Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction

How Can I Claim Housing and Council Tax Benefit?

To claim you must tell us about your family, your home, your finances and your capital. You must also provide us with original documents to show those things.

Housing and Council Tax Benefit Checklist

Identity (ID) - 2 proofs of ID for both you and your partner
This could be your driving licence, passport, medical card, national insurance card, home office letter, birth certificate etc

Residency - Evidence of where you live
This could be your utility bills showing your address, benefit letters, your signed tenancy agreement or the council tax bill

Household– Details of everyone who lives with you.
If you have non dependant adults you have to show us their income too. If your Dependant children receive benefits, such as disability payments you will need to provide evidence of them. You will also need proof of their identity.

Wages – Proof of your wages
This is your payslips - 5 weekly, 3 fortnightly or two monthly pay slips; they must be the most recent and consecutive. Or, if you are self employed, your income and expenditure for the business.

Benefits - All state benefits and tax credits
Please bring us the letters you have that show your benefit entitlement that is being paid. This will include Child Benefit, Working Tax Credits, and your state pension, ESA, JobSeekers Allowance, Disability Allowances and Pension Credits

Private Pensions
We need to see your pension payment slip, a letter from your pension provider or evidence of it being paid into an account.

Savings & Capital
We need to see your pass book or the last two full months bank statements, they can’t be mini statements. You have to provide this for every account you hold, even if you are overdrawn. Also Share certificates or Savings Certificates as well.

Any Other Income
Help us to help you by declaring all income and making sure you have original documents that show your income together with any tax or national insurance you are paying.

Proof of your Rent Liability -
Your signed original tenancy agreement (signed by all parties), a rent book or a letter from your landlord. You don’t need this you if you are a council tenant.

PLEASE UNDERSTAND: The rules say that we can not assess your claim without the proof we ask for in the list above. However, we can still accept your claim without them whilst you gather the information.

By Telephone
You can make a claim by ringing the New Claims Hotline where an advisor will take your details, tell you all the things you need to provide and make arrangements for you to bring them in by appointment or send them in by post.
To make your claim please call our New Claims Hotline on 01908 252770

We can visit you
If you are unable to come in and see us and would like us to come to your home, please give us a call on MK 252770 and we can arrange it for you.
By Post
You can make claim by post. We will send you a form but most of our customers prefer us to fill the form in with them, either at our reception or over the phone. If you need a form please call the New Claims Hotline on the above number.

Want to check it out for yourself?
We have a calculator on our website where you can answer the questions and see for yourself if you might qualify for benefit

Click on the link to visit the
Housing and Council Tax Benefit Calculator
Where else can you get help with making a claim?
We work with lots of groups and people in our Community. Typically you may be able to get help from: