at least 12 months (or less if your partner is a British citizen);
• you are a long-term resident;
• for HB only, if you receive state pension credit; or
• you have some other qualifying right to reside (see other EEA nationals, EEA family members and former family members).

If you are the family member of an Irish citizen who was born in Northern Ireland, see: British and Irish citizens

All other people from outside the EEA

If you are a citizen of a country outside the EEA, you are entitled to UC/SPC/HB if you have been granted leave following your claim for asylum.

Otherwise, you are not normally entitled to UC/SPC/HB unless:

• you have made your home here (you are ‘habitually resident’); and
• you have been granted leave from the Home Office and one of the following applies:
• your leave has no time limit (‘settled status’)
• you have been granted leave
• you have been granted leave without a 'no public funds' condition, nor was it granted because your sponsor has signed an agreement to support you (sponsorship agreement)
• you are the separated partner of a British citizen or settled person who you left due to domestic abuse and you have been given three months leave to allow you time to apply for permanent leave
• your leave was granted as a result of a sponsorship agreement, but you have lived in the UK for five years
• your leave was granted as a result of a sponsorship agreement but your sponsor (or all of your sponsors if there was more than one) has since died, or
• for HB only, you have been awarded state pension credit.

What is 'habitual residence'?

Your entitlement to UC/SPC/HB depends on you being ‘habitually resident’ (in addition to the rules about immigration status and/or having a right to reside). But you do not need to show you are habitually resident (and are entitled to benefit immediately) if:

• you were granted leave following your application for asylum
• you are the partner/former partner of a British citizen or a person with settled status who has been granted temporary leave due to domestic abuse
• you are the spouse/former spouse of a British citizen or person with settled status, and you were deliberately abandoned by them overseas and have been granted leave to re-enter the UK for that reason
• you were living in Sudan before 15 April 2023 and left due to the escalating violence
• you were living in Israel, Palestine or Lebanon before 7 October 2023 and left due to the escalating violence
• you were living in Ukraine before 1 January 2022, left due to the Russian invasion and either you have leave without a 'no public funds' condition, or you are a British citizen, an Irish citizen or Commonwealth citizen with the right of abode
• you were granted leave without a 'no public funds' condition under the scheme Afghan Locally Employed Staff of the UK armed forces
• regardless of your nationality (Afghan, British, other country), you left Afghanistan in connection with the collapse of the Afghan Government that took place on 15th August 2021
• you are an EEA national who has EU pre-settled status and you are a worker or self-employed person  or you are an EEA family member who has pre-settled status and EEA national you accompany is a worker or self-employed person
• you are a British citizen or person with settled status who has arrived in the UK after being deported, expelled or removed from another country, or
• for HB only, you receive state pension credit.

In any other case you are disqualified from UC/SPC/HB for up to three months until you are habitually resident. You cannot be ‘habitually resident’ unless you are actually resident here – your intention to settle is not enough nor is your mere physical presence. There must also be a degree of permanence about your residence that amounts to a settled state in which you are making your home here. There are two elements to this: you must have an ‘intention to settle’ and your residence must be for an ‘appreciable period of time.’

There are no set criteria about how this is decided but DWP guidance suggests that the main factors to consider are:

• the length and continuity of your residence
• your reasons for coming to the UK
• your future intentions
• your employment prospects, and
• your ‘centre of interest’.

Your ‘centre of interest’ is about your ties to this country and your intention to settle. You can give evidence of it by such things as: substantial purchases (e.g. furniture) that indicate a long-term commitment; membership of clubs or societies that reflect your leisure interests; or the presence of close relatives.

The guidance stresses that no single one of these is decisive and which factor turns out to be the most significant will depend on the unique facts in each case. There is no fixed period that amounts an ‘appreciable period’, but case law has established that it usually lies between one to three months. For example, it is likely to be longer if you have entered the UK for the first time than, say, if you are returning to resume your residence here.

What you can do if the decision is wrong

The DWP/DfC or local authority/Housing Executive will notify you of their decision. For SPC and HB this is usually done by sending you a letter/written notice, for UC it is usually a message to your online account. You have the right to request a review within one calendar month of the date the letter/message was sent. You make your request in the same way you made your claim (e.g. online, by telephone, etc.). If you do this within the time limit the decision must be reconsidered. This is sometimes called an ‘any grounds review’ because you do not have to give a reason why you think the decision is wrong.

You can ask for an ‘anytime review’ (outside the time limit) if the DWP/DfC or local authority/Housing Executive made an ‘official error’. An ‘official error’ means the decision maker failed to take account of a fact you told them about, used the wrong bit of law to decide your claim, or the right bit of law but misunderstood what it means. For example, if you told them you have EU settled status and they overlooked this, or they took it into account, but decided you were not entitled. If the new decision does not give you what you asked for you can ask for an ‘any grounds review’ as above.

In either case (any grounds or anytime) if your circumstances have changed since the original decision (e.g. you have been granted leave) you should also make a new claim to make sure you receive your maximum entitlement if your review/appeal fails.

If you are still dissatisfied with the outcome of your reconsideration request, you can appeal to an independent tribunal. If your appeal is about UC or SPC you must make it directly to HM Courts and Tribunals Service (not the DWP/DfC) and you can do this online or by letter. If your appeal is about HB, you appeal to the local authority/Housing Executive (who must forward it to HMCTS if they disagree with any part of it). But in either case your UC/SPC/HB appeal is only valid if:

• you tell the decision maker that you want to ‘appeal to a tribunal’ within one month of the date they sent their notice to you; and
• your letter sets out:
• your name and address and those of your representative if you have one
• the address you want any documents about your appeal to be sent to
• the decision you want to appeal about and why you think it is wrong; and
• for UC or SPC, you can only appeal after you have requested a review (either ‘any grounds’ or ‘any time’) and DWP refused to revise the decision in your favour or revised it but did not give you everything you asked for. You must normally appeal within one month of being notified of the outcome otherwise you risk losing your right to some or all the arrears.

For HB disputes you can go straight to appeal, but it normally takes between three to eight months to get a hearing listed. If your appeal explains clearly why you think the decision is wrong the local authority/Housing Executive can revise its decision (and if it is changed and you got everything you asked for, your appeal ends).