The Benefits Service is part of the Department of Children's and
Community Services.
We pay housing benefit to people on low income who have
difficulty in making their rent payments. You do not have to be
getting other social security benefits before you can claim housing
benefit.
You can make a claim for housing benefit with us if you pay rent
to the City of London or pay rent to a private landlord or housing
association and live within the 'Square Mile'.
If you are claiming both housing and council
tax benefits you only have to fill out one form.
If you are not sure whether you are entitled to claim Housing
Benefit you can find out more about these benefits on our
FAQ pages.
Click here to see our
Benefits
Calculator.
If you want to speak to us directly our details are on the
contacts page.
-
Housing benefit
- appeals
- Anyone who has claimed housing benefit and disagrees with the
decision made in their assessment can challenge the decision by
submitting an appeals form within one month of the date of the
original decision. The authority is responsible for advising
claimants of appeal procedures and investigating each
appeal.
-
Housing benefit -
backdated claims
- A claimant may be eligible for their claim for housing benefit
to be backdated (by up to 52 weeks) if there is a good cause why
they were unable to apply for their housing benefit earlier. The
authority is responsible for advising residents about eligibility
for backdating claims and for processing applications.
-
Housing
benefit - change of circumstances
- Review of housing benefit for an existing client usually as a
result of a change of circumstances (new job, change of address
etc.)
-
Housing
benefit - new claim
- Processing of a new claim for housing benefit from both council
and private tenants. Claims require evidence of tenancy and income
in order to assess eligibility for benefit.
-
Housing
benefit - overpayments
- The local authority has a duty to recover overpayments of
benefit for which there was no entitlement from tenants and
landlords and where necessary take criminal proceedings in respect
of fraudulent overpayments.
-
Housing benefit
- renewal
- Housing benefit is generally paid for a maximum of 60 weeks (5
years if the claimant is over 60). The local authority is
responsible for issuing the claimant with a renewal form
approximately 8 weeks before the current benefit period is due to
end and for assessing the eligibility of the claimant to continue
to receive housing benefit.