Your housing and council tax benefit will usually be paid from the Monday after your claim is received at our offices.
We may be able to pay you benefit for up to 52 weeks before this date if you can show that you have had good cause for not making your claim at an earlier date.
Benefit can be backdated for up to:
- Three months if you are a pensioner
- Six months if you are working age
How to prove you have good case
A good cause is any reason that stopped you from making a claim for benefit earlier.
You should give as much information as you can for the whole of the time you want your benefit backdated.
If you have more than one reason for not claiming sooner, you must tell us about all those reasons.
Here are some examples of 'good cause' for backdating your benefit claim:
- The death of a close relative
- You or a member of your household was in hospital, seriously ill, under stress or under emotional pressure which led to a delay in making your claim
- You were given wrong or misleading information from an official person, for example council officers, the Department for Work and Pensions or an advice agency
- You have problems communicating or understanding and there is no one to help you
- You were waiting for a decision on another benefit
These are not the only reasons we will treat as being a good cause for backdating benefit. Each application will be looked at on its own merit.
These are some reasons which on their own are not normally considered as good cause for backdating an application:
- Having arrears of council tax or rent and you need the benefit to pay them
- Mislaying or forgetting to post the application form
- Not claiming because you thought you would not qualify
Again, each claim will be looked at separately and the more information you can give us the better.
Last Updated: 03/05/2012 18:02
