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Understanding your Housing Benefit notification letter

Your Housing Benefit notification letter (Benefit Decision Notice) contains important information about your claim for Housing Benefit.

Please check the details in your notification letter and make sure they are correct. Contact us straight away if anything is wrong, and also tell us what is wrong.

View information on how to contact the Benefits team

If you need to contact us, please remember to quote your claim reference number, which is shown towards the top right-hand corner of the letter.

An example of the top of a Housing Benefit notification letter, showing the Claim Reference number highlighted in a red rectangular box

The notification letter tells you:

  • when your Housing Benefit starts,
  • how much you are entitled to,
  • how often you will get a payment and how it will be paid,
  • how your entitlement has been worked out.

View an example of a Housing Benefit notification letter

View a list of the terms used in Housing Benefit notification letters and their meanings

Frequently asked questions

The reason we are sending you a letter is shown in the 'Reason for Calculation' section. If the reason is "annual uprating", this just means there has been a change in your benefit due to the Government's annual review of benefits and allowances.

An example of part of a Housing Benefit notification letter, showing the Reason For Calculation section heading highlighted in a red rectangular box

This is shown in the top half of your letter.

An example of part of a Housing Benefit notification letter, showing the benefit entitlement start date highlighted in a red rectangular box

Your weekly entitlement is shown in the letter. This might not be the same as the weekly amount payable.

An example of part of a Housing Benefit notification letter, showing the Weekly Benefit Entitlement amount highlighted in a red rectangular box

This amount might be different from your weekly entitlement. For example, we might deduct an amount if you are repaying an overpayment.

An example of part of a Housing Benefit notification letter, showing the Net Benefit Payable highlighted in a red rectangular box

We normally pay monthly or 4 weekly. We will pay by BACS and make the payment to you. In some circumstances, we will pay directly to your landlord instead. The notification letter shows how payment will be made and the frequency that payments will be made.

An example of part of a Housing Benefit notification letter, showing how and with what frequency future payments will be made highlighted in a red rectangular box

This is shown in the bottom half of your Housing Benefit notification letter.

An example of the bottom of a Housing Benefit notification letter, showing how the entitlement has been worked-out highlighted in a red rectangular box

We can't tell you how much rent to pay because we don't know if you have any rent arrears or other charges. If you are not sure about the amount of rent you need to pay, you will need to contact your landlord.

Last updated: 01/06/2022 15:48

  1. Introduction
  2. Example letter
  3. Terms used
  4. Contact

Housing Benefit

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