Changes in your circumstances

Your entitlement to Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax Benefit is based on the information on your form. Your entitlement will change if your circumstances change.

You must tell us about changes in your circumstances as soon as possible. If you don't tell us about these changes quickly you may lose out on benefit as the increase in your benefit may not be paid from the date that the change happened. To ensure that we can amend your benefit to allow any increase in entitlement you must tell us within one month of the change happening.

For example if you do not notify us within one calendar month of an increase in your rent or a decrease in your income, you may not get the additional benefit due from the date of the change. So your benefit will only be amended from the Monday following the date that you notify us. However if you do inform us within one calendar month, then we will be able to amend your entitlement from the date of the change.

If you do not inform us of a change that causes an overpayment of Housing and/or Council Tax Benefit, it will be amended from the actual change date, no matter how long ago the change happened, and you will be responsible for any overpayment being repaid.

Change in your circumstances form

What is a change of circumstance?

During the period for which you have been granted Benefit, the details you have given about income, capital and the people who live with you may change. These changes may affect the amount of Benefit you are entitled to. If you have any changes in your family or financial circumstances, please write to tell us about them. If you are not sure whether the change will affect your Benefit, tell us anyway.

Why do I need to tell you about these changes?

Under the regulations, most changes in circumstances affect your Housing and/or Council Tax Benefit from the Monday after they happen. If you don't tell us on time about a change which reduces your Benefit, and we find out later you will have received too much Benefit. This is called an overpayment (for Housing Benefit) or Excess Benefit (for Council Tax Benefit). You will normally have to pay these back to the Council. So to avoid a large bill later, tell us about changes in your circumstances as soon as they happen.

What happens after I have told you about a change?

We will write to you and tell you how the change has affected your Housing and/or Council Tax Benefit, even if nothing has changed. If we haven't written to you within 2 weeks of you telling us about a change, you should contact the office to find out if we have dealt with your letter.

Examples of changes in circumstances, which you must tell us about, include when

• Any of your children leave school or leave home.
• Anyone moves into or out of your home, including lodgers and subtenants.
• Your income or the income of anyone living with you changes, including benefits.
• You or your partner’s wages go up or down.
• You have a child.
• 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. (This includes moving to another flat or room at the same address)
• You or your partner are going to be away from home for more than a month.
• You or anyone living with you starts work.
• You receive any decision from the Home Office.
• Anything you have told us about changes.

If you wish to report a change of circumstances then please contact the Council.

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