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Renfrewshire Council Plan 2008 - 2012 Council Tax Benefit and Housing Benefit
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Our staff can offer a range of benefit checks, advice and information. To find out the various ways you can contact us please visit the Council Tax Benefit and Housing Benefit - contact us page.
Within the Operational Services section of the Department of Finance and Corporate Services we are constantly looking to improve the service we provide to you. To help us, we conduct an annual customer satisfaction survey. We would be most grateful if you could spare five minutes and complete our 2011 satisfaction survey. The results of our 2010 survey are shown in the document below.
Results of 2010 Benefits customer survey (79kb)
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Information on April 2011 changes to Non Dependant deductions (pdf 38kb)
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If you have any questions, please contact us using one of the following methods:
- telephone: 0141 840 3060
- email: benefits.finit@renfrewshire.gov.uk
- What is council tax benefit?
- What is housing benefit?
- Do I qualify to claim housing benefit/council tax benefit?
- How do I claim housing benefit/council tax benefit?
- What proof do I need?
- Where can I get further help and advice?
- What do I do if my circumstances change
- Backdating your benefit claim
- Appealing against our decision about your benefit
What is Council tax benefit?
We pay council tax benefit to people on a low income to help with the cost of council tax. To qualify, it doesn't matter whether you own or rent your home, but the address you are claiming benefit for must be the main one you live at.
There are two main types of council tax benefit, and you can only be given one of them. Either:
- Main council tax benefit: this is based on the circumstances of the person or people in the property who are liable for the Council Tax bill.
- Second adult rebate: this is based on the circumstances of the person in the property who have low incomes but are not liable for the Council Tax.
What is Housing Benefit?
Housing benefit helps people on low incomes with the cost of their rent. It is only available to tenants and not home owners. Both private tenants and local authority tenants can claim it.
The benefit awarded is intended to help with the cost of your rent, but not with living costs such as food and heating. We can pay some or all of your rent, but we cannot meet all the services costs your landlord might charge.
There are two main types:
- Rent allowance: claim this if you are renting from a private landlord or housing association
- Rent rebate: claim this is you are renting from Renfrewshire council
Do I qualify to claim Housing Benefit/Council Tax Benefit?
To claim housing benefit, you must:
- live in the property you are claiming for
- be charged rent for this property
- be liable to pay the Council Tax for the property, if not you can't claim this benefit
- you must live in the property you are claiming for
- From 2 November 2009, Child Benefit payments will not be counted as weekly income when you apply for Council Tax and Housing Benefit. This means that you could now be entitled to help with your rent and/or Council Tax, even if you have not qualified in the past.
Please note if you are living with a partner you only need to make one claim between you, which you both need to sign.
You can check if you qualify for housing benefit/council tax benefit by using our benefit calculator below.
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By law, the council has to issue a declaration if it wants to receive electronic benefit applications. Renfrewshire Council has agreed to accept electronic benefit applications but only where these are made in the council offices. You can view or download the declaration here:
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How do I claim housing benefit/council tax benefit?
If you claim Income Support, Incapacity Benefit or Jobseeker's Allowance, you can claim housing benefit at the same time. Your Jobcentre Plus office will forward us your claim form. We will contact you directly if we need further details.
If you don't claim any of these benefits, you can pick up an application form from your local council office.
Alternatively, you can print out the attached application form, complete it and return it to us at Renfrewshire House, the full address is listed on page 4 of this form.
Benefit application form (pdf - 705kb)This form may take some time to open due to the large file size (705kb).
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We can visit you at home if you are housebound or if you cannot come to our offices because you are infirm or disabled.
We do need to see some documents when you apply, you have up to one month after you make your claim to get them to us. We have to see original documents, not copies. If you don't provide us with the information required we may not be able to pay you any benefit.
We will need the same proof for your partner, if you have one, and for any other adults living in your home.
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What proof do I need?
- proof of your identity (and your partner's, if you have one)
- proof of your national insurance number (and your partner's, if you have one)
- proof of residency (utility bill to show where you live)
- proof of all income
- proof of all bank/building society accounts (if you have capital over £5,500 and are of working age or £10,000 if you are of pension age)
- proof of all savings and/or investments (if you have capital over £5,500 and are of working age or £10,000 if you are pension age)
- proof of all other persons who live with you and their income
- proof of your rent (lease agreement and current rent for housing benefit and local housing allowance)
Where can I get further help and advice?
See our contact us page for more information on how/where to contact us for further information and advice.
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What do I do if my circumstances change?
It is very important you tell us about any changes in your circumstances - please let us know in writing within one month of the change. Alternatively, you can print out the attached form, complete it and return it to us at Renfrewshire House, the full address is listed on page 4 of the form.
change of circumstances form (pdf - 748kb)This form may take some time to open due to the large file size (748kb)
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Changes that we need to know about include:
- you or anyone you live with has started or stopped working
- you or anyone you live with has had a change in income
- anyone has moved in or out of your household (including the birth of a baby)
- a change to the rent you have to pay
- you or anyone you live with has started or stopped getting Income Support, Employment Support Allowance, Jobseeker's Allowance or Pension Credits
- an increase in your capital
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Backdating your benefit claim
We can backdate your benefit claim for up to 6 months for working age customers or three months for pension age customers, from the date we receive your written request.
You must show you had good reason for not making your claim sooner and the reason existed for the whole period until we received your written request.
You can find out more details about backdating your benefit by following the Backdating Benefit page.
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Appealing against our decision about your benefit
If you don't understand how we have decided your benefit claim, you can ask us to explain it to you, and if you disagree with our decision you can ask us to look at it again. If you are still not happy after we have done this, you can appeal. Find out how to appeal by following the How to appeal page.
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