Help with Council Tax and housing costs
Help with Council Tax
Your Universal Credit award does not include any help with council tax.
You’ll need to make a separate claim online for Council Tax Support.
If you are entitled to full help, this can cover up to 80 per cent of your council tax bill. If you’re under 66, you can ask for your Council Tax Support claim to be backdated by up to 6 months.
Help with housing costs
You may be able to receive a Universal Credit housing costs element to help with your rent or service charges. If you are an owner occupier, you may also be eligible for a loan to help pay your mortgage interest payments.
However, if you’re in temporary accommodation provided by us or supported accommodation, you’ll need to claim Housing Benefit for help with your rent from us. Find out more about claiming Housing Benefit
The help with housing costs element under Universal Credit is normally paid directly to you. However, you can ask for it to be paid to the landlord instead, if you:
- are unable to budget the payments yourself due to health conditions
- or your family are at risk of harm (for example, at risk of being made homeless)
Your housing costs can also be paid direct to the landlord if you:
- are at least two months in arrears with your rent
- have continually underpaid your rent and are at least one month in arrears
Either you or your landlord can request this through your online journal or by calling the UC helpline:
Telephone: 0800 328 5644
Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm