Backdating Housing / Council Tax Benefits
Backdating Housing/CTAX benefits
Information on how to get your claim housing benefit backdated.
Backdating
If you qualify for Housing and/or Council Tax Benefit it is usually paid from the Monday after we received your application form. But in certain circumstances we can pay benefit from a date that is before the date you made your claim.
The law allows us to backdate a claim for up to:
- 6 months for working age
- 3 months for pension credit age
However, there has to be a good reason why your claim was late. We have to establish that you had a good reason, known as ‘good cause’, for the whole of the period that you want to claim for backdated benefit.
Good cause includes reasons such as:
- If you were ill and had no-one to make the claim on your behalf
- If you did not immediately claim or reclaim benefit after leaving hospital
- If you could not have been reasonably expected to know your rights
e.g. where the law has changed
- If you did not understand that you could make a claim, perhaps due to:
- age
- inexperience
- language difficulties
- difficulty in understanding technical documents; or some other reason
5. If you were unable to mange your affairs and do not have an ‘appointee’ or someone to help you
If you think that you do have ‘good cause’ for making a late claim you can:
- Seek advice and help from one of our Customer Specialists on 01253 658658
- Make an initial request for backdating by contacting us at benefits@fylde.gov.uk
- Send us a letter setting out the period you wish to claim backdated benefit for and telling us why you were unable to claim at the appropriate time. The letter should be sent to the Benefits Section, Fylde Borough Council, Town Hall, St Anne's, FY8 1LW.
We will then consider whether or not we can backdate your claim. In some instances we may need to ask you for further information or evidence to support your request.
