If anything happens during the time you are claiming Housing and/or Council Tax Benefit which might affect how much benefit you get, you must tell us immediately. If you do not tell us about changes in your circumstances, you could be paid too much benefit, and be held responsible for paying back the overpayment. If the change means that you receive extra benefit and you do not tell us about it within a month of it happening, you will usually only get the extra benefit from the time that you advise us.
You must tell us, in writing, about any changes in your circumstances that you think will affect your Housing and/or Council Tax Benefit. You can do this by completing a Change in Circumstances on our online forms section of our Online Services page. Changes you should report include such things as:
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Changes to your income/wages/savings
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Changes to your Tax Credits
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Changes to your pension
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Changes to the income of other people living in your home
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Someone else moves into or out of your property
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You have a change of address
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Your children leave school
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Anyone in your household goes into hospital
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You leave the country
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The birth of a child
It is your responsibility to tell us if your Income Support, Employment and Support Allowance, Job Seekers Allowance or Pension Credit starts or stops. The Department for Works and Pensions is not responsible for telling us about this type of change.
If you are not sure which changes you should tell us about please contact us for further advice.
Moving Home
You must tell us, in writing if you move home. You can also do this online by completing a Change of Address form on our online forms section of our Online Services Page.
If you receive Housing Benefit you may be entitled to overlapping benefit on two homes if you have to take a tenancy at short notice and the overlap is unavoidable because of the notice period required on the property you are moving from. We can only pay benefit on two homes in this instance from the date you move into your new home.
You may also be entitled to benefit on two homes if you have to delay moving into your new home while you wait for adaptations to the fabric or structure of the dwelling for a disability, eg having a stair lift fitted or the doors widened, or if you have had to move out of your home due to fear of violence.
If you think you may be entitled to overlapping benefit when you move please click on the following link to print off an application form, or contact us to ask us to send you a form:
