Guide to Council Tax and Housing benefit
The rules about how benefit is paid can be confusing. This online guide is here to answer your questions.
Required evidence
You will need to provide us with evidence to support your benefit application.
Only original documents can be used to support your benefit application, copies will not be accepted.
We will need to see documents to confirm the following things for you (and any partner):
- Proof of identity
- such as birth certificates, marriage certificates, passport, National Insurance number card, medical card, driving licence, UK residence permit, current Home Office letter, EU identity card, or recent gas or electricity bill. We may need to see several of these documents for each person.
- National Insurance Number
- such as National Insurance number cards, payslips or letters from a social security or tax office.
- Savings, investments and property
- such as all your bank, building society or post office books; full bank statement; and certificates for premium bonds, National Savings Certificates, ISAs, Tessas, stocks, shares and unit trusts. We need to see evidence of any interest or dividends you get on investments and savings. The evidence you send must show details for at least the last three months.
- Earnings
- this means your last five payslips if you are paid weekly, you last three payslips if you are paid every two weeks, or your last two payslips if you are paid monthly. We can give you a form for your employer to fill in if you do not have these payslips. If you or your partner is self-employed, we need to see your accounts for the last financial year or, if you have been trading for less than six months, a summary of your trading so far. We can supply a form.
- Other income
- such as pension slips from a former employer, or a letter from the court showing how much maintenance you are getting. We need to see evidence of any money you get from people who pay you for board and lodgings.
- Benefits, allowances, tax credits, pension credits or pensions
- such as current award notices or letters from the Department of Work and Pensions confirming how much you get.
- Private rent and tenancy
- such as a rent book, rent receipts, a tenancy agreement or a letter from your landlord. We can supply a form if you do not have these documents.
- Other money paid out
- such as letters about student grants, pension schemes or receipts for child care costs.
If you cannot provide us with the evidence we need at the time you make your claim, send your application form back to us straight away and send the evidence later.
We can start to process your claim as soon as we get your application form, but we will not be able to pay you any benefit until we have received all of the evidence we need.