Extended Housing Benefit payments

Extended housing benefit payments continue an existing housing benefit agreement for an additional four weeks.

If you or your partner start a new job or increase the number of hours you work, meaning that other benefits stop, you may qualify for an extended housing benefit payment. The payment would be for an extra four weeks at the same rate we paid you before you started work. It doesn’t matter how much you earn in your new job.

You may be eligible for an extended housing benefit payment if you or your partner received any of the following for 26 weeks before starting work or increasing hours:

• income support
• income-based jobseekers allowance
• incapacity benefit
• employment support allowance
• severe disability allowance

There are additional rules if you received a combination of benefits for the 26-weeks-or-more period. Other requirements are:

• that you have a continuing rent liability
• that you are already receiving housing benefit
• that your new job or increase in hours is expected to last for at least five weeks

To apply for extended Housing Benefit payments, contact us within one calendar month of the change in your circumstances. Remember to also let the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) know that you have started work or increased your hours.

You may still qualify for housing benefit help after the extended payment period has finished. To avoid losing housing benefit, submit a completed claim form to us within a calendar month of your extended benefit payment stopping.

For Housing Benefit, contact us on 023 9283 4556 or at hbsupportteam@portsmouthcc.gov.uk. You can also contact us online.

For Housing Benefit overpayment debt recovery, contact us on 023 9284 1643 or at hbo.debtrec@portsmouthcc.gov.uk.