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If there has been a reason which stopped or delayed you applying for Housing Benefit you can ask for your claim to be 'backdated' so that it starts from an earlier date.

You can only ask for a backdate of benefits if there is a reason why you were unable to apply for your benefit earlier. If you disagree with the date your claim starts from for any other reason you can appeal against the decision.

In order for a backdate of Housing Benefit 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 its own individual situation. There are no formal time limits on making a backdate request, but the maximum period that a benefit claim can be backdated is 52 weeks from the date we receive the backdate request.