How to make a claim for universal credit, pension credit, housing benefit and council tax rebate

Universal credit (UC)

If you are single and under pension age, you can claim universal credit to help with general living costs and, unless you live in temporary or supported accommodation, rent.

If you are part of a couple and either you or your partner is under pension age, you must claim universal credit jointly. If only one of you is eligible, you can claim universal credit as a single person. However, if you are pension age and your partner is ineligible, you must claim state pension credit as a single person instead.

In most cases, you claim universal credit online by creating an online account. You will need your bank or building society account details, an email address and access to a phone. An online claim can take up to one hour.

As part of your claim, you will need to verify your identity. If you have a UK passport, UK driving licence or certain financial records, you may be able to do this online. Otherwise, you can usually verify your identity at a face-to-face appointment at the jobcentre, where you must bring identity documents. You will also need to provide your and your partner’s national insurance number or the evidence and information to trace it or allocate one.

If you would find it difficult to claim online, or you do not have a bank account, email address or phone, you can:

• call the universal credit helpline: 0800 328 5644 in Great Britain or 0800 012 1331 in Northern Ireland, or
• use the ‘help to claim’ service run by Citizens Advice in England and Wales, Citizens Advice Scotland in Scotland, or get help to make a claim in Northern Ireland.

After you submit your claim, you will be asked to attend an interview at your local Jobcentre Plus office. You will need to sign a claimant commitment, which explains what you will do to find work or prepare for work. You may also need to provide further evidence and information to complete your claim.

If you claim universal credit and live in temporary accommodation or certain types of supported accommodation, you must also make a separate claim for housing benefit to get help with your rent.

State pension credit (SPC)

If you are single and over state pension age, you can claim state pension credit to help with general living costs. If you are in a couple and both you and your partner are over state pension age, you must claim state pension credit (SPC). Only one member of the couple makes the claim, and that person must be eligible.

If you are pension age and your partner is under pension age but subject to immigration control, you must claim SPC as a single person instead of universal credit.

You can claim SPC:

• online
• by telephone: 0800 99 1234 in Great Britain or 0808 100 6165 in Northern Ireland, or
• by post in Great Britain or Northern Ireland.

To complete your claim, you will need to provide your national insurance number, along with any other information and evidence requested.

If you claim state pension credit, you must also claim housing benefit (HB) to get help with your rent. You can start your HB claim as part of your SPC claim by answering the question about paying rent. This can help ensure your HB is awarded from the earliest possible date, although the local authority or Housing Executive will usually also ask you to complete its own form.

Housing benefit (HB)

If you are single and pension age, or in a couple where both of you are pension age, you must claim housing benefit (HB) to get help with your rent. If you are in a couple, only one of you makes the claim, and that person must be eligible.

If you claim universal credit but live in temporary or supported accommodation, you must make a separate claim for HB.

If you are state pension age and your partner is under pension age but is ineligible because they are subject to immigration control, you must claim HB as a single person instead of universal credit. You can claim HB as a single person even if you do not qualify for state pension credit. This ensures your partner does not break their leave conditions because you receive public funds on their behalf.

In Great Britian you claim HB from your local council. In Northern Ireland, you claim from the Housing Executive. In either case, you can also start your HB claim when you claim state pension credit.

In Great Britian, most local authorities accept online claims and in some areas, you can also claim by telephone if the authority has published a number for that purpose. You can always start a claim in writing, for example by sending a letter saying you want to claim. In some areas, you can request or download a form and post it to the address provided.

In Northern Ireland, you can claim online, call 03448 920 902 to request a form or visit a Housing Executive office.

In Great Britain and Northern Ireland, you must provide national insurance numbers for you and your partner along with any evidence and information needed to complete the claim.

Council tax rebate (CTR)

You must apply for council tax rebate (CTR) directly to the local authority. In law, CTR claims are called 'applications'. Most councils accept online applications, and some also accept applications by telephone if they publish a number for that purpose. You can also apply in writing, or request or download a form and post it to the address provided. If you are in a couple, only one of you applies, and that person must be eligible.

CTR counts as public funds in the same way as HB, whether you are single or in a couple. If you are in a couple and receive UC or SPC guarantee credit as a single person, this should not usually cause a problem. However, if you have excess income and do not qualify for the maximum award, you should get advice before applying.

You cannot apply for CTR as part of a universal credit or state pension credit (SPC) claim. If you claim UC or SPC, the DWP may ask whether you want to apply for CTR and pass your information to the authority, but this is not a legally valid CTR application. In Scotland, however, the council may treat information it receives about your UC claim as a CTR application, although it does not have to.

You must provide the evidence and information needed to complete your claim. In England and Wales, you must also provide national insurance numbers for you and your partner.

Rate rebate in Northern Ireland

If you claim universal credit, you must make a separate rate rebate claim to Land and Property Services. To claim, you need to create an online account, which requires an email address.

If you are pension age, your rate rebate is part of your HB claim.

The requirement for national insurance numbers

When you claim UC, SPC or HB you must provide your national insurance number (NINo) and your partner’s number. If you do not know your NINo or do not have one, you must provide enough evidence and information for it to be traced or allocated. If you cannot do this your benefit claim must be refused.

This requirement applies regardless of your or your partner’s immigration status, including where you are part of a couple and claiming UC or SPC as a single person. For SPC and HB however, you do not need to provide your partner’s NINo if:

• they are an illegal entrant or overstayer, and
• they are not habitually resident, and
• they do not already have one.

If you have applied for a NINo, the information and evidence you provide must be enough to establish your identity with confidence. The benefits authority should consider whether you are likely to be allocated a NINo before refusing your claim.

Completing your claim

Your claim for UC, SPC, HB, CTR or rate rebate is complete only when you have answered all questions and provided all required evidence and information, following the instructions on the written or online form.

If you claim online, your claim is complete only when the system accepts your form and you provide all requested evidence and information. If you leave before completing the process, the benefits authority does not have to consider your claim. If you claim by telephone, your claim is complete only when you answer all questions.

To complete your claim, the benefit authority can ask for any documents or certificates it reasonably needs to confirm that you meet the conditions. You may be asked to provide evidence of:

• your identity, such as a passport
• your immigration status, such as a passport, national identity card or UK residence card
• your address, usually a recent utility bill or bank statement
• your tenancy agreement or other contract with your landlord
• your income and capital, such as a benefit award letter, payslips or bank statements
• anything else reasonably needed to confirm your entitlement.

If your claim is accepted but you have not provided all the evidence or information needed to complete it, the authority must tell you what is missing. You then have one month to provide it, or longer if the authority considers this reasonable.

Claiming in time and backdating

If you claim SPC or pension-age HB, you can receive arrears for up to three months before your claim, or back to the date you first became entitled if that was less than three months ago. You cannot receive more than three months’ arrears. If you claimed SPC and answered the question about paying rent, this counts as a claim for HB even if it was not passed to the local authority or Housing Executive.

If you claim UC or working-age HB, your benefit usually starts from the date you claim. UC can be backdated for one month, but only if you request it and one of the following meant you could not reasonably have been expected to claim earlier:

• you have a disability
• you had an illness that prevented you from claiming and you have medical evidence to prove this
• you could not make an online claim because the UC computer system was not working
• you were in a couple but are claiming as a single person because your partner would not sign a claimant commitment
• you were previously on HB and were not told your award would end until after it had ended, for example if you were in supported accommodation and moved to general accommodation.

If you are a UC joint-claim couple, one or more of these reasons must apply to each of you. You must request backdating when you make your claim or within one month of receiving the decision letter about your claim.

Working-age HB can be backdated for up to one month if you have 'good cause' for not claiming earlier. You are expected to seek advice about your entitlement, so not realising you could claim is not enough. However, relying on a credible source or misunderstanding advice may be enough. You do not have good cause if you deliberately delay claiming, for example to get advice about whether claiming would affect your right to remain in the UK.

In Great Britain, if you claim pension-age CTR, you can receive arrears for up to three months before your claim, or back to the date you first became entitled if that was less than three months ago. If you claim and are awarded SPC guarantee credit, and you apply for CTR within one month of your SPC claim, your CTR application date is treated as the date your SPC guarantee credit starts.

If you claim working-age CTR:

• in England, backdating depends on your council’s scheme rules, which may or may not allow it. You will usually need to show good cause
• in Wales, your council can backdate CTR for up to three months if you show good cause, unless its local scheme allows a longer period
• in Scotland, your council can backdate CTR for up to six months if you show good cause.

In Northern Ireland, if you claim UC, your rate rebate starts on the same date as your UC if you apply for rate rebate within three months of your first UC payment. If you are pension age, your rate rebate is part of your HB claim. See the HB rules above.