Benefits - Tell us about a change

Notify us of a change so we can make sure your benefit is correct

Have your circumstances changed?

You must tell us when:

• something changes in your circumstances, or
• you wish to cancel your claim

You must report this change within one month for Housing Benefit, and within 21 days for Council Tax Support.

If you don't you may not be paid the correct benefit, or you may be overpaid. If you've been overpaid you will need to pay it back.

Universal Credit

There are some changes that mean you now need to claim Universal Credit (UC) instead of Housing Benefit. You'll need to claim UC if the change you've had means you would have needed to make a new claim for:

• Jobseekers Allowance (Income Based)
• Employment Support Allowance (Income Related)
• Income Support
• Housing Benefit
• Child Tax Credit
• Working Tax Credit

For example:

• you're no longer working and would have needed to make a claim for Jobseekers Allowance (Income Based)
• you have been signed off sick and need to claim sickness benefits

If you're making a claim for Universal Credit, your Housing Benefit will continue to be paid for two weeks, following the start of your UC claim.

Universal Credit won't apply to you if:

• you're of pension age
• you're living in temporary or supported accommodation

If you meet the criteria above, you'll be able to continue to claim Housing Benefit and notify us of any changes.

Your Council Tax Support (CTS) will remain with us. Please complete our change of circumstances form so we can update your CTS claim.

What you will need to tell us

The changes you need to tell us are:

• changes to income, wages or savings
• changes to other people's income living in your home
• someone else moves into or out of your home
• a change of address
• someone in your home goes into hospital
• the birth of a child
• a change in your rent (for Housing Benefit)
• any other change that may affect your claim

Evidence we will need

You will need to provide evidence to support the change. If your wages change we'll need five weekly or two monthly wage-slips showing your new income.

If you're moving house you'll need to provide your tenancy agreement (if you're claiming Housing Benefit).

For any other change please provide evidence that confirms your new circumstances. To find out how you can send us evidence, please see our send us evidence page.

Change in personal details?

If you've had a name change or a change in your contact details, please let us know using our change in personal details form. We'll pass the details of your change onto any other council departments who need to know.

What happens next?

We will contact you if we need anything further. After we have updated your claim we will email to confirm your entitlement. The email will include:

• how much Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax Support you'll get and what date from
• if you've been overpaid
• how we have come to our decision
• what to do if you think the decision is wrong

Some benefits (for example, Job Seekers Allowance) stop if you go back to work or increase your hours. If this happens, you may get an extra four weeks Housing Benefit to help you pay your rent. You must have been in receipt of a qualifying benefit continuously for 26 weeks or more.

You don’t need to apply for the extended payment. We’ll consider this for you when we process your change of circumstances report, and we’ll let you know if you’re entitled.