Changes you must tell us about
It's your responsibilty to tell us straight away about any changes in you or your partners circumstances, or in those of other people that you live with.
If you don't tell us about a change that affects your entitlement and we give you too much Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit, then you may have to pay back some, or all, of the money that you have had.
Below is a list of common changes. However, it is important for you to tell us about any changes - not just the ones listed here - as soon as they happen.
Income
- Entitlement to Income Support, Jobseekers Allowance or Guarantee Pension Credit begins or ends
- Entitlement to any other benefit begins or ends (e.g. Disability Living Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance)
- Earned income - change of employer, rate of of pay, hours worked, etc
- Increases or decreases in the value of your, or your partner's, savings and investments
Household
- Somebody moves in or out
- You start or stop letting-out part of your home to someone who pays rent
- You, your partner or your child starts or finishes full-time education
- You or somebody in your household goes into hospital
- You or your partner are away from home and don't plan to return within 13 weeks
Tenancy
- You move home
- Your rent (or share of it) increases or decreases
- You receive a new tenancy agreement or the conditions of your tenancy change
For most changes you will need to provide proof so that we can reassess your benefit. You will be told on the above form which evidence you need to provide.
Permission to discuss your account on your behalf
In some cases, you might want someone else to talk to us about your benefits. This could be a family member, a friend, or someone who helps you. To be able to do this, you will need to give us explicit permission using our online form.
We will only talk to the person you choose. They can ask questions and give us information, but they can’t make big decisions for you unless you say so.
Allowing someone to discuss your benefits account is not the same as giving them power of attorney.
Power of attorney is a legal way to let someone make decisions for you about things like:
- Your money
- Your home
- Your health
If you want to give someone power of attorney, you must go through a legal process. You can find out more about this on the government website or by talking to a solicitor.
When you need to tell us of your changes
You must tell us within a month of your change in circumstance happening. If your new circumstances mean you get more money from your benefit, you could risk losing out if you don’t tell us straight-away.
If your new circumstances mean you would get less money from your benefit, you should still tell us within a month. To reduce the likelihood of being overpaid, please do tell us straight away.
Who else you need to tell about your changes
Department of Work and Pensions
If you get Universal Credit, Income Support, Jobseeker's Allowance or any other social security benefit, you need to tell the Department of Work and Pensions about your change immediately.
If you have moved, we always check if you are getting these benefits at your new address. However, if the Department of Work and Pensions don't know that you've moved, it might hold up your claim with us.
It is an offence not to tell us about a change in your circumstances that affects your benefit. We may take further action against you if we consider that you have committed an offence.
Tell the Department of Work and Pensions of a change in circumstance
Fraud
If you know someone who is claiming benefit when they shouldn’t be, you can report this in confidence down below or via our Fraud page.