Supporting Evidence

In order for the benefits office to assess your claim for Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax Benefit you must supply various supporting evidence with your claim. You must provide evidence to support both yourself and your partner.

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A change in the definition of PARTNER affecting Housing and/or Council Tax Benefit claims

From 5th December 2005, a partner means a person you are married to or have a civil partnership with, or a person you live with as if you were their husband, wife or civil partner.  (A civil partnership is a formal arrangement that gives same-sex partners the same legal status as a married couple.)

From 5th December 2005 where the word PARTNER appears on the Housing & Council Tax Benefit Claim Form the definition above should be applied.

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Click on the links below to go to the information you require.

Original Documents
National Insurance Numbers
Identification
Evidence of your income
Income other than earnings
Self-Employed
Capital, Savings and Investments
Tenancy and Rent

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Original Documents                                                                                                        Top of page

At all times, original documents must be sent to this office. Once verified, they will all be returned to you. Photocopies of documents cannot be accepted unless verified by an officer authorised to check documents to support benefit claims.

Documents can be supplied with your claim form or within one calendar month of submitting your claim form. If you do not have all of the documentation at hand, do not delay in submitting your application to the Benefits Office because the date when your benefit application is received by Revenue & Benefit Services affects the date your claim starts. You can send your application form to the Benefits Office by;

• Post, all documents are returned by second class post within 2 working days of receipt. Note if documents are posted in by recorded delivery, they will be returned by recorded delivery.
• In person, at the enquiry counter. Documents can be handed directly to a member of staff who will photocopy and verify the documents immediately and return them to you.
• Visit. If you are unable to visit the Benefits Office because you are elderly, sick or disabled. Then a visiting officer will be able to visit you to view & verify your supporting evidence. Please call 01258 454111 to make an appointment.

Detailed below are examples of what kind of evidence the benefits office will want to see to enable them to calculate your entitlement to Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax Benefit. Depending upon your individual circumstances, there may be other information that you will be asked to provide.

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National Insurance Numbers                                                                                        Top of page

We will need proof of you and your partner’s (If applicable) National Insurance Number before we can process your claim. Your national insurance number is issued to you by the Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) and is made up of a series of letters and numbers. You can usually find this number on documents such as:

• National Insurance Card
• Wage slips/salary slips
• P45 (given to you when you leave a job)
• P60 (annual tax statement)
• Benefit payment books
• Pension books.

If you are unable to find any information to confirm your national insurance number, please contact the Benefits Office for further advice.

If you do not havea national insurance number, please contact your local jobcentre plus. You can find their contact details by clicking here.

REMEMBER: All documents must be originals, photocopies will not be accepted.

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Identification                                                                                                                      Top of page

It is necessary to confirm you and your partner’s (If applicable) identity. Usually, two of the documents that are listed below will be enough to satisfy this. Occasionally, we may ask you to provide further information or evidence of your identification.

Acceptable proofs of identity

These must be in your name.

If you have come from a different country

There are particular rules that apply to certain groups of people coming in to this country. You will need to provide your immigration papers:

• If you have come to the common travel area.
• Have been granted refugee status.
• Have been granted “exceptional leave to remain”.
• Are seeking asylum.
• Have been granted asylum.

The benefit office will need to determine whether or not you are entitled to claim housing benefit.

REMEMBER: All documents must be originals, photocopies will not be accepted.

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Evidence of your income                                                                                                 Top of page

Earnings

If you, your partner or any non-dependant are in paid work we need to see proof of earnings. This also applies to Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) or Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP). We will need to see:

• If paid weekly - the last five payslips.
• If paid fortnightly - the last three payslips.
• If paid monthly or four weekly - the last two payslips.

OR

• A certificate of earnings completed by your employer. Please contact the Benefits Office if you need one of these forms or visit the benefits counter.

Please note that we cannot accept hand written payslips, you will need to ask for a certificate of earnings, which must be signed by your employer & stamped with their official stamp.

If you, your partner or any non-dependant have only just recently started work and do not have enough payslips yet do not delay making your claim. Post or bring your claim to us straight away and let us have the correct number of payslips as soon as you have them.

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Income other than earnings                                                                                           Top of page

We need to see proof of ALL other income you, your partner or any non-dependants receive apart from what you earn. The evidence required is shown below:

Order books, recent award letters or bank statements are required for the following income:

Bank statements, payment slips, company letters or statements are required for the following:

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Self-Employed                                                                                                                   Top of page

If you, your partner or non-dependant are self-employed we need to see what you or they earn from self-employment.

If you have been trading for less than 6 months we need to see a summary of your trading records up until now that shows all your business income and expenses. If you have been trading for more than a year we will need to see your completed accounts for your last financial year.

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Capital, Savings and Investments                                                                               Top of page

We will need to see proof of any savings and capital that you or your partner have, examples are listed below;

REMEMBER: All documents must be originals, photocopies will not be accepted.

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Tenancy and Rent                                                                                                            Top of page

For private and Housing Association tenants only

We need to see evidence of your tenancy and that you have paid your rent. Listed below are forms of acceptable evidence;

• Your original signed tenancy agreement plus your rent books or receipts.
• An official letter from your landlord/landlady or their official agent plus your rent book or receipts.
• A Certificate of Rent fully completed and signed by your landlord/landlady or their official agent. There is a tear-off certificate in the back of the application form that can be filled out. Alternatively you can contact the Benefits Office to arrange for one to be sent out to you.

The Certificate of Rent MUST include:

• Your landlord's/landlady’s and any agent's name and full address.
• Your relationship to the landlord.
• The date the tenancy started, the amount payable and how often you pay i.e. weekly, lunar monthly, calendar monthly etc.
• Details of any services included i.e. electricity, heating, lighting, meals etc which are inclusive in the rent.
• Your landlord’s/landlady’s signature.

REMEMBER: All documents must be originals, photocopies will not be accepted.

Please Note When sending in documents or letters please ensure that your name, address and reference number (if known) are clearly written in black ink.

If your accommodation does not have a secure post box, it is recommended that you make a personal visit to the Benefits Enquiry counter with any valuable documents, so that they can be returned to you immediately.

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