Will I need to claim Housing Benefit?
If you intend to claim Housing Benefit for your new accommodation, it is vital that you start making arrangements now.
You should be aware that attending to your Housing Benefit claim is a priority before, during and after you have moved into your accommodation. Sometimes it can involve a lot of hard work to make sure that the claim is up and running properly.
Your Devon SmartMove worker’s job is to help you set up your Housing Benefit claim. However, they will not do all the hard work for you and will require a lot of co-operation from you to make it work. We appreciate that there will be other things happening in your life once you have moved into your new home, however, this is one thing that will require attention.
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Before you look for accommodation…
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Get together all the ID needed to make a claim. Evidence of identity will be: birth certificate, marriage certificate, passport, NI number card. The HB office may need to see several of these documents.
If you do not already have ID you should start to get it together before you look for property. Get hold of three months bank statements and three months proof of benefits income and/or earnings.
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Once you are about to move into your accommodation…
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You will need to make a claim for Housing Benefit by completing the claim form.
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Once you have moved into your accommodation…
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Attend an appointment at the Housing Benefit office to register your claim – you must attend in person – and not just send the form by post.
Supply all the information the Housing Benefit office ask for – such as bank statements, wage slips, evidence of benefits and other income, rent proof as signed by your landlord, tenancy agreement, etc.
The timing of appointments and submitting the required information to the Housing Benefit office is often critical to making your claim for Housing Benefit work.
Delays often result in lost benefit. If you lose benefit because you delay in attending appointments or submitting documents then you will start your new tenancy in rent arrears. This is not good for you as a new tenant, your new landlord or the SmartMove scheme.
