Yes, it would help us if you tell us your benefit reference
number when you contact us, otherwise we will have to do other
checks with you to confirm your identity and in some circumstances
we may not be able to speak to you.
Your reference number is normally quoted on the top right-hand
side of any letters we have sent you. It starts with a 1 or
4.
No, we operate a ticket system so you can drop in without an
appointment. Our office at the Town Hall in Ripley is open
from 9am to 4.30pm Monday to Friday, apart from Wednesday when we
open at 10am.
Alternatively, you can visit one of our Town Centre
Offices if you want to pick up a form or have any documents
copied.
No, you can claim Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support even
if you don't get a Department for Work and Pension ( DWP )
benefit.
Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support are a means-tested
benefits, which means that the amount you receive will be based on
your income and circumstances.
Yes, you can claim if you work and receive a low income.
We will need to see proof of your earnings and any other income you
receive, like Tax Credits, and proof of your capital/assets.
Yes, you can claim if you are self-employed and receive a low
income from your business. You will need to send us your most
recent accounts. If you don't have any accounts we can send
you our self-employed profit and loss form to complete. If this is
a new business we will require a figure of your projected
earnings. You will also need to provide your last two months
bank statements.
We like to pay your Housing Benefit money directly into your
bank account as this is the safest and quickest way of paying
you.
If you don't have a bank account and have difficulty opening
one, we can pay into a local Credit Union account; these accounts
are easy to open. Please contact Derbyshire Community Bank on
01332 348144 to discuss further.
Housing Benefit payments made directly into your bank are paid
into your account on the Wednesday of your payment week.
Housing benefit cheques are posted out on a Monday so you should
receive them on a Wednesday.
Normally Housing Benefit is paid 4 weekly in arrears, so when
you get a payment it will be for the previous 4 weeks benefit.
In some circumstances we can pay your Housing Benefit every 2
weeks in arrears; you will need to ask us to do this. In a
very few limited cases we can pay the Housing Benefit every
week.
No, we do not make Housing Benefit payments for a calendar
monthly period.
Normally Housing Benefit is paid 4 weekly in arrears, so when
you get a payment it will be for the previous 4 weeks
benefit. This will mean that in a year you will get 13
payments of Housing Benefit.
In some circumstances we can pay your Housing Benefit every 2
weeks in arrears; you will need to ask us to do this. In a
very few limited cases we can pay the Housing Benefit every
week.
If you live in a Housing Association property, like Futures
Homescape, we can pay your Housing Benefit direct to your landlord
if you ask us to.
If you live in a privately rented property normally housing
benefit will be paid directly to you. Under the Local Housing
Allowance rules, the tenant does not have the option to request
that payments be made to their landlord although the council may
decide to do this if there is a good reason, e.g. if there are rent
arrears or the customer would struggle to manage their rent
payments, etc.
If a tenant is more than 8 weeks in arrears with their rent
payments to you, then you can ask us to consider making payments of
Housing Benefit directly to you. You will need to write to us
giving details of your tenant and the details of their arrears,
providing proof if possible, like a copy of the rent account or
rent statement. Please also let us know the details of the
bank account you would like the payments paid into.
We will then ask the tenant to let us know if they dispute the
arrears and look into making payments directly to yourself.
In some limited circumstances we can make payments directly to
the landlord before the tenant is in 8 weeks arrears, this is where
the tenant would struggle to make payments themselves. If you think
your tenant cannot deal with making rent payments themselves and so
is likely to go into arrears, please write to us giving details of
why the tenant would struggle to arrange rent payments, for example
medical problems or severe financial difficulties. We will
then look into whether payments can be made to you.
No, we cannot pay Housing Benefit for any rent deposit or bond
you have to pay prior to moving into a property.
However Futures Homescape do run a Bond Guarantee Scheme, please
contact them on 0300 456 2531 for more details.
If you pay rent to a close relative who lives in the same home
as you, you will not get Housing Benefit.
If your landlord is a close relative, but does not live with
you, you may be entitled to Housing Benefit, it will depend on your
relationship with the family member and the type of rental
agreement you have with them. We will want to take a detailed
look at your agreement with your landlord and in some cases you and
your landlord may be asked to attend an interview to discuss your
details further.
If you are awarded this support, normally the amount you are
entitled to will be used to reduce your council tax bill. However,
if the award of your Council Tax Support puts your council tax
account in credit, you will be entitled to a repayment of the
credit amount. Alternatively, you may wish to leave the
credit on your account to carry forward to your next year's council
tax bill.
It will depend on the total amount of capital you and your
partner have as to whether it will affect your benefit
entitlement.
- If you and your partner have joint capital of more than £16,000
you will not normally be able to get housing benefit or Council Tax
Support.
- You can have up to £6,000 capital before it affects your
benefit entitlement if you are under pension age.
- You can have up to £10,000 capital before it affects your
benefit entitlement if you are Pension age.
- Under Pension age: A tariff of £1 will be applied for every
£250 between £6,000 and £16,000 when we work out entitlement to
benefit. For every £250 above £6,000 we say you have an extra £1 of
income per week.
- Over Pension age: A tariff of £1 for every £500 between £10,000
and £16,000 is taken into account when we work out entitlement to
benefit. For every £500 above £10,000 we say you have an extra £1
of income per week.
- Capital includes cash, current accounts, other bank/building
society/post office accounts, unit trusts, ISAs, TESSAs, National
Savings certificates, shares, premium bonds and property (other
than the home you live in) or land you own
If you are a Housing Association tenant and are of working age,
since 1 April 2013, new housing benefit rules mean you won't be
able to get housing benefit to pay for all of your rent if your
home has 'spare bedrooms'. This is being called the 'bedroom tax',
but letters from us refer to it as 'under-occupancy'
Pensioners claiming housing benefit won't be affected.
The new limit on the number of rooms you can claim for is based
on the number of people living in your home. If you have more
bedrooms than the new rules say you need, you will be treated as
'under-occupying' your home. You'll get less of your rent paid for
by housing benefit.
If housing benefit no longer covers the full cost of your rent,
you will have to pay the rest of the rent yourself. This must be
paid directly to your landlord.
See Shelter link for more details.
The following bedrooms are allowed when deciding your benefit
entitlement
- one bedroom for a couple
- one bedroom for a person aged 16 or over
- one bedroom for two children aged under 16 of the same sex
- one bedroom for two children aged under 10 (boys and girls are
expected to share a room)
- one bedroom for any other child
Please note - in some circumstances an additional bedroom can be
allowed for an overnight carer, a child with severe disabilities, a
foster carer and an adult child away on Armed Forces operations.
Please contact us for further information.
Use this link to calculate how many bedrooms you
are eligible for.
If you rent your home from a Housing Association and you have
one or more extra bedrooms your housing benefit may be reduced. The
amount allowed for rent and any service charges will be reduced
by:
- 14% if you have one extra bedroom
- 25% if you have two or more extra bedrooms
Yes, Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit are counted as an
income when working out your benefit entitlement, so you must
inform us if you start to receive these benefits, or you have a
change in the amount you are paid.
You will need to inform us of your change of address to claim
benefit at your new address. If all of your circumstances are
the same and it is just the address that is changing then you can
complete a 'change of address' form.
You can complete the change of address form online - follow this link.
Yes, you must tell us immediately of any change likely to affect
your entitlement to Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support.
Failure to do so may mean you will be overpaid benefit, and you
may then have to pay the money back. Some changes may mean that you
get more benefit.
You can report a change in circumstances by completing our online form.