If your circumstances have changed then you must inform the council.

You need to tell us about

  • You change your address
  • Your income, or the income of anyone who lives with you, goes up or down, or you move from one type of benefit to another (for example, Incapacity Benefit to Employment and Support Allowance)
  • You are a working age customer and your savings go over £5500 or reduce to below £5,500
  • You are a pension age customer and your savings go over £9500 or reduce to below £9,500 and you are not in receipt of Pension Credit.
  • If you receive Pension Credit and your savings increase to over £16,000
  • You, or anyone you live with, stop getting Income Support or Income-Based Jobseeker's Allowance (including if you become sick and start submitting medical evidence)
  • You, or anyone you live with, starts getting Income Support or Income-Based Jobseeker's Allowance
  • You, or anyone you live with, starts getting Income-related Employment and Support Allowance, or Employment and Support Allowance Contributory Based
  • You, or anyone you live with, starts work or changes jobs
  • Anyone joins or leaves your household (for example, the birth of a baby)
  • You, or anyone you live with, starts or leaves full-time education
  • The terms of your tenancy or the rent you pay to a private landlord changes
  • You, or anyone you live with starts getting a private pension
  • You, or anyone you live with, goes into hospital

You do not need to tell us about

  • Changes in the amount of Income Support, Income-based Job Seeker’s Allowance, Pension Credit, Employment and Support Allowance (Income Related) or Universal Credit
  • Your April increase in state benefits
  • Your April rent Increase if you rent from Trent and Dove Housing

If you do not tell us about changes immediately, we will not be able to backdate the change if it leads to an increase in your Council Tax Reduction. This means that you will lose out on benefit to which you would otherwise be entitled.

If you are not sure whether what has happened counts as a change, tell us about it anyway.

We must recalculate your benefit from the date the change occurred if the change leads to a reduction in your entitlement. This means that you could be asked to pay back any benefit which you were not entitled to.

Sometimes the Council Tax Reduction department may need more information to assess your change in circumstance. If so we will contact you by telephone or letter.

Report a change in circumstance

  • Write to us at Benefits Team, ESBC, PO Box 8045, Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, DE14 9JG
  • Call in to see a customer services officer at one of our Customer Service Centres in the Market Place, Burton on Trent, or the Library in Uttoxeter.
  • Email us at benefits@eaststaffsbc.gov.uk