Claiming Benefits
If you are out of work, disabled, elderly or on a low
income you may be entitled to help with paying your rent or Council
Tax.
The pages Claiming Housing Benefit and Claiming
Council Tax Benefit explain the circumstances in which you
might be entitled to these benefits and how to claim.
Personal Circumstances Might Affect Your Claim
New or repeat Income Support, Jobseekers Allowance or
Incapacity Benefit claimants
If you are also making a new or repeat claim for Income Support,
Jobseekers Allowance or Incapacity Benefit you will make
your claim for Housing and/or Council Tax Benefit with the
Job Centre
Plus at the same time. You can claim by phone on 0845 6060
234.
Once they have dealt with your claim Jobcentre Plus will
send us confirmation of your entitlement benefits. We may need to
write to you for more information, such as proof of your rent, or
your partner’s details, or information about your
savings. Please make sure you supply these to us as quickly as
you can, so that your benefit entitlement can be processed.
Pension Credit Claimants
If you are in receipt of Pension Credit and wish to make a claim
for Housing and Council Tax Benefit, in most circumstances, you
only need to complete a claim form. You will only have to
complete a supplementary form if there are children or non
dependants in the household or you live in privately rented
accommodation.
Anyone Else
If you are already claiming Income Support, Jobseekers Allowance
or Incapacity Benefit, or are in receipt of other income, such as
earned income, private or occupational pensions or Pension Credit,
you will need to claim Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit
directly from Ashford Borough Council Benefits Service.
In all cases you should claim as soon as you think you need to,
as housing and council tax benefit will normally only be awarded
from the Monday after we receive your claim form.
If you do not complete your form and send it in to us straight
away – perhaps, for example, because you have been unwell - you can
ask us to consider backdating the start of your claim to a
date earlier than the date we received it. You will have to
prove good cause for your failure to claim when you first needed
the help.
To claim housing and Council Tax benefit you will need to
complete a claim form
You can download the form from the Claiming
Housing Benefit and Claiming
Council Tax Benefit webpages.
Or call 01233 331111 and ask us to send you a form, or come in
and collect one from the Civic Centre, Ashford or Tenterden
Gateway.
New!
Further Information
For public service information on Benefits from the
Government visit the
Directgov website.
This webpage was updated on
9/16/2009