Help with Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction

• Help with registering your Housing Benefit claim
  • How do I register for Housing Benefit?
  • How can I find my claim reference number?
  • How do I find my National Insurance number?
• General help with Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction
  • How can I tell if my new claim/online form has been received?
  • Can I view the information I entered?
  • How has my claim been calculated?
  • What does 'Details of household’ mean?
  • Key terms

Help with registering your Housing Benefit claim

How do I register for Housing Benefit?

Click ‘Register to view your existing Housing Benefit claim’ and enter your claim reference number and name (exactly as shown on your notification letter and address).

Please note: You will be asked for a “known fact” about your account before you can view your details. You must provide the answer to one of the following questions:

• Your National Insurance number
• Your date of birth

View a step by step Housing Benefit Registration Guide (PDF, 368KB).

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How can I find my claim reference number?

Your reference number is printed on letters that we have sent to you about your Housing Benefit claim. If you can't find your claim reference number, please send an email to digital@haringey.gov.uk with your full name and address.

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How do I find my National Insurance number?

National Insurance numbers are issued by HM Revenues and Customs.

Your National Insurance number can be found on your wage slips or any letter from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), or from a Jobcentre.

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General help with Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction

How can I tell if my new claim/online form has been received?

New Claim

You will receive an automated email confirming submission of your form with a tracking number.

Please note: it can take up to three weeks to process your new claim. Please ensure you submit all relevant proofs via the 'Evidence Upload' form.

Other Online Forms

You can check the 'status' of your form in the 'My History' section of your My Account, which you can find at the bottom of the main screen (scroll to the bottom). For benefit enquiries, discretionary housing payments and evidence uploads, the status will show as 'submitted'. If any other status shows you must go back into the form and complete it fully. Go to ‘My History’ and click on the form name in the 'Action' column.

Please note: it can take up to three working days for benefit enquiries, discretionary housing payments and evidence upload online forms to be received by the Benefits service. We receive a high volume of correspondence so it may a take a while for us to respond in full. We prioritise urgent matters involving possible hardship. Any payments you are entitled to will be backdated.

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Can I view the information I entered once I have submitted my new claim/online form?

New Claim 

You cannot view your answers once you have submitted the form. You are able to save or print the form before you select 'Finish'. If you need to make any changes please complete an online 'Benefit Enquiry' form.

Other Online Forms

For Benefit enquiry, discretionary housing payments and evidence upload online forms, you can see a record of your submitted form in the 'My History' section of your My Account for up to four weeks after submission. You can find ‘My History’ at the bottom of the main screen (scroll to the bottom). We recommend that you print a copy during this time, after which you will not be able to view the form.

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How has my claim been calculated?

Once you have logged in to My Account, click on the Benefit services icon and then click on ‘view’. On your claim summary you can then click the link to 'How these benefits have been calculated'.

Calculation Summary

• Net Income - this is the amount of weekly income you have told us you receive. It includes benefits, wages or both.
  Please note your income will display as £0.00 if you are in receipt of:
  • Jobseekers Allowance (income based)
  • Employment and Support Allowance (income related)
  • Income Support
  • Guaranteed Pension Credit
  • Universal Credit
• Applicable Amount - this is the figure the Government says you and your family need to live on. We use it to calculate how much your family needs. The amount depends on your circumstances and the people that live with you. Your Housing Benefit will be reduced if your income is higher than your applicable amount.
• Excess Income - this is the difference between the income you and your family receive and your applicable amount (the amount you and your family need to live on).

Housing Benefit calculation details

• Weekly Eligible Rent - this is the amount of your weekly rent that we use to assess your entitlement to Housing Benefit
• Weekly non-dependant deductions - your Housing Benefit entitlement may be reduced if you have non-dependants living with you. The amount of the deduction depends on the weekly income of the non-dependant
• Less 65% excess income - if your income is higher than your applicable amount (the amount the Government says you need to live on) your weekly eligible rent will be reduced by the value of 65% of your excess income and you will only be able to receive Housing Benefit on the remainder
• Your weekly Housing Benefits award - the amount of Housing Benefit you have been awarded to help you meet your rent. For more information, visit our Understanding your benefit letter page. 

Council Tax Reduction Calculation Details

• Your weekly Council Tax Liability - this is the full amount of weekly Council Tax due before any Council Tax Reduction award has been applied
• Your weekly Council Tax Reduction - this is the amount of Council Tax Reduction you have been awarded to help you pay your bill

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What does 'Details of household’ mean?

This area of My Account shows the income details for each member of your household. Please check the details on this screen to ensure we have the correct information about any adults that live with you and their income.

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Key terms

• Disregards - there are certain incomes that we do not include when we calculate your benefit
• Non Dependants - these are adults over the age of 18, other than a partner, who live with you but who you do not receive Child Benefit for
• BACS - BACS is a transfer of money paid directly into your bank account (or your landlords bank account if appropriate)

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