You are here: Home > Advice & Benefits > Housing & Council Tax Benefit > Changes in your circumstances

Quick Links Quick Links Adult Education Committee Meeting Dates Council - Minutes, Agendas and Reports Council Tax Councillors Elections Events Job Vacancies Libraries Licensing Online Payments Planning Permission Refuse Collection Rubbish, Waste and Recycling School Directory School Term Dates Sports Clubs and Centres Torfaen Talks Van Permit Scheme

Changes in your circumstances

If you have any changes in your circumstances you must tell us about changes as soon as they happen. You must tell us even if you have already told other agencies about the change such as Job Centre Plus, the Pension Service or HM Revenues and Customs.

 

Why do I need to tell you immediately?

 

Any delay in telling us could seriously affect your benefit.

 

Changes that will increase your benefit

 

If you notify us of a change, which increases your entitlement, for example a pay decrease you must tell us within one month of the change occurring. If you tell us over one month after the change happened your benefit can normally only be increased from the date you tell us not the date it happened.

 

Changes that could reduce your benefit

 

Some changes may mean you are entitled to less benefit for example if your income goes up because you have got a better paid job. If you do not tell us about the change you will be paid too much benefit. When we find out about the change you will be asked to pay the money back.

 

Warning - If you deliberately fail to tell us about changes which result in too much benefit being paid, you are committing an offence and you may be prosecuted.

 

The sorts of changes we need to know about

 

Examples of the changes we need to know about are listed below. You must tell us:

• If you change your address;
• If your rent changes (private tenants only);
• If you or your partner are temporarily absent from your property;
• If you or your partner’s income or savings increase or decrease including:
  • Income Support or Jobseeker’s Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance stopping;
  • Starting work or changing employer;
  • If wages increase or decrease;
  • If a tax credit is awarded or the amount of the award changes.
• Changes affecting people who live with you including:
  • If someone comes to live with you or if someone leaves your household;
  • If the income or circumstances of someone living with you change (e.g. they start work or their Income Support ends);
  • If you stop getting child benefit for someone.

This is not a full list.

 

How should I tell you about the change?

 

You can tell us about any changes by

• writing to the Housing & Council Tax Benefit section, Civic Centre Pontypool
• e-mail revs&bens@torfaen.gov.uk
• calling into one of our Customer Care Centres
• telephoning Call Torfaen on 01495 766430 or 01495 766139
• printing off and completing the changes in circumstances form 
• reporting them online (you will need to register for this service)

It is important that you provide details of the change, the date that the change occurred and proof where appropriate.

 

If you have changed address please complete the change of address form|.

  

Further information is available in the changes in your circumstances leaflet|.