Applying for benefit

• Housing benefit application form (PDF - 261 kb)

About this form

The Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit claim form has been specially designed to be easy to fill in. It may seem rather long, but we have to ask a lot of questions to make sure that everyone who claims gets the right amount of benefit.

You may not have to fill in all parts of the form, but you must fill in any part that is relevant to you. For example, if you own your property and are only applying for help with your Council Tax then you will not need to complete the sections regarding 'rent'. Every part starts with a question to help you decide if you need to fill in that part.

When should I claim?

You should claim benefits as soon as you need them because they cannot normally be 'backdated', unless you can show continuous 'good cause' for not claiming sooner.

If you know your circumstances are going to change, for example, if you are going to retire, you can make a claim up to 13 weeks before the change is due to take place

Unless you are claiming in advance, benefit will normally start from the first Monday following the date the Council receives your written application, or letter requesting help.

If your claim is received in the week that a new liability for Council Tax or rent starts and you move in to your new accommodation, Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax Benefit will start in that week.

You cannot get Housing Benefit for any rent due before you move into a property except in special circumstances, and then only for a maximum of four weeks.

Second Adult Rebate

Second Adult Rebate is Council Tax Benefit for people who do not have a husband / wife / partner, but who share their home with someone who:

• is 18 or over and
• is on a low income and
• does not pay them rent

If you are claiming Second Adult Rebate, only fill in Parts 1, 3, 13 and 15.

Proof

We need to see proof of some of the things you tell us about. There is a checklist at the end of the form to help you. If you are not sure if we need to see proof of something, get in touch with us. We will tell you what we need to see. We cannot pay you benefit until we have seen the proof we have asked for.

If you do not have the proof, still send in your form, we will write to you and ask you for the proof that we need.

Changes you must tell us about in writing

Tell us straight away if:

• any of your children leave school, leaves home, or you stop getting child benefit for them
• anyone moves into, or out of, your home (including lodgers and sub-tenants)
• your income, or the income of anyone living with you (including benefits) changes
• your capital or savings change by more than £250
• you or anyone living with you starts work, changes or leaves a job, goes on a Youth Training Scheme, goes into hospital or a nursing home, goes into prison, or becomes a student
• your rent changes
• you move home
• you or your partner are going to be away from home for more than a month
• you receive any decision from the Home Office with regards your immigration status
• anything you have told us about changes

If you are getting Guaranteed Pension Credit you only have to tell us about these changes...

• if you move home
• if anyone else moves into or out of your home
• if your rent goes up or down
• if you are likely to be away from your home for 13 weeks or more
• if there is a change in the income of any of your non-dependants

If you are not getting Guaranteed Pension Credit, but do receive Savings Credit, you need to tell us about the above changes and any of these changes...

• if your total savings are likely to go above £16,000

If you don't tell us about these changes within one month
you may lose money you are entitled to, or you may get too much benefit and will have to pay back the extra.

You must make sure that you tell us about these changes.
Don't rely on someone else to pass the message on.

It is an offence not to tell us about any change of circumstances that affects your benefit.
We may take court action against you, if we pay you too much benefit, you may have to pay it back.

How we collect and use information

We will use the information you give in the form, and in any supporting evidence you send us, to process your claim for Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit and Council Tax.

We may pass the information to other agencies or organisations such as the Department for Work and Pensions, the Employment Service and the Inland Revenue, as allowed by the law.

By law, we may check the information you have provided, or information provided about you by someone else, against other information we already have.

We may also ask other agencies, organisations, local authorities or government departments to give us information they have about you to check it is accurate, prevent or detect crime and protect public funds.