Information about housing benefit

You must tell the Benefit section immediately of any changes in circumstances affecting you, your partner or anyone else living in your home. For example:

• any of your children leave school or leave home
• 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
• you or anyone living with you becomes a student, goes on a Youth Training Scheme, goes into hospital or a nursing home, goes into prison, or changes or leaves a job
• your rent changes
• you move
• you or your partner are going to be temporarily absent from your home
• you or anyone living with you starts work
• you receive any decision from the Home Office, or
• if anything you have previously told us about changes.

This is not a full list, if you are not sure, ask us for advice. You must tell us about any changes affecting Housing Benefit within one month of the change or within 21 days of changes that affect Council Tax Support.

• if you do not tell us about any changes, you may lose money you are entitled to or you may get too much benefit
• you must make sure that you tell us about any changes. Do not rely on someone else to pass the message on.
• it is an offence not to tell your council about any changes that may affect your benefit. We may take court action against you and if we pay you too much benefit, you will probably have to pay it back.

You can report your change of circumstance using the online change in circumstances form or by telephone: 01626 215078.