If you are on a low income and need help paying your rent or council tax, you may be able to claim Housing Benefit (HB) or Council Tax Support (CTS).

Housing Benefit for working age people is gradually being replaced with Universal Credit. Pensioners are not affected by this.

If you want to make a claim for Universal Credit please read the Universal Credit and you leaflet. As an eligible single person in Merton, you will normally apply for help with paying your rent from the Department for Work and Pensions, not us.

Please read our Universal Credit and housing costs factsheet. You will be asked by them if you wish to claim Council Tax Support from us, which you still need to do.

Popular

• New claims for HB and CTS - including our online application form.
• Council Tax Support
• Calculating Housing Benefit
• Local Housing Allowance
• Who can claim and how much

In this section

• My Tax and Benefits - manage your claim online
• Housing benefit including Local Housing allowance
• Council tax support including Second Adult Reduction
• Discretionary housing payments
• Benefit fraud
• Claiming benefits - how to claim, how much you will get, and overpayments
• Reporting changes to your circumstances
• Appeals - if you do not agree with our decision
• Forms to claim benefits, report changes and give us proof to support claims.
• Newsletters
• Changes to benefits from April 2011 onwards
• Basic Bank Accounts for benefit claimants
• Pensioners

Contact us

For more details about our opening hours and how to contact us, go to Merton Benefits Service contact page.

See also

• Benefits advice
• Free school meals
• Money advice
• Supporting people
• Financial assessments

Related websites

• Benefits adviser (GOV.UK)
  Check if you are entitled to benefits and how much you might get
• Department for Work and Pensions website
• Pension Service website
• Tax credits website
• Warm Front website