Benefits – change in circumstances

Tell us if anything changes, or you could miss out on Housing Benefit or Council Tax Support.

You must report a change in circumstances to us within one calendar month of the date of the change happening - if you delay and you qualify for more benefit because of the change you may lose out.

If you are entitled to less benefit you could end up with an overpayment that you have to pay back, and the longer you wait the more you will owe.

Changes you need to report

Your benefit claim is based on the people that live in your household, its finances, and the rent and Council Tax you are liable to pay for your home. Most changes of circumstances are likely to affect the amount of benefit that you are entitled to.

Here are some examples of changes we need to know about:

change of address
change to your rent
someone starts work, changes job or takes an extra job
someone's income, capital or savings go up or down
Tax Credits or government benefits stop, start or change - especially Income Support or Job Seeker’s Allowance
a new baby arrives
a child leaves school
someone comes to live with you or moves out
someone goes into hospital

This isn’t a complete list of everything that can happen - if in doubt let us know.

Information you will need

We need to know full details of what has changed and when it happened. You will also need to provide proof of the change, such as payslips, a P45, benefit letters, bank statements, and so on.

You can upload electronic copies, scanned images, or clear photos of the proof. If you don't know what to supply please report the change anyway, we will let you know what we need to see.

Reporting changes

The easiest way to tell us about your change in circumstances is online - this means that you don't have to visit us in person or send anything through the post.

You won't be able to save the form part way through so it's important to have your information ready before you start.

You can report a change online through your My Chesterfield account, track it's progress and manage your benefit account online if you claim Housing Benefit from us.

If you don't want to sign-up for a My Chesterfield account you can:

Report a change

Protecting your privacy - find out how we keep your information safe.

Need any help?

If you can't report your change in circumstances online please contact us as soon as possible on 01246 345484 or 01246 345507.

Trial calculations - you can also use our online benefits calculator to check the effect of any change on your benefit entitlement.

What happens next

If we have all the details we need, or if we can check things out ourselves, any change to your benefit entitlement will be notified to you within a few days. If you are entitled to more benefit and you told us about the change within one month of it happening, the increase will be paid from the date of change.

You may lose out if you delay, so tell us about your change now, even if you have to provide the proof later. If you are getting too much benefit you will have to pay it back.