Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council - Change of Circumstances

Change of Circumstances

When your Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit claim starts, your claim will continue until your circumstances change. A change could be something affecting you, your partner or anybody else who lives with you and it could increase or reduce your benefit entitlement or stop you being entitled to Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit altogether.

If your circumstances change, it is your legal responsibility to advise us of this so that your benefit can be amended.

What changes do you need to tell us about?
When should you report a change in circumstances?
How can you report a change in circumstances?
What information do you need to provide?
What happens if you don’t report a change in circumstances?

What changes do you need to tell us about?

If you are not in receipt of Pension Credit, the sort of changes you must tell us about that could affect your benefit include:

Changes in income or capital

Any increase or decrease in wages, works pensions, maintenance etc
If any sort of income starts, stops or the amount you get goes up or down
If you or your partner start or stop working
Any changes to the amount of your capital or savings

Changes in other benefits

If you start or stop getting Income Support
If you start or stop getting Jobseeker's Allowance
If any other benefit starts or stops or the amount changes
If Working Tax Credit or Child Tax Credit starts or stops, or if the amount changes

People who live with you

If someone comes to live with you
If someone living with you leaves
If anyone who lives with you starts or stops working
If there is any change in the income of someone who lives with you
If a child leaves school

Changes in rent (private and housing association tenants only)

If your landlord puts your rent up or down
If the services included in your rent change
If the part of the property you live in changes. For example, you may move to a different room in the same property or take on extra rooms

Changes in where you live

If you or your partner move address
If you or your partner go into hospital or residential care

If you are getting Pension Guarantee Credit you only have to tell us about the following changes:

If you move
If anyone else moves into or out of your home
If your rent goes up or down
If you are likely to be away from your home for 13 weeks or more
If there is a change in the income of any of your non-dependants
If you are getting Pension Savings Credit you need to tell us about the above changes plus any of the following changes:
If your total savings go above £16,000
If there are any changes in the amount of Child Benefit or Child Tax Credit you receive

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When should you report a change in circumstances?

You should report your change in circumstances as soon as you are aware of the change.

If you delay in reporting the change and:

The change results in an increase in your benefit entitlement, the change may only take effect from the date you told us about it, so you lose benefit.
The change results in a reduction in your benefit entitlement any overpaid benefit will be recovered from you – see section; What happens if you don’t report a change?

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How can you report a change in circumstances?

You must report your change of circumstances in writing and provide any evidence of the change ie, wage slips etc.

You can either complete the change of circumstances leaflet, write to us or use the online change of circumstances form to tell us about your change in circumstances.

If you report your change of circumstances at the Benefits Enquiry Counter in Dudley and provide all information required, we will FAST TRACK your case and process your change within 2 days.

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What information do you need to provide?

When reporting your change it is important that you also provide any evidence needed to process your change.

Only original documents can be accepted as evidence as we cannot accept photocopies.

The evidence you need to provide will depend on the change in your circumstances. If you need any help with what you need to provide please contact us.

If you do not provide the information required we will have to contact you again and will not be able to process the change until we have got the information needed.

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What happens if you don’t report a change in circumstances?

If you do not report your change at the correct time you may be being paid too much Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit. Any amount overpaid will have to be claimed back from you.

Housing Benefit - If you have been overpaid Housing Benefit we will ask you or in some cases your landlord, to repay the money overpaid. If you are still entitled to Housing Benefit, the amount of Housing Benefit you are paid will be reduced until the full amount has been recovered. If you no longer qualify for Housing Benefit you will be issued an invoice for the overpaid amount.

Council Tax Benefit - If you have been overpaid Council Tax Benefit, the amount you have been overpaid will be added to your council tax account and revised instalments issued.

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