Whilst you are claiming housing and/or council tax benefit you must tell us about changes that may affect your claim. You are responsible for telling us about these changes within one month of the change.
You can tell us by:
- completing the change of circumstance form below
- print the form off at the bottom of the page to report a change of address
- check our contact details for other ways to tell us (see related pages)
Some examples of changes that you would need to report to us that could be about you or someone who lives with you are:
- stopping or starting to receive jobseekers allowance, income support, employment support allowance
- an increase or decrease in income or capital
- the number of people in your household changes
- stopping or starting work
- moving house
- rent goes up or down
- stopping or starting to receive another state benefit
- anything else that you think may affect your claim
If you do not tell us about a change that affects your claim you could be receiving too much benefit and have to pay some back to us. Or you may not be receiving enough benefit and miss out on your entitlement.
If you fail to tell us about a change you are aware of this could lead to prosecution for fraud under the Fraud Act 2001.
We will usually suspend your claim when we have been told about a change in your claim. This could be a change in your income, household or address. We do this to try to prevent as much overpayment as we can. We will usually need more information about your new circumstances to reassess your claim and remove the suspension. If we write to you, you must reply to us within one month of the letter or form being sent to you.
Can I still claim whilst working?
Yes. You need to tell us immediately if you start work. If you have been receiving income support / jobseekers allowance / incapacity benefit / severe disablement allowance / employment support allowance for the last 26 weeks continuously and you expect your job to last for more than five weeks, you may be entitled to an extended payment.
An extended payment is an award of four weeks benefit at the same rate as you were receiving whilst on your state benefit. After the four weeks your claim will be reassessed based on your new income and capital, for example wage and tax credits.
We will ask you to complete a change in income form (or download one below) and provide proof of your earnings, tax credits, savings and capital and any other income or capital you or your household may have.
Related documents: