If your circumstances change when you get Council Tax support

You must tell us about any changes you think might affect your Council Tax support. If you don’t, you may receive too much or too little support. You need to tell us of any changes within 21 days.

Tell us if

• you start or stop receiving Income Support or Jobseeker’s Allowance
• you start or stop receiving Employment and Support Allowance or any other benefit paid by the Department for Work and Pensions
• you start or stop receiving tax credits
• you start or stop work or change employer
• your rent goes up or down
• your or your partner’s income goes up or down
• the income of your non-dependants or any person living in your home goes up or down
• the amount of your savings, capital or pension goes up or down

Tell us if

• you change address
• the income of your non-dependants or any person living in your home goes up or down
• the number of people in your home changes – for example, if someone leaves, has a baby or moves in
• you or your partner go into hospital or are temporarily absent from home
• you or your partner become a student or stop being a student
• you move out of North Somerset
• the person claiming the Council Tax support dies

You can be temporarily absent from home without affecting your Council Tax support.

You must intend to return home throughout the whole of the absence period. You cannot sub-let your home during this period.

Absence up to 13 weeks

An absence up to 13 weeks may apply if you are:

• on holiday or away for work
• in residential care on a trial basis because you are thinking about moving into residential care and you have a future move in date

Absence up to 52 weeks

An absence up to 52 weeks may apply if you are:

• an unsentenced remand prisoner (including prisoners in custody, awaiting trial, prisoners in custody during their trial and convicted prisoners held on remand awaiting a sentence)
• on an approved government training course
• in a bail hostel, or bailed to live away from home
• in hospital, or receiving medically approved care
• in hospital as an in-patient or receiving or recovering from medically approved care in the UK or abroad, but not in residential care (this may also apply to your partner or child)
• living away from home due to a fear of violence
• in a care home or independent hospital for respite care
• providing care for a child whose parent or guardian is receiving medical treatment or medically approved care
• providing approved medical care
• a student who is eligible for Housing Benefit and absent for educational reasons
• receiving temporary care in residential accommodation, not including those there for a trial period

Essential repairs

If you have moved out of your home for essential repairs to take place, such as a ceiling collapse, the period of absence is dependent on the repairs and whether you still have to pay rent.

We may suspend your claim when you, your partner, or a member of your household has had a change in circumstances that you have not told us about.

You won’t receive any more payments until you’ve given us proof of your, your partner’s, or your household’s new circumstances.

You have one month from the date on our suspension letter to provide us with the relevant proof. Our letter will tell you what you need to provide.

If you don’t provide us with the relevant proof, we will assume that the change in circumstances means that you don’t qualify for Council Tax support. This could also mean that you are overpaid Council Tax support.

You may have to make a new claim if there is a delay of more than one month in providing the information