Claiming housing and council tax support

Claiming housing and council tax support

From 12th September 2018 and want to make a new claim in relation to your rent you will need to apply for Universal Credit as you can no longer claim for Housing Benefit.

How and when do I claim?

For claims of Council Tax Support, please contact Boston Borough Council directly on 01205 314202.

Benefit & Support Calculator

If you would like to get an estimate of your entitlement then please click the link with related links called Housing Benefit & Council Tax Support Calculator.

What proof do you need to see before my benefit can be worked out?

 You must provide:

• Your National Insurance number
• Proof that the number is yours
• Two original proofs of identity and
• Original proof of all your income and capital

Full details of the type of evidence that is acceptable is stated on the claim form.

If applicable you will also have to provide:

• Proof of rent
• Proof of earnings

Proof of rent

If you are the tenant of a registered social landlord (housing association) for example, Boston Mayflower, or rent from a private landlord you need to send us proof of how much rent you pay and what, if any, services are included. Services include things like heating, water rates and meals.

If you have a tenancy agreement, we will need to see it. If you do not have a tenancy agreement, you must contact us for a landlord enquiry form and then ask your landlord to complete the form telling us:

•  His or her name and address
•  Your name and address
•  How much rent you pay
•  What services are included in your rent
•  How much you pay for these services
•  What date your tenancy started
•  What date you moved into your home.

A copy of the landlord enquiry form can be found in the documents at the bottom of this page. 

Benefit cannot normally be paid for any time before you move into a new home. If you take on a tenancy but can't move in straight away, you should ring the housing benefit section for advice.

Proof of earnings

You must provide proof of the money you earn so we can work out your benefit.

If you work for an employer

Please send in the following:

• Your last five payslips if you are paid weekly
• Your last three payslips if you are paid fortnightly
• Your last two payslips if you are paid monthly
• Your payslips should show cumulative totals of Gross Pay, National Insurance Contributions and Income Tax paid.

If you cannot do this, please contact the the benefits section to request an Earnings Certificate.

If you have more than one job you must send in proof of wages or an Earnings Certificate for each job you have.

If you have just started work, send the completed application form back straight away with a note saying when you will send in proof of earnings or request an Estimated Earnings Certificate.

If you are self employed:

Please see Self Employed page

If you pay money into a pension scheme, you need to send us proof of the payments you make.

IMPORTANT NOTE

The easiest way to claim housing benefit, council tax support or Second Adult Rebate is to book an appointment with one of our team. If you bring all of the information we need with you it is usually possible for us to process your claim straight away.

Please contact the office on 01205 314202 to arrange an appointment, however you can send your application in the post or just drop in to see us. However if your claim is not complete we may ask you for further information which could delay your claim.

To make a claim for benefit, you will need to fill in an application form. You need to do this quickly because your benefit will normally start from the Monday after your claim form is received by us. Benefit can be backdated but only where you can prove there was a good reason for not applying earlier.

If you would like a claim form you can print one from this website. To download a form, please click on the link below. If you prefer not to print them off yourself we will send you the forms free of charge.

Related documents

Size	Name
	[237kb]	Landlord enquiry form	Landlord enquiry form
	[240kb]	Self-employed income information form	Housing Benefit
	[135kb]	Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support form	Housing Benefit

The documents in this section are in Adobe Acrobat format (pdf). You will need Acrobat Reader to view these files which can be downloaded from the Adobe website free of charge.