Housing benefit

From December 12th 2018 Universal Credit Full Service has been rolled out in Carmarthenshire. For some claimants Housing benefit will be replaced by Universal Credit. Following this date, if you make a new claim for Housing Benefit you may be asked to claim Universal Credit. For more information head over to the Universal Credit section of the website.

Housing Benefit helps people on low incomes to pay their rent. It can cover rent to a private landlord, to a Housing Association, or if you pay rent to Carmarthenshire County Council.

How much you may get will depend on your income and circumstances and how much of your rent is eligible for benefit. It may not cover all of the rent you are charged. You will need to pay for any part of your rent that is not covered by Housing Benefit.

Housing Benefit is also sometimes called Rent Allowance or Rent Rebate. If you have a low income, you may also be entitled to a Council Tax Reduction. You can claim Housing Benefit and/or a Council Tax Reduction if you are in or out of work, you don't have to receive any other benefit to claim.

To make a claim for Housing Benefit you need to fill in an application form and return it to us. You can apply online, or collect an application form from our customer service centres at Llanelli, Ammanford or Carmarthen.

You will need to provide proof of:

• National Insurance numbers for you and your partner
• Identity e.g. birth certificate, drivers licence, passport
• Capital, savings and investments
• Earnings
• Tax Credits
• Any other income
• Benefits, allowances or pensions
• Your tenancy and any rent you pay (unless you are a council tenant or Housing Association tenant)

Please note that you must provide original documents, not copies. We cannot pay you benefit until we have seen all the proof we have asked for.

If you cannot provide some of this evidence please contact us and we can talk about other ways we can get the proof.

Things to remember

• You must send us or bring in your application form as soon as you can. The date your benefit will start from depends on when we receive your application form.
• You must provide all the supporting evidence we ask for within one month of the date of your application form. We will not be able to pay your benefit until we have seen all the evidence needed. If you have difficulty in sending in any evidence you should contact us and request an extension of the time limit.
• If you need to apply for Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction, the same form is used for both. You only need to complete one.

The personal information you provide in relation to your Housing Benefit and Council Tax reduction claim may be shared with other Council Services and public bodies where the law allows this.   

You won't get any benefit if you don't make a claim.

Apply for Housing Benefit