Rapid Reclaim

Housing Benefit Rapid Reclaim applies to those returning to Income Support or Jobseekers Allowance and Housing/Council Tax Benefit within 12 weeks of previous entitlement ending.

Although it is called Housing Benefit Rapid Reclaim this is just for shortness and simplicity, it applies to both Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit.

Who is eligible?
Housing Benefit Rapid Reclaim will apply when all the following conditions are met:

•  You are reclaiming either Income Support or Job Seekers Allowance at the same time as reclaiming Housing/Council Tax Benefit and
•  you are reclaiming benefit within 12 weeks of your last entitlement to benefit and
  
•  you are entitled to Income Support/Income Based Job Seekers Allowance and there have been no changes of circumstance since your last entitlement to Housing/Council Tax Benefit.

HB Rapid Reclaim is not appropriate if you are:

• claiming Housing/Council Tax Benefit for the first time
• reclaiming Housing/Council Tax Benefit more than 12 weeks from your last entitlement to benefit
• claiming Housing/Council Tax Benefit but not Income Support/Job Seekers Allowance (income based)
• have had a change of circumstance (other than a change related to the change that took you off benefit, e.g. goes into work/stops work) since your last entitlement to benefit

The only way to claim Housing Benefit rapid reclaim is obtain form HBRR1  from the Income Support/Job Seekers Allowance Rapid Reclaim pack.