Benefit calculators

You can calculate an estimate of your entitlement to Housing Benefit or Council Tax reduction (CTR) using a benefits calculator.

You will need details of your rent and income. You should be aware that this calculation is only an estimate and is based on the information you supply and not all circumstances are covered.

This calculator cannot tell you whether your Housing Benefit will be affected by the Benefit Cap or the Social Sector Size Criteria.

Read our Welfare Reform pages for further details.

Council or Housing Association tenants

If you are a council or Housing Association tenant you may require information on the Social Sector Size Criteria.

Private tenants

Local Housing Allowance (LHA) is the name given to the way Housing Benefit is calculated for people who rent from a private landlord.  If you are a private tenant you will need to know the current LHA rate you are entitled to when using the calculator.

Check the current LHA rates.

Coming up to retirement?

The State Retirement Age began to increase gradually from April 2010. You can check the date that you will reach State Pension Age using GOV.UK State Pension age calculator.

The Pension Service helps with State Pension eligibility, claims and payments.

Visit the Pension Service website to find out ways to contact the Pension Service and make an online claim.

Make a claim for Housing Benefit or CTR

Once you have finished calculating your estimate, you can make a claim for Housing Benefit or CTR.