Housing benefit

Online benefits adviser – check eligibility

Get benefit advice, for you, your family or for someone else. Simply answer questions anonymously online about your savings, income and outgoings.

You’ll need to have the following information handy:

  • savings
  • earnings, such as pay slips
  • benefit/pension details
  • outgoings, such as Council Tax, rent/mortgage, childcare payments
  • your Local Housing Allowance rate, if you rent a property from a private landlord.

Your local housing benefit office

District and borough councils pay housing benefit. For more information contact the council for your area, or visit their website:

Discretionary Housing Payments

These payments can be made to people who get some (but not full) benefits to help meet the cost of their rent and Council Tax.

Each housing benefit and council benefit team is given a limited pot of money each year for this purpose. Your local district or borough council decides who should be given these payments. When their money for the year runs out, no more payments can be made.