What if my circumstances change?

This section applies to persons of working age. If you are of pensionable age please go to the next section.

The Law states that you must tell the Council of any change in your circumstances that will affect the amount of Housing or Council Tax Benefit that you are currently receiving, and that you must report any change as soon as it occurs.

Even though you may have reported your change in circumstances to another Government Department, such as the Inland Revenue, Jobcentre, or the Department of Works and Pensions, you must still inform us of the change too.

If you do not tell us about your new circumstances it may mean that we are paying you an incorrect amount of benefit, which could mean that you are either missing out on some benefit or that you are receiving benefit that you are no longer entitled to which you might have to pay back later.

What kind of change do I need to tell you about?

The following paragraphs list examples of the types of changes in your circumstances that you must tell the Council about.

Changes to your benefits:

If you or your partner stop getting Income Support, Jobseekers Allowance, Incapacity or Sickness Benefit, Employment and Support Allowance, or any other state benefit.

Changes to your income:

All changes to your income, whether they increase or decrease, start or stop, must be reported. By income we mean:

  • You and your partners earnings
  • Any Tax Credits you receive
  • Any maintenance payments received (even though maintenance is not taken into account when calculating your income)
  • Any pensions received
  • Or any other income received

Changes to your savings and investments:

Please note we do not wish to know about minor changes to your current account, or changes to value of any shares you have. The changes we want to know about are:

  • If your savings and investments increase to more than £6,000.
  • If your savings and investments increase to more than £16,000.
  • If the amount of savings you have radically changes because of a windfall or if you have had to spend the money.

Changes affecting the people who live with you:

Please inform the Council of any changes that affect the composition of your household, or the income that they have, by which we mean:

  • Anyone who moves in or out
  • If you have a birth or death in your household
  • Any change in the earnings, benefits, or other incomes of anyone living with you.
  • If your children leave full time education or you stop getting Child Benefit.

Changes to your rent:

You must inform the Council of any changes that affect the terms of your tenancy, by which we mean:

  • Any increase or decrease in the amount of rent you pay
  • Any increase or decrease in the amount of service charges that you pay
  • If the part of property you live in changes.

Please note if you are a Council tenant you do not need to tell us about any changes to your rent.

Miscellaneous changes:

  • If you move address. Please tell us the date you moved and the address you are going to.
  • If you or a member of your household temporarily moves out, for example, if they have go away to care for someone, or go into care. We do not want to know about people who have gone on holiday.
  • If a member of your family is sent to prison.
  • If a member of your family has to go into hospital for more than a week.
  • If an adult member of your family becomes a full time student or leaves full time education.
  • If you get married, or enter into a Civil Partnership.

Please note the above list is not comprehensive of all the changes that could occur to someone’s circumstances. If you have had any change in your, your partners, or any members of your household’s circumstances, please tell the Council immediately.

When should I tell you about any changes that have happened?

You should always tell the Council about any changes that have happened as soon as is possible, and definitely not more than a month later. The reason why you should tell us immediately:

  • If you tell us about your change within a month of it occurring we will be able to calculate your benefit from the Monday following the actual date of change, this means that if the change is beneficial to you, you will get more money, and if the change is detrimental you are less likely to incur an overpayment.
  • If you tell us more than a month after the event occurred we will only be able to change your benefit award from the Monday after you told us about the change if the change would result in you getting more benefit.
  • If you tell us more than a month after the event occurred and the change results in you getting less benefit, we will take the change back to the date it occurred and you will almost certainly have to repay an overpayment.

How do I tell you about a change in my circumstances?

You can either use one of our dedicated forms (please go to our Claim Forms and Pro-Forma section) or write to the Council. You can also go into our Contact Centre in Lord Street and report your change or phone the Council. All our contact details are listed in the Contacts section.

You must inform the Council of the date the change occurred, and what the change was. For example, if you have started work we will need to know the date upon which you started your job, where you work, and what your earnings are or will be. As in this example, it may not be possible to provide us with details about your new income until you have been paid but you shouldn’t delay telling us about your change as we can take action so that you do not get overpaid.

We will need to see original evidence of any change that you have had.

How long will it take to process my change in circumstances?

The Council aims to process changes in circumstances within 7 calendar days (on average).

To assist the Council in processing your change please include all the information we require and as much evidence is it is possible to provide at the time. If we need more evidence we write to you.

In all circumstances the Council will do all it can to minimise the risk of you being overpaid.

What happens after I have told you about my new circumstances?

Based upon the information you have supplied we will make a new decision about the amount of benefit you are entitled to. Once we have made a new decision we are required by law to notify you in writing of the decision we have made and how we have arrived at it. If you have been overpaid we will also notify you of this (please see our Overpayments section for more information).

If you disagree with our decision you have the right to ask us to look at our decision again or you can appeal against it. To do so you will need to write to the Council within one calendar month of the date of letter notifying you of the decision outlining your reasons as to why you disagree with our decision.

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