Backdating your claim
In certain circumstances we can backdate the start of your Housing Benefit (HB) claim for up to three months before the date you claimed.
We will automatically backdate your claim if:
- you reached state pension age three months or more before making your claim, and
- you have lived at the address you are making the claim in respect of for at least three months, and
- your circumstances three months ago meant that you would have qualified for HB had you applied at the time
If you only started to meet the above conditions part way through the three month qualifying period, for example, if you moved to your address two months ago, we will backdate your claim to that date.
If you haven't yet reached state pension age, then to get your claim backdated you will need to complete an application for backdating explaining why you didn't apply for HB at the right time.
The maximum your HB claim can be backdated for if you are a working-age claimant is one month.