HB claimants are often unable to move into a property on the same date that the tenancy/liability starts. If the HB Office are aware that they have not moved in on their tenancy/liability start date, HB will generally only be payable from the date they do actually move in (or in some instances from the following Monday). 

So claimants moving in after their tenancy/liability start date risk starting off their tenancy in arrears.

There are, however limited circumstances in which a claimant can move in at a later date and HB can still be paid from the tenancy/liability start date, but they must fall into one of the following categories, and meet the strict claiming criteria outlined below:
 

• Vulnerable claimants waiting for the outcome of a budgeting loan or local welfare provision application.
• HB claimants moving in from hospital or residential care.
• HB claimants who cannot move in as they are awaiting adaptations to meet their disablement needs or those of their family (this group can be getting HB elsewhere).

In each of the above cases, HB can be paid for up to four weeks before the claimants moves in. Click on the links for more information on each one of these. Standard Letter TSE3.

There are strict claiming rules if the claimants wants to claim HB prior to moving in. They must:
 

• make a claim for HB when their tenancy/liability starts, and
• move into the property (no HB will be paid until they have moved in), and
• have a valid claim at the time they do move in or submit a further claim form within four weeks of moving in.

Alternative option

If an HB claimant has a choice of whether to stay in the old tenancy until the notice expires after the new tenancy has commenced, or move in during the first week of the new tenancy/liability, then maximising HB will often be easier if they move. This is because the eligibility criteria for claiming an 'overlap' of HB for the notice period for the place that has been left are more likely to apply in most cases, rather than the limited scenarios where HB can be paid before moving in.