Changes in your circumstances can mean a change to your Housing Benefit or Council Tax Support.
If you receive Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax Support, the law states that you must tell us about any changes in your, or your family's circumstances. This is because it may affect the amount of benefit / support you are entitled to.
See Contact us at the top of the page to find out where and how to report changes. You can also write to us at Leeds Benefits Service, Selectapost 15, Leeds LS2 8BA.
If you do not tell us about a change within one month of it happening, you may lose out on Housing Benefit, or we may pay you too much benefit that you will have to pay back to us.
The law says that you must report any changes that may affect your Council Tax Support within 21 days.
Telling the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) or Her Majesties Revenues and Customs (HMRC) about a change does not mean that they will pass the information on to us. You must tell us yourself.
Some of the changes in circumstances that you must tell us about:
- You or your partner's wages go up or down
- You or your partner start working or change jobs
- Any state benefits that you or your partner receive change or stop
- You or your partner start to receive a state benefit
- Anyone moves into or out of your home,
- The circumstances of anyone living with you changes
- You or your partner's private pension goes up or down
- You or your partner's savings go up or down
- You or your partner have any other change which may affect your benefit
You must send us written confirmation to tell us about the change and the date it happened. You can download a change in circumstances form from the download area at the bottom of the page.
You must also provide supporting evidence of the change in circumstances. We can only accept original documents, photocopies are not suitable.
You must also tell us if you move address while you are in receipt of Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax Support. To tell us about a change of address you should use one of the change of address forms available as a download from the download area at the bottom of the page
If you are paid too much Housing Benefit (this is called an overpayment) and/or Council Tax Support you will have to pay it back.
If you disagree with a Housing Benefit overpayment you have the right to appeal – the appeal leaflet and guidance notes are available as a download from the bottom of this page
