Reporting Changes: Council Tax Reduction and Housing Benefit
When you are in receipt of Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction you must notify the council of any changes in your circumstances that might affect your entitlement.
Who should report a change?
- The person claiming
- A landlord who receives payments
Examples of change in circumstances
The following are some examples of changes in circumstances that you, your partner or members of your household may experience and should be reported. This is not an exhaustive list.
Income |
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Capital |
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Household |
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Rent |
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Personal Details |
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Reporting a change
If your circumstances have changed or are about to change, you must tell us immediately in order to avoid having to pay money back to us.
Report change of circumstances online
Alternatively, forms for the following circumstances are available to download below:
Changes in income [201Kb]
Changes in childcare costs [303Kb]
Changes in rent details [190Kb]
Changes in self employment [373Kb]
Time limits
If you delay in telling us when a change happens we may pay you the wrong amount. We need to know of the change as soon as is reasonably possible.
If the change increases your entitlement we may only be able to apply the change from the date that you let us know.
However if the change reduces your entitlement you may be overpaid from the date of change. You will probably have to pay the overpayment back.
It may be considered fraud if you continue to receive Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax reduction when you are not entitled.
Evidence
In most cases we will need to see evidence of the change before we can reassess the award. This is usually original documentation which we will photo copy and return to you. Delays in providing the supporting evidence may mean that we will take longer to process the change. The evidence may be provided to local offices or Pullar House, 35 Kinnoull Street, Perth, PH1 5GD during the hours of 08.45 and 17.00 Monday to Friday.
If you are worried that it may take longer than expected to get the information we need please contact us.