Check if a change affects your Housing Benefit
This advice applies to Scotland. See advice for See advice for England, See advice for Northern Ireland, See advice for Wales
You must tell your local council about certain changes in your money, work or home life. This is called a ‘change of circumstances’.
You also need to tell the council about changes that affect people you live with. For example, you should tell them if someone in your home starts earning more or you add your partner’s name to your tenancy agreement.
Telling the council will help you get any extra Housing Benefit you're entitled to as soon as possible or avoid being paid too much. This is called an ‘overpayment’, and you’ll usually have to pay the extra money back.
If you’ve been told to claim Universal Credit by a certain date
The Department for Work and Pensions are stopping some people’s benefits and telling them to claim Universal Credit instead.
If you get a letter telling you to claim Universal Credit by a certain deadline, this is a ‘migration notice’. You should claim Universal Credit by the deadline in the migration notice. Your old benefits will stop after the deadline.
You might miss out on some money if you apply after the deadline.
Tell the council even if it seems like a small change or if it’s only for a short time – for example if you increase your working hours for a few weeks.
Most changes have to be reported within 1 month, but you should report them as soon as you know about the change, if you can.
If you’ve used the Tell Us Once service to report the death of someone claiming a benefit, you don’t need to tell the council as well. Tell Us Once will let them know.
If you don’t think you’ll be able to pay your rent
You can apply for a Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP) if your Housing Benefit won’t cover your rent.
If you get other benefits
If you get benefits from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) or HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), you should also tell them about any changes. The council won’t usually tell the DWP or HMRC for you.
If your immigration status or right to reside changes
You can only keep getting Housing Benefit if your immigration status lets you claim public funds. In some situations you must also still have a ‘right to reside’.
You can claim public funds if you have any of the following:
British or Irish citizenship
settled status from the EU Settlement Scheme
indefinite leave - unless you came to the UK on an adult dependent relative visa
refugee status or humanitarian protection
right of abode
If you have pre-settled status from the EU Settlement Scheme, you can claim public funds - but you also need to show you have a right to reside to get Housing Benefit. Check if you have a right to reside.
If you’ve applied to the EU Settlement Scheme and you’re waiting for a decision, you can claim public funds - but you also need to show you have a right to reside to get Housing Benefit. Check if you have a right to reside.
If you have any other immigration status, check if your immigration status lets you claim public funds.
If you or someone you live with goes away temporarily
Tell your local council if you or someone you live with is going away for more than:
4 weeks – if it’s abroad
13 weeks – if it’s in the UK
You can still get Housing Benefit as long as you plan to return to your home and don’t rent it out while you’re away.
Explain the reason when you report the change. How long you can get Housing Benefit for depends on why you’re away.
Coronavirus - if you were outside the UK for more than 4 weeks
If you were expecting to return within 4 weeks but couldn’t because of travel restrictions, you’ll still be able to claim Housing Benefit.
Tell your council as soon as possible why you couldn’t return to the UK. Check your council’s website on mygov.scot to find out how you can contact them.
If you’re staying in England, Scotland or Wales
You can get Housing Benefit if you go away for up to 13 weeks.
You can get Housing Benefit if you’re away for up to a year because:
you, your partner or child are in hospital or getting treatment or care that’s approved by your doctor
someone else is away getting treatment and you’re looking after their child
you’re temporarily staying in a care home, for example to try it out
you’re giving someone care that’s approved by their doctor
you’ve had to leave your home because you’re worried someone might hurt you – for example your partner
you’re a student and live somewhere different during term time
you’re on a training course
you’re in prison on remand or waiting to be sentenced
you have to live away from home as a condition of bail
If you’ve had to leave your home suddenly, you might also be able to get Housing Benefit to cover the cost of a hostel.
If you go abroad
You can usually get Housing Benefit when you go away for up to 4 weeks. You can get it for up to 8 weeks if you’re abroad because your partner or a child included in your Housing Benefit claim has died.
You can get Housing Benefit if you’re abroad for up to 26 weeks because:
you, your partner or child are in hospital or getting treatment or care that’s approved by your doctor
you’re temporarily staying in a care home, for example to try it out
you’ve had to leave your home because you’re worried someone might hurt you – for example your partner
you or your partner is a member of the armed forces on a temporary placement
you or your partner is a sailor or works on an oil platform
Changes to your home or tenancy
Tell your local council if:
the amount of rent you pay changes – if you rent from a private landlord or housing association
you move home
someone moves into or out of your home
your tenancy changes – for example if you take someone’s name off the tenancy agreement
If you’re staying in a hostel because you were worried someone might hurt you in your home, ask for extra Housing Benefit to cover the cost of the hostel when you report the change. You can get Housing Benefit as long as you want to go back to your home at some point and the council thinks it’s reasonable to pay for both the hostel and your home.
If you move to live in a different council area, your Housing Benefit claim will end. You'll probably have to claim Universal Credit instead of Housing Benefit after moving. Check if you can make a new Housing Benefit claim.
Changes to your work, income or benefits
Tell your local council if:
the amount of rent you pay changes – if you rent from a private landlord or housing association
your income goes up or down – for example you start getting a pension from your old job
your benefits change or you start getting a new benefit
If your income changes, explain how much more or less you think you’re going to get and over what period of time. If you're not sure, give the council an estimate.
If your benefits change you’ll also need to tell the council how much your income and savings are. This is so they can work out how much Housing Benefit you should get.
Changes to your savings
If your savings are over a certain limit, you need to tell your local council if your savings go up or down.
The limit depends on whether you’re claiming Housing Benefit as part of a couple, and whether you or your partner has reached state pension age. You can check your State Pension age on GOV.UK.
If you’re claiming as a single person
If you’re under State Pension age, the limit is £6,000.
If you’ve reached State Pension age, the limit is £10,000.
If you’re claiming as part of a couple
You should add your savings and your partner’s savings to check if you’re over the limit.
If you and your partner are both under State Pension age, the limit is £6,000.
If you and your partner have both reached State Pension age, the limit is £10,000.
If only one of you has reached State Pension age, the limit is usually £6,000. The limit is £10,000 instead if all of the following apply:
one of you reached State Pension age before 15 May 2019
the 2 of you have been claiming Housing Benefit as a couple since before 15 May 2019
the partner under State Pension age doesn’t get income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), Income Support or Universal Credit
Changes to do with your partner and children
What you need to tell your local council depends on whether you get the guarantee part of Pension Credit.
If you get the guarantee part of Pension Credit
Tell your local council if your partner or child’s benefits change, or they start getting a new benefit.
If you don’t get Pension Credit or you only get the savings part of Pension Credit
Tell your local council if:
your partner or child’s benefits change, or they start getting a new benefit
you get divorced, married or form a civil partnership
your partner moves in or out
your partner’s income goes up or down
your partner’s savings go up or down
You should also tell the council if a child you’re responsible for:
is over 16 and finishes their education or training course
becomes 20 years old
becomes 16 years old – if your children have separate bedrooms
moves into your home
moves out of your home, or you stop getting Child Benefit for them
Changes to do with other adults you live with
Tell your local council if an adult you live with, like a flatmate or a child over 18:
starts earning more or less money
starts getting a new benefit, or their existing benefits change
You should also tell the council if someone moves into or out of your home.
If you have a lodger or boarder
You only need to tell the council if you change the number of lodgers or boarders living with you or how much you charge them.
A lodger is someone who lives with you and pays rent. A boarder is someone who lives with you and pays for meals, like breakfast every day.
If someone lives with you without an agreement to pay, you don’t need to tell the council if they give you money, for example to help pay the bills.
If someone gets a carer benefit for looking after you - or the carer element of Universal Credit
Tell your local council if someone starts getting a carer benefit or the carer element because they look after you – or if they stop getting it. The carer benefits are Carer's Allowance and Carer Support Payment.
If you qualify for the ‘severe disability premium’ part of Housing Benefit, your Housing Benefit will change if someone:
starts getting a carer benefit or the carer element for looking after you – you’ll get less Housing Benefit
stops getting a carer benefit or the carer element for looking after you – you’ll get more Housing Benefit
This is because you can’t get the severe disability premium while someone gets a carer benefit or the carer element for looking after you.
If you’re not sure whether you get the severe disability premium, check the letter that told you how much Housing Benefit you’d get. Contact your local council if you don’t have the letter.
If you or your partner reaches State Pension age
If you claim Housing Benefit as part of a couple, your Housing Benefit will usually stop when the older partner reaches State Pension age. You can check your State Pension age on GOV.UK.
Your Housing Benefit won’t stop if the younger partner gets:
income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
Income Support
Your Housing Benefit claim also won’t stop if you would still be allowed to start a new claim – check who can make a new claim for Housing Benefit.
If your Housing Benefit claim stops, you’ll have to claim Universal Credit instead – check if you’re eligible for Universal Credit.
Reporting a change of circumstances
It’s best to report the change online or by email if your council let you do this. It’s quicker than writing a letter, and you save the cost of postage. Check your council’s website on GOV.UK to find out how you can report the change.
If you’re reporting the change online, it’s a good idea to save a copy of:
the screen that shows the changes you’re reporting
the screen that confirms your changes have been sent
You could take a photo of the screen if your phone has a camera. Or you can save the page as a screenshot or a file on your computer. This will help later if you need to prove you reported the change.
Write to the council if you can’t report the change online. Write ‘change of circumstances’ clearly at the top of the letter. Give as much information about the change as you can. For example if your partner has moved out, tell the council their name, when they moved and what their new address is.
Keep a copy of the letter in case you need to prove you reported the change.
If you live nearby, you can save the cost of posting the letter by taking it to your local council office. Make sure you get a receipt when you hand it in.
If you can’t take your letter to the office, send it to the address on the letter that told you how much Housing Benefit you’ll get. If you can’t find this letter, contact your local council to ask which department to send it to.
Ask the Post Office for proof of postage – you might need to prove when you sent it.
Your nearest Citizens Advice can help if you’re having trouble reporting a change of circumstances.
Reporting changes on time
Once you know about a change that might affect your Housing Benefit, tell the council as soon as you can.
You should report the change within a month if you can. The change might increase your payment and you might miss out on extra money if you tell the council late.
You should still tell the council if you think a change might reduce your payment – you won't save money by reporting it later. If you tell the council late you could get paid too much and have to pay your benefits back to the council. This is called an overpayment – check how councils deals with overpayments.
If the change happened more than a month ago
It’s better to report a change late than not to report it at all.
When you report the change, explain why you couldn’t report it when it happened – for example if you were sick.
If the change happened in the last 13 months and it means you should get more Housing Benefit, ask the council to pay the extra money from the day the change happened. They’ll do this if they agree you couldn’t report it earlier. If they think you could have reported the change earlier, they’ll pay you the new amount of Housing Benefit from the day you report the change.
Finding out how much you’ll get after the change
Your local council will send you a letter telling you:
how much you’re going to get
if you need to do anything else
Check the letter to make sure the council has recorded the right change of circumstances. You should contact them to tell them if they’ve made a mistake. You can ask your nearest Citizens Advice if you’re not sure the letter’s right.
If the new amount of Housing Benefit doesn’t cover your rent you should apply for a Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP).
If you don’t get a letter from the council within 3 weeks
Contact the council and ask them if they’ve recorded your change of circumstances. You’ll need details of what the change was and when you told them about it – for example proof of postage if you sent a letter.
Try to save the extra Housing Benefit if you think the council might be paying you too much. This will make it easier to pay it back if you need to.
Page last reviewed on 15 October 2019