Updated March 2013

Claims processing

This section contains the information that LAs need to refer to when processing claims and administering Housing Benefit (HB), including the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) arrangements.

This section includes many references to CTB as this welfare benefit was delivered by LAs alongside HB through to March 2013. In April 2013 CTB was replaced by LAs’ own council tax support/reduction schemes, removing DWP’s involvement and, consequently, they are not covered by this site. Readers will need to consider references to CTB on this site in the light of this information, as it is not possible or appropriate, to remove/amend all the references to CTB it contains.

This part of the site is made up of the following sections and sub-sections:

• Operational manuals
• Claims guidance
  • The claims process
  • Calculating HB/CTB
  • Backdating
  • Change of circumstances
  • Telephone and electronic claims
  • Appeals and complaints
  • Regulations
  • Anti-social behaviour
• Local Housing Allowance (LHA)
  • Background
  • Changes to the LHA arrangements from April 2011
  • Communications
  • Training
  • LHA Regulations
  • Guidance
  • Good Practice
  • Evaluation
  • FAQs
• Closer working with DWP
  • Customer Management System (CMS)
  • Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
  • Pension Service liaison
  • In and Out of Work Project
• Local Authority Data Share (LADS) Programme
  • Customer Information System (CIS)
  • The Automated Transfers to Local Authority Systems (ATLAS) Project
  • EAS
  • e-Transfer
  • Government Connect
  • CIS prompts to LAs Project