Backdating your housing benefit or Council Tax support claim

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Council Tax support and housing benefit is normally paid from the Monday following the date a claim is received by us. If you want benefit or Council Tax support to be paid from an earlier date you will need to request backdating. 

Make a backdated claim 

If you think you have a good reason for making a late claim you should complete a claim for the period(s) in question and supply all supporting evidence about your income and capital.

You need to request in writing that your claim is backdated giving the period(s) you want your claim to be considered for and give us full details of why the claim was made late.

If you have any evidence which may support your backdate request, you should also supply that to us.  

To make a backdated claim please email contact@chorley.gov.uk or write to; Benefits Department, PO BOX 13, Chorley, PR7 1AR

Customers who are pensionable age 

If you are pensionable age special backdating rules apply.

A claim for Council Tax support or housing benefit can be automatically backdated for a maximum of 3 months from the date of your application (or the date that you or your partner became of pensionable age if this is later). The law does not allow us to backdate these claims any further.

Customers who are working age 

If you are of working age, we can only backdate your housing benefit claim for up to 1 month and your Council Tax support claim up to a maximum of 6 months from the date that your written request is received. Backdating for customers of working age can only be allowed when 'good cause' is shown. 

Examples of what might be considered as 'good cause' include if:

• you were ill and had no one to make a claim on your behalf
• you could not reasonably have been expected to know your rights, for example the law changed
• you did not understand that you could claim, perhaps because of age, inexperience, language difficulties or difficulty in understanding technical documents
• you were wrongly advised that you were not entitled to housing benefit
• you were unable to manage your affairs and did not have anybody else to help you.

A decision on a backdated claim 

We will write and tell you whether your request has been successful. If the backdate has not been granted and if you are dissatisfied with our decision you can appeal the decision.