How can I claim benefit?

If you have just claimed or are about to make a new claim for Income Support, Job Seekers Allowance or Incapacity Benefit, you will have to make your claim for Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax Benefit through the Job Centre Plus Customer Contact Centre (Tel 0800 055 6688). You will need to provide all the information the Job Centre Plus request to support your claim.

We may also need information from you to complete your Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax Benefit claim. We will normally write to you about the information we may need, once the Job Centre Plus have passed your claim details to us.

If you are not making a claim for Income Support, Job Seekers Allowance or Incapacity Benefit you will need to complete our claim form. These forms are available from our offices, can be downloaded from the link opposite or contact us and we will send you one.

If you are elderly or disabled, we can arrange a home visit to help fill in your form. Contact us to ask about a home visit.

Remember when you make a claim to us you will need to provide original documents to support your claim. The information we require includes:

• Proof of your (and your partner’s) National Insurance Number
• Proof of your (and your partner’s) identity/residency at the address you are claiming for
• Proof of your (and your partner's) income e.g. wage slips, self employed earnings , pension slips, payment books, Tax Credit Award letter etc 
• Proof of your (and your partner's) savings and investments e.g. bank statements, building society pass books, Income Bonds, share certificates etc

More details on what we will accept as proof are given in the document opposite called - Notes on claiming benefit. 

Normally, we will not work out any benefit entitlement until we have seen all the information required. It is up to you to provide the relevant documents within one month of the date of claim or as soon as possible.

If you have problems getting the information, please contact us straight away and we can give you more time. 

When do I claim benefit?

You should make a claim as soon as possible. If you delay claiming you may lose benefit.

We normally work out benefit from the Monday after the date you first contact the Council or Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). However, your Housing /Council Tax Benefit claim form must be received at these offices or DWP within one calendar month from the date the form is sent to you. If you do not get the form back to us or DWP within the one calendar month, your claim will start from the Monday after it is received. 

You can ask for your claim to start from an earlier date than we receive it. This is called "Backdating". More information about backdating your benefit is given opposite.