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What changes must I tell you about?
If you receive Housing Benefit/Council Tax Benefit you must inform us immediately of any changes in circumstances that may affect your entitlement.
The following is a list of some of the common changes that may affect the amount of benefit you receive:
Income changes:
- Where there is an increase or reduction in the amount you earn
- Any increase or decrease in income you receive
- If you stop getting Income Support
- If you stop getting Jobseeker's Allowance
- If Child Benefit stops
- When you or your partner start full-time, part-time or casual work
Your household details:
- If you marry, become widowed, separated or divorced
- When someone moves into or leaves your household
- If you have a baby
- If you take in a lodger or students
- If one of your children leaves school
- If you decide to move
Savings/Capital
- Any increase or reduction in savings or capital
Rent Change
- Any increase or reduction in your rent
It is important to remember that this list is only an example of the possible changes. If you are in any doubt about reporting a change that may affect your entitlement, please contact us.
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Why must I tell you about changes?
Your Benefit is calculated using the information provided by you. If you do not let us know about Changes of Circumstances as soon as they happen you may lose benefit or benefit may be overpaid.
- If you are late telling us about a Change of Circumstances resulting in an overpayment you may be responsible for paying it back or your benefit may be reduced to recover the overpayment
- If you are late telling us about a Change of Circumstances resulting in increased benefit you may lose some benefit if you have not told us within one month of the change
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When should I tell you?
You must tell us about changes to your income, address, household, savings or rent as soon as they happen. The quicker you tell us of the change the less likely it is that an overpayment will be made.
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How should I tell you about a Change of Circumstances?
In most cases you must tell us in writing about the change and provide original documents as proof of all changes eg. pay slips, birth certificate, bank book.
Do not send any Change of Circumstances details/proof through the post as these could get lost in the post or they may not contain enough information/proof for the changes to be processed quickly or correctly.
We recommend that you use one of the following options to notify us of a Change of Circumstances:
Option 1
Visit our benefit enquiry counter at Aquila House and we will check your Change of Circumstance details and if necessary ask for more information/proof to ensure that we can process your change as quickly as possible. Once all the required information/proof is received at the benefits enquiry counter we will fast-track your details to ensure that you receive any payment due as quickly as possible.
If you have changed address we may require you to complete another application form.
Option 2
You can telephone our Customer Services Section on 01424 451080 and give details of the Change of Circumstances. Depending on the type of Change of Circumstances you may be asked to bring in a written statement and the required proof to the benefit enquiry counter so that we can process the changes correctly. Under government rules we cannot fully process the Change of Circumstances unless we have the required proof.
If you have changed address we may require you to complete another application form.
Option 3
You can e-mail your Change of Circumstances details to benefits@hastings.gov.uk using the Change of Circumstances form as a template for the information we require. Please ensure you provide all the relevant dates and details to make it easier for us to process your change as quickly and correctly as possible.
It is important to note that even though you may have e-mailed the details of the Change of Circumstances to us you may still need to bring in the required proof of the change to the benefit enquiry counter. Under government rules we cannot fully process the Change of Circumstances unless we have the required proof.
If you have changed address we may require you to complete another application form.
Download the Change of Circumstances form
Only use this form if you intend to come to the benefit enquiry counter with your Change of Circumstances (Option 1) or use the form as a template for an e-mail (Option 3).
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If you're thinking of moving
Housing Benefit can normally only be paid for one address at a time during a period. When you make an application for Housing Benefit at a new address, you will automatically be cancelling your entitlement at your old address. Before agreeing to sign for a new tenancy, check your notice period with your current Landlord – if your rent is due monthly, 4 weeks is the usual notice period.
The government has made changes to Housing Benefit from 01 April 2011. If you plan to move on or after 01 April we recommend that you contact us before signing a new tenancy agreement for details of how your Benefit will be affected. The changes mean it is unlikely that you will continue to receive the same amount of benefit at your new address.
In certain circumstances Housing Benefit can be paid for two different tenancies at a time during a period but this is only where it is unavoidable for you to hold both tenancies and you are liable for the rent on both of the properties.
