Benefit reviews

If you receive Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax Reduction and we have contacted you to complete a review, please complete our online form:

Complete your Benefit Review

Why have I been selected for a review?

From time-to-time, we may ask you to complete a review form so that we can check that the amount of Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax Reduction we are paying you is correct, based on your up-to-date circumstances.

We might do this because it has been a while since your full details were last reviewed or because we or the Department for Work and Pensions think that there may have been a change in your circumstances.

If we have emailed or written to you, please complete and return the form without delay.

How long do I have to return the form?

It is important that the form is completed and returned to us as soon as possible to avoid any loss of benefit. If you haven’t completed the form one month after we first contacted you, we will suspend your Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax Reduction claim. This will mean that no payments will be issued until your form has been completed and we have checked it.

If after a further month you still haven’t returned your form, your Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax Reduction claim will be cancelled. You will then need to make a new application for Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax Reduction. If you are of working age, any new claim for housing costs will usually have to be made through Universal Credit via the GOV.UK website.

What information do I need to complete the form?

You will need to complete the form with information about the people who live in your household, including their date of birth and National Insurance Number (for the adults in your household). You will need to include details of:

• any earnings, including the employer’s name and address, and the date when the employment started
• details of all other income/benefits, including how much you receive and how often
• details of all capital, including the last four digits of your account numbers and the balance of your bank, building society and savings accounts, stocks and shares, premium bonds, and the value of any property (excluding the property you live in) and land
• if you pay rent, the amount of rent you are charged.

Please have the above details to hand when completing the form.

What evidence do I need to provide?

You can upload proof of any evidence we need to see at the end of the form. You can take a photograph or scan the information we need to see and then upload it directly to the form. Below is a list of the evidence we require (we are able to check most income directly with the DWP or HMRC).

Evidence of paid employment

If you are in receipt of Housing Benefit, we can usually check the amount of you or your partner’s earnings with HMRC. We will contact you separately if we need you to provide proof.

If you are in receipt of Council Tax Reduction only, e.g. because you are a home owner and not in receipt of Universal Credit, please provide evidence of you and your partner’s most recent 5 weekly, 3 fortnightly or 2 monthly/four-weekly payslips.

If you have a non-dependant, please provide their most recent 5 weekly, 3 fortnightly or 2 monthly/four-weekly payslips.

Evidence of self-employed earnings

If you, your partner or non-dependant are self-employed, please provide your accounts for the last 12 months.

If you, your partner or non-dependant have not been trading for a full year and so are unable to provide your self-employed account, you can complete our Self-Employed form.

Evidence of benefits

We can usually check most benefits paid by the DWP directly with them - so you do not need to provide evidence. We will contact you separately if you need to provide proof.

Evidence of Child Benefit

Please provide proof of any Child Benefit that is in payment by providing your most recent bank statement or Child Tax Credit letter.

Evidence of private/occupational pensions

We can usually check the amount of you or your partner’s pension with HMRC. We will contact you separately if we need you to provide proof.

Evidence of capital

You will need to provide evidence of all capital if you and your partner’s total capital (all your types of capital added-up together) is over £6,000. Capital includes bank and building society accounts, any other type of accounts, ISAs, Premium Bonds, Savings Certificates, stocks and shares, property and land. Please provide proof of the amount of capital held and for any accounts please provide transactions for the last three months.

We will contact you if we need any evidence in relation to any property or land you own.

Evidence of child care costs

If you are in receipt of Housing Benefit and/or pension age Council Tax Reduction and you pay for child care, please provide proof of how much you pay, the period the payment covers, which child payments are for and your childcare provider’s registration number.

Evidence of any pension contributions

If you are paying in to a private pension (not through your employer), please provide evidence of the contributions you are making, including the amount and frequency of the payments.

Evidence of rent

We will contact you separately if we need up-to-date evidence of your rent.

If you are unable to provide your evidence with the form, you can email this to us separately at benefit.service@telford.gov.uk. Please remember to include your claim number, name and address in the email. Alternatively, you can upload the information via our online evidence form.

Enquiries

If you have a general enquiry, please complete our Benefits enquiry form.

If you are not able to complete the Benefit Review form for some reason, please contact the Benefits team on 01952 383838.