Universal credit has been introduced to Croydon and has replaced housing benefit in certain circumstances and a range of benefits for working age people. Whether you claim Universal Credit or Housing Benefit will depend on your postcode and your personal circumstances. The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) are responsible for administering Universal Credit.    

With effect from 6 April 2017 families with three children or more will no longer be able to make a new claim for Universal Credit and will have to make a claim for Housing Benefit and Tax Credits. This change affects families making a new claim for Universal Credit.  

If you are already in receipt of Universal Credit and have three or more children you will continue to claim Universal Credit. If you are in receipt of Housing Benefit and have three or more children you will continue to remain on Housing Benefit.

Please select this link to apply for tax credits: https://www.gov.uk/claim-tax-credits/how-to-claim

To continue to claim housing benefit you must be: -

• Resident and liable for rent and/or council tax;
• And not eligible for Universal Credit
• Pension age residents are not affected by UC and should continue to claim for HB.

However you need to still claim for CTR from Croydon Council and to do so you will need to apply online.

To apply for housing benefit and/or council tax support please use the online benefits calculator.

Please note that the calculations on the benefits calculator are estimates and may change once your claim has been fully assessed.

Once you have completed an online claim form you will have to provide the information requested in the evidence checklist, this document can be sent to you if you select this option, however if you opt to print this out yourself you will have to do so in order to see the documents we need to assess your claim.

Please note, only original documents are accepted and will be returned to you.  Please do not send photocopies.

Other ways to make a claim for benefits

Home visits

If you are unable to apply online or are having trouble completing the form, we can visit you in your home and complete a form with you. Please be aware we will only visit you to make a claim if you are living in the property you want to make a claim at.

Please contact our visiting team by:

Telephone: 020 8667 8336 Email: croyhbvis@croydon.gov.uk

If you are unable to get through on the telephone please leave a message with your name, address and contact number. We aim to contact you back within 24 hours of your request to book an appointment/visit.

Coming into the council

Please be aware that we no longer offer face to face appointments/advice. In situations where customers visit Access Croydon you will be redirected to use our telephone service for advice. However, you can come into Access Croydon in Bernard Weatherill House and use one of the computers in the customer area to complete the online benefit claim form.