Housing Benefit
How do I report a change in circumstance?
If you receive Housing Benefit or Council Tax Reduction, it's important to report any changes in your circumstance (or changes in circumstance for anyone in your household) immediately to avoid issues with your benefits.
On this page:
When to report a change in circumstance
Report a change in circumstance
Upload supporting evidence after you have reported a change in circumstance
What happens after you have reported a change in circumstance
What happens if you don’t report a change in circumstance
When to report a change in circumstance
You must tell us immediately if:
- Your income changes e.g.
- wages
- pensions
- Working Tax Credit or Child Tax Credit
- You start or stop receiving any benefits e.g.
- Universal Credit*
- Jobseeker's Allowance
- Employment and Support Allowance
- Income Support
- Carers Allowance
Please note*
If you receive Universal Credit, you will need to report any changes in your circumstance to:
Universal Credit Services Centre
- Tel: 0345 6000 723 or 0845 6000 723
They will let us know about any changes to your Universal Credit.
- There are ‘significant’ changes e.g. increase in money of more than £16,000 in your:
- bank account(s)
- savings
- stocks or shares
- you move to a new address.
- someone moves in or out of your household
- someone you live with starts or stops work so their income changes
- you or someone in your household goes into hospital or a care home
- you have a new baby
- a child leaves or changes school
- you become a student
- you complete your further education or training
If you rent privately or rent through a Housing Association, you must tell us if:
- your rent amount changes
- any services included in your rent change e.g. communal charges, heating, water etc…
- something changes in the shared property you live in e.g. you move into a different room, or you rent more rooms in the same property
- your landlord changes
Please note:
- Council tenants do not need to tell us about changes to their rent.
- Landlords who are receiving Housing Benefit payments directly must report any changes in circumstances that they become aware of.
Report a change in circumstance
Evidence you may need to provide
We will need to see proof of the change you are telling us about.
This may include:
- Notice of rent increase
- Pay slips
- Bank statements
We will contact you if we need more evidence or information.
If you are moving house and are a private tenant or Housing Association tenant, you will need to provide:
- A copy of your new tenancy agreement showing:
- your name
- tenancy start date
- rent amount and how often you make a rent payment e.g. weekly, monthly etc…
- any additional service charges included in the rent e.g. heating, water
- Recent payslips.
- Bank statements.
- Notice of rent increase.
Report a change in circumstance
Upload supporting evidence after you have reported a change in circumstance
If you have reported a change in circumstance but not uploaded your supporting evidence yet…
You can:
- upload documents online
or
- email photos/scanned documents to: revenue.services@pembrokeshire.gov.uk
Please remember to provide your:
- Claim reference number
or
- National Insurance number
You will need a My Account to use this service.
If you are not registered for a My Account
You can create an account by choosing ‘Register’ and providing an email address and password.
You will then need to add your Council Tax account reference to your My Account Homepage and then select ‘View my Council Tax Account’
Then select 'Register' under the Benefits heading.
To register or sign in for the first time, you'll need:
- Your Council Tax Reduction/Housing Benefit claim reference number (you will find this on any Council Tax Reduction or Housing Benefit letters we have sent)
- Your National Insurance Number
Please note: you must already be claiming Council Tax Reduction or Housing Benefit to use this service
What happens after you have reported a change in circumstance
We will:
- Contact you if more information is needed.
- Inform you of any changes to your benefit amount.
- Let you know if you've been overpaid.
- Explain how your benefit was recalculated.
- Provide guidance if you think there's an error in your benefit amount/payments
What happens if you don’t report a change in circumstance
If you don’t report any changes to us within one month this may mean:
- we have given you too much Housing Benefit. You would then need to pay back any extra money you have received
or
- you are not claiming all your entitlements and you are missing out on additional benefits/payments