If there has been a reason which stopped or delayed you applying for Council Tax Support you can ask for your claim to be ‘backdated’ so that it starts from an earlier date. To apply to backdate you Council Tax Support contact the Benefits Unit.
The rules on backdating your claim are below.
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The Start Date of Your Claim
Under Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support, your claim must be made in writing, either on a benefits application form or by letter. Or alternatively, electronically using our online claim form or by phone. Normally we will start your claim from the Monday after we receive your claim. It is therefore very important that you get your claim to us as soon as possible because it affects the date your claim will start from.
The Rules on Backdating Your Claim
You can only ask for a backdate of your claim if there is a reason why you were unable to apply earlier. If you disagree with the date your claim starts from for any other reason you can appeal against the decision.
For information on how to appeal you can contact the Benefits Unit using the contact details below. In order for a backdate to be allowed you will have to show ‘good cause’ why you did not apply earlier. There is no formal definition of ‘good cause’, each case will be decided according to the reasons you give for delaying your claim.
The maximum period that a claim can be backdated for a working age claimant is 1 months from the date we received the backdate request. Pension Age claimants have their claim automatically backdated a maximum of 3 months if they qualify.
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