Making a new Housing Benefit or Council Tax support claim
Universal Credit is a single monthly payment that is administered by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
You will only need to claim housing benefit if you:
- live in supported or temporary accommodation, or
- are of Pension Credit age
If your circumstances are not included in the list above then you must claim UC for help with your rent.
Read our page on Universal Credit for more information
Making a claim online
Making a housing benefit or council tax support claim online is quick and easy to do.
You can save an unfinished online claim form and return to it within 14 days by using the Citizen Access Key. Your online form will tell you what your Citizen Access Key is.
When you make an online claim for benefits you may not need to provide evidence to support your application, we may be able to check certain information internally.
In some circumstances you may be required to provide evidence. Your online form will tell you what evidence to provide and when to upload it. If we have not asked for evidence, do not upload it or send it to us.
If your claim is classed as a complex case, we may still need to see original proofs by post or at one of the locations listed. If you do not have the evidence to hand or cannot upload it, you should still complete the online form and just answer the questions as accurately as possible.
If you are asked to provide evidence after completing the application you must provide this within one month of making the claim. Make sure your proof of evidence is up to date. You can upload evidence we have asked for on our website
If your benefit was recently stopped and you provide the evidence needed within one month, we may be able to start your benefits again. If you do not provide evidence within one month of your claim stopping, you will need to start the process again by making a new claim or apply for Universal Credit.
If you have a good reason, you can ask us to consider backdating your benefit claim. You can ask us for a backdate when completing your new claim.
Once we have received your claim, you will receive a confirmation email. We will only write to you if you need to provide further documents to support your claim.
Access Benefits Online without a BRUM account
Register for an account
After registering you will be taken to your BRUM account where you'll find a link to the Benefits Online.
Sign in to your account
Once signed in you will be able to access find a link to access Benefits Online to complete.
Other ways to provide your evidence
Your online benefit claim form will tell you of what evidence to provide. You can upload evidence when prompted by the form.
For most claims we do not require further evidence for the claim to be made.
Where possible we will use evidence you previously gave to us or evidence you provided to claim other benefits.
Our libraries no longer accept benefits documentation.
If you are making a claim for Council Tax support only, and you currently claim Universal Credit you do not need to send documents through the post.
If we have requested evidence that you were not able to upload with your form, you can upload it online:
If you are required to post evidence this should be sent to the address below:
