Changes in Circumstances

Reporting changes of circumstances

If you are already receiving Housing Benefit and your circumstances change you need to tell us about the change as soon as possible as this can effect your entitlement to Housing Benefit and the amount you are eligible to recieve.

How do I report a change in circumstances?

By telephone:

You can call us on our Housing Benefit line: 03448 920 902. For identification purposes you will be asked for your name, address, date of birth and National Insurance number.

By writing to us:

Download the relevant Housing Benefit forms and post them to us.

           Additionally your landlord needs to complete this form: Certificate of Occupation (Opens PDF document in a new browser window 25 KB)

Once completed, please send the completed form(s) to the appropriate office from the list below:

Housing Benefit offices

BELFAST:

NIHE Tenants only

NIHE HB Office, 10-16 Hill Street, Belfast BT1 2LA

BELFAST:

Non NIHE Tenants

HB Office, Belfast Area Office, Keylands Place, Belfast BT2 7GW

SOUTH EAST AREA:

Bangor, Newtownards, Castlereagh, Downpatrick

NIHE HB Office, Strangford House, Court Street, Newtownards BT23 7NX

SOUTH EAST AREA:

Lisburn, Poleglass

NIHE HB Office, 29 Antrim Street, Lisburn BT28 1AU

SOUTH AREA:

Banbridge, Newry, Armagh, Lurgan, Portadown

NIHE HB Office, 6th Floor, Marlborough House, Central Way, Craigavon BT64 1AJ

NORTH EAST AREA:

Ballymena, Antrim, Newtownabbey, Carrickfergus, Larne, Ballycastle, Coleraine, Ballymoney

NIHE HB Office, Twickenham House, Mount Street, Ballymena BT43 6BP

WEST AREA:

Londonderry, Limavady, Magherafelt, Strabane

NIHE HB Office, Richmond Chambers, The Diamond, Londonderry BT48 6QP

OMAGH AREA:

Cookstown, Dungannon, Omagh, Fermanagh

NIHE HB Office, McAllister House, Woodside Avenue, Omagh BT79 7BP

Examples of changes of circumstances you need to tell us about:

Income details

You must tell us if:

  • you or your partner start work

  • you start or stop getting Child Benefit, Jobseeker’s Allowance or any other state benefit; or

  • there is any other change in your income or savings.

Household details

You must tell us if:

  • a partner moves in or out

  • any of your children leave school, start work or start to get Jobseeker’s Allowance;

  • anyone comes to live with you or anyone leaves (including lodgers or tenants);

  • you have a student child who normally studies away from home and they return home during he holiday period;

  • you or your partner go into hospital, (tell us the date you go in and when you go home);

  • someone living with you stops or starts to get Jobseeker’s Allowance or starts work; or

  • you stop or start caring for a disabled person.

Going abroad

You must tell us if you or your partner, or both of you, leave the country. Tell us before you go and as soon as you get back.

Accommodation details

You must tell us if:

  • your rent goes up or down; or

  • you change your accommodation, even if this is to another room in the same house.

Other changes which may affect your benefit

  • If Disability Living Allowance stops, starts or changes.

  • If you have received benefit as a student and your course finishes.

What happens if I don’t tell you about changes?

  • If you don’t tell us, we’re likely to go on paying the same rate of Housing Benefit as before and this may be wrong.

  • We may need to change the amount we pay you, or stop your Housing Benefit completely because of a change.

If you don’t tell us, or are slow to tell us, we may have paid you too much Housing Benefit. We will expect you to pay it back, and we may take it out of any other benefits you are being paid.

We usually need to see evidence when reporting a change of circumstance. For example wage slips showing an increase or decrease in earnings, or telling us a forwarding address when a non dependant leaves the household.