Backdated claims

The rules depend upon whether the claimant is of working age or pension credit age.

Working age claimants

A claim for housing benefit for a claimant of working age can be backdated for a maximum of one month.[1]

A working age claimant must have a good cause (see below) for her/his late claim throughout the period for which backdating is requested.

Pension age claimants

A claim for housing benefit for a claimant who has attained the age to qualify for pension credit can be backdated for a maximum of three months.[2]

The Gov.uk state pension calculator can be used to calculate when a claimant will qualify for pension credit.

A pension age claimant does not have to ask for the claim to backdated or to demonstrate a 'good cause' for a late claim. S/he only needs to qualify for housing benefit and be of pension credit age during the period in question.[3]

If a claimant of working age can show s/he has 'good cause' (a good reason) for not making a housing benefit claim for a period during which s/he was entitled to it, the local authority must backdate the claim.[4]

Examples of good cause might include if the claimant:

• was waiting for a decision about another benefit

• was too ill to claim and too ill to ask someone else to claim on her/his behalf

• did not understand s/he could claim, for example because of age or communication difficulties or because s/he was wrongly advised that s/he was not entitled to housing benefit.

If the housing benefit claim is for accommodation in a hostel where the rent is payable on a daily basis, the claimant does not need to show 'good cause'. In all cases, housing benefit for a hostel is awarded back to the date that the claimant moved in.[5]

Asylum seekers who are notified of refugee status after 14 June 2007 cannot apply for housing benefit to be backdated.  Instead, they, and those granted humanitarian protection (and their respective dependants), can apply to the Border and Immigration Agency for an integration loan.[6]