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Applying for council tax support takes between 15 and 30 minutes - the form you will need to fill in depends on whether you want to claim just council tax support, or you want to claim council tax support and housing benefit together.
1. Apply for council tax support and housing benefit together
If you don't already get help towards your rent, you can apply for housing benefit and council tax support together if you:
- are of state pension age (find out more about changes that affect couples where one has reached state pension age and the other has not)
- live in supported accommodation
- live in temporary homeless accommodation arranged by the council
Before you start, please make sure you have the following information to hand (see our evidence checklist):
- Name, date of birth and address details.
- National insurance number for you (and your partner – if applicable).
- Income and capital for you (and your partner – if applicable).
- Income for other people that live with you (if applicable).
- Your council tax account number, if you have one.
- Your evidence - see our evidence checklist.
To apply, you will need to select 'make a new claim' on our council tax and benefits portal.
2. Apply for council tax support only
You can apply for council tax support on its own if you are on a low income and responsible for paying council tax (you may still be eligible if you own your home or have a mortgage), and one of the following applies:
- You already receive help towards your rent, for example through housing benefit or Universal Credit.
- You are not eligible for housing benefit (for example because you are working age and do not live in supported accommodation or temporary accommodation arranged by the council). To apply for help towards your rent you will need to make a separate claim for Universal Credit.
To apply select 'apply for an additional benefit' on our council tax and benefits portal.
Apply for an additional benefit
Before you start, please make sure you have the following to hand (see our evidence checklist):
- Name, date of birth and address details.
- Your national insurance number.
- Your housing benefits claim reference (if you claim housing benefit rather than Universal Credit).
Our council tax and benefits system is not available between 2am and 2.15am (Monday - Thursdays) and 2am and 4am (early Saturday mornings) to allow for daily maintenance to take place. Please do not attempt to apply between these times or you may lose your data. Please also read our full privacy notice before you make your application.
