Claim Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax Support

Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support are schemes designed to help people on low incomes pay their rent and/or Council Tax. 

New benefit claims

Help with your rent

If you are of working age and you are renting your home, on a low income and need to make a new claim for help with your rent, you will be required to make a new claim for Housing Costs through Universal Credit.

You can only claim Housing Benefit through Worcester City Council if any of the following apply:

• You are single and have reached State Pension Age
• You are in a partnership, and you have both reached State Pension Age
• You are in Council-placed emergency housing or certain types of exempt or specified accommodation (no age restriction).

If you fall into the categories listed above, you can start a new claim for Housing Benefit today

If this list does not apply to you then you will need to make a claim for your housing costs through Universal Credit. Please follow the links below to find out more and make a new claim online;

• Apply for Universal Credits on GOV.UK
• Find out more about Universal Credit

Help with your Council Tax

You can claim Council Tax Support via Worcester City Council.  If you are of working age, the rules on claiming Council Tax Support can vary by Local Authority.

If you are of pension age the rules will be the same wherever you apply.

Make a claim for Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax Support

If you need to make a new claim for Housing Benefit and / or Council Tax Support, please click on the link below to start a new claim today. 

Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support Application Form

You will be able to submit evidence to support your claim at the end of the application process by uploading documents saved on your computer. You will in all cases need to provide evidence of all income or benefits received into your household to enable us to process your application.

If you do not have the evidence to upload at the time you make your application it can be scanned or photographed afterwards and This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..  

Alternatively, you can drop relevant evidence in at Trinity Street Housing Advice Centre, Trinity Street Worcester, WR1 2PW. 

Help to complete your application

Our Contact Centres can provide support for people who do not have access to online facilities or who need assistance to make a claim.

We can also provide support to our customers via our telephone contact centre, except for bank holidays.  Please call us on 03004 560 560 between 9am and 1pm, Monday to Friday.

Alternatively, you can book an appointment at a time convenient for you.

Book an appointment

How much will I get? 

Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support are means tested benefits. The amount you receive can depend on:

• your income;
• your savings;
• the size of the property, the amount of your rent; and
• who else lives with you

You can get an estimate of your housing benefit using an online Benefits Calculator. Please be aware that this is just an estimate and does not guarantee any support that you may receive.

If you are already receiving housing benefit but the benefit payment amount does not cover your total rent, then you may be able to get extra help for housing costs by applying for a Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF) Housing Payment. CRF Housing Payments are not benefit payments.

For details of other benefits to which you may be entitled, visit Gov.uk or Citizens Advice. You can also find what the rates of benefit are by visiting Rightsnet.

How we pay your Housing Benefit

Housing Benefit is paid to you via BACS. We cannot pay your benefit by cheque. If you do not have a bank account you can open a basic bank account.