Reporting a change - what we need

Always check the award notices we send to you and notify us immediately if the information we're using is incorrect.

If you're in receipt of housing benefit/and or council tax support, you're required to report any change in your circumstances and/or the circumstances of your household, if it will possibly affect your housing benefit or council tax support award. If your assessment is incorrect, and you're given too much benefit and/or support, you may be asked to pay it back, even if we've made a mistake.

Below we've listed the sort of things we're likely to need from you if you're reporting a change. We need you to provide original documents, not photocopies, not emailed photos, not  scanned items and not screen prints. We've listed the documents that are acceptable on our providing evidence page. If you're unable to provide original documents you should contact us on 0345 678 9002 to discuss your situation. This list is not exhaustive; if in any doubt contact us for advice.

Reporting a change of address

What we need to know:

  • The date you moved
  • Your new address
  • About any changes to your household
  • About any changes to your or any member of your household’s income and/or capital

What evidence we need:

  • A change of address form (you can send us your change of address form prior to moving, but we'll need you to confirm that you've moved before we can process the change)
  • The new tenancy agreement
  • Proof of any household, income or capital changes
  • An overlap request form (if you wish to claim for an unavoidable overlap of rents)

Change to your household (a dependent child or young person)

Joining your household

What we need to know:

  • The name and date of birth of a new child
  • The name and date of birth of a child or dependent young person joining your household
  • The date the child or dependent young person joined your household

What evidence we need:

  • The child or dependent young child’s birth certificate, and
  • Proof of child tax credit, and
  • Proof of child benefit, and
  • Proof of education (if they have moved on from secondary education)

Leaving your household

What we need to know:

  • The date a child or dependent young person has left your household, and
  • Where they have moved to

At ages 16 and 18

What we need to know:

Whether they're:

  • Continuing in full time education
  • Continuing in part-time education whilst working
  • Enrolling on an apprenticeship
  • Making a claim to benefit in their own right
  • Leaving education, and if so what they're going to do next

What evidence we need:

  • Proof of child tax credit, and
  • Proof of child benefit, and
  • Their national insurance number, and
  • Proof of enrolment in further education, or
  • Proof of enrolment on an apprenticeship, and
  • Proof of earnings (if working), and
  • Proof of any other income (18 years old)

Change to your household (partner joins or leaves)

Joining your household

What we need to know:

  • Their name
  • Their national insurance number
  • The date they joined your household
  • About their income and capital

What evidence we need:

  • Proof of their ID
  • Proof of their national insurance number
  • Proof of their income and capital (if your combined capital exceeds £6,000 working age or £10,000 pension age)

Leaving your household

What we need to know:

  • The date they left your household
  • Their new address

Change to your household (non-dependant joins or leaves)

Joining your household

What we need to know:

  • Their name
  • Their national insurance number
  • The date they joined your household
  • About their income and capital 

What evidence we need:

  • Proof of their ID
  • Proof of their national insurance number
  • Proof of their income

Leaving your household

What we need to know:

  • The date they left your household
  • Their new address

Non-dependent students

Once your dependent children have reached 19 years of age they're no longer included in your household assessment. However, if they still live with you they'll be taken into account when we decide the size of property you need.

If they're going on to further education and staying away from home, for instance at university, we can still consider them as living at home. As a result, the size of property you need won't be changed.

What we need to know:

  • The dates of the course
  • The type of course
  • Which educational establishment the course is at
  • Where they'll be staying when away from home
  • If they intend to return to live at your home
  • How often they come home (holidays, weekends etc)
  • About any earnings they have

What evidence we need:

  • Proof of the course
  • Enrolment
  • Term dates
  • Proof of where they are staying
  • Halls of residence
  • Private rental etc

Change to rent

What we need to know:

  • The amount the rent is changing to
  • The date the rent changes from

What evidence we need:

Change to capital

If your capital is below the lower threshold you don't need tell us about changes. Find out more about how capital affects housing benefit and/or council tax support. 

What we need to know:

  • About changes to the total level of your capital. We only need to know about actual changes to your capital. For instance your bank balance may vary when you receive your income and/or pay your bills, however overall it remains the same. We don't need to know about this.
  • When the capital changed
  • Why the capital changed

What evidence we need:

  • Statements from all of your capital and investments at the date of the change

Change to income

You must tell us if your income changes, or if the income of a member of your household or a non-dependent changes.

Change to income (benefits and/or tax credits)

What we need to know:

If you're awarded a benefit and/or credit (what it is and at what rate it's paid)

  • What benefit and/or credit has been awarded, and
  • What rate it has been awarded at, and
  • What date the new benefit and/or credit has been awarded from

If the rate of benefit and/or credit increases or decreases

  • What the new rate of benefit and/or credit is received, and
  • What date the new rate is starts from

If a benefit and/or credit stops

  • The date the benefit and/or credit stopped, and
  • Why the benefit and/or credit stopped 

Please note that if you or your partner are receiving:

  • Employment and support allowance - income related, or
  • Job seekers allowance - income based, or
  • Income support, or
  • Pension credit - guaranteed credit

...if this benefit stops we need to know what income you're now living on. Your housing benefit and/or council tax support will be suspended until we have the information we need.

What evidence we need:

  • Award notices from the DWP and/or HMRC

Change to income (employed earnings)

What we need to know:

Starting a new job

  • The date the employment started
  • The employers details
  • How much you/they will be earning
  • The date the first wage will be paid

Changes to the hours worked or the rate of pay

  • The date of the change
  • What the new wage will be

About earning more or less than normal

  • Why the earnings are changing
  • What the earnings will be

Employment stops

  • What date the employment stops
  • About what your/their income is going to be after employment stops

Please note that you should check the award notices we send you and notify us immediately if the amount of income we're taking into account is incorrect.

What evidence we need:

  • Wageslip/s
    • First five - weekly paid (or following a change)
    • First three - fortnightly paid (or following a change)
    • First two - monthly paid (or following a change)
  • A certificate of earnings
  • Final wage slip (if ceasing employment)

Change to income (absence from paid employment)

What we need to know:

  • About maternity/paternity leave from work
  • About sick leave from work
  • What date the period of leave started

What evidence we need:

  • Wage slips showing statutory maternity pay
  • Letter from the DWP showing maternity allowance
  • Wage slips showing statutory sick pay

Change to income (self-employed earnings)

What we need to know:

Starting up a new self-employment

  • What date the self-employment starts
  • What the projected income and expenditure will be

About a significant change to the income of a self-employed business

  • What has changed
  • How long the change will affect the business
  • What the projected income and expenditure will be going forward

Ceasing a self-employment

  • What date the business ceases trading

What evidence we need:

  • Audited self-employed accounts (for each business) for the previous trading period
  • A fully completed self-employment declaration form (if a new business or if not been trading long enough to have audited accounts) 
  • A closing account statement

Change to child care costs

What we need to know:

About a new child care cost

  • How much childcare you'll be paying
  • The date the placement commences

About changes to your existing child care costs

  • How much you're going to be paying
  • The date the cost changes
  • Why your child care costs are changing

If the costs vary, for instance during school holidays

  • Details of all your predicted child care costs for the coming year

What evidence we need:

Student income

If you're claiming benefit whilst you and/or your partner are undertaking a course of education we need you to tell us about it. Being a student can affect your council tax, and any grants, loans, bursaries or other funding you receive can affect the amount of benefit and/or support you're eligible to receive.

What we need to know:

  • The dates of the course
  • The type of course
  • Which educational establishment the course is at
  • About any funding received 

What evidence we need:

  • Proof of the course
  • Enrolment and term dates
  • Proof of funding (this needs to be broken down into individual components as we can disregard certain types of funding. The standard letter issued by Student Finance UK doesn't give a breakdown. You'll need to contact them directly to obtain a breakdown)

Change to other income

You may have income from other sources - for instance private pensions, investments, maintenance etc.

What we need to know:

  • The date the income changes
  • Why the income has changed
  • How much the income is now

What evidence we need:

  • Letter from the income provider showing the new rate and date of change

Related information