I don't know my housing benefit or council tax support claim number
This is printed on the notices/letters that we have sent you about your benefit/support claim. It starts with a '5' and has 8 other digits. If you do not have any notices / letters from us, you will need to contact us.
I don't know my National Insurance number
National Insurance numbers are issued by HM Revenues & Customs. You can find further information on the Gov.uk website.
Understanding your 'claim summary'
Payee (invoices outstanding)
- If 'Payee' has 'Landlord' against it then this debt can be recovered either from your benefit payments or your landlord depending on why it arose. If it was because you moved address, then an invoice will have been sent to your landlord and your benefit will not be affected. If it was because of a change in your income, then it will be recovered from your benefit payments, even if you have moved address since the time of the overpayment, as your landlord would not be expected to have known about it.
- If 'Payee' has 'Claimant' against it then this is an overpayment we are recovering from you. If you are unsure if your benefit is subject to any reduction in relation to an overpayment please contact us for clarification.
2nd Payee
- 2nd Payee is for Local Housing Allowance (LHA) payments only. LHA is a way of working out housing benefit claims for tenants renting accommodation from private landlords. LHA uses a standard figure provided by the rent service rather than your actual rent. We do not have to refer your rent to the rent officer. If the LHA is more than the full rent charged by your landlord or the landlord's agent, you will get a maximum of £15.00 per week more. LHA will be paid into your bank account, not to the landlord or their agent. If you are in rent arrears, the excess can also be paid to your landlord with your consent.
Understanding how benefit/support has been calculated
- applicable amount - this is the weekly amount set by the government as the amount of income you can have before it reduces your benefit/support. It varies according to how old you are, how many people there are in your family, and whether any of them have disabilities.
- disregards - some types of income, such as Disability Living Allowance, are ignored when working out how much you have coming in every week, whilst earnings and Working Tax Credit are disregarded in part. The total value of any disreguards will appear here.
- alternative - where you are claiming Second Adult Rebate, because another person living with you has a low income, rather than benefit based on your own income, the amount of your council tax reduction will appear here.
Understanding 'details of household'
- income details - here you can see a breakdown of the income records we hold for each member of your household.
- status - other members of your household will be listed here, with the status of either partner, child 0-16, youth 16-19 or non-dependant.
- special circumstances - if any member of your household is either a student or a carer it will be recorded here.
Further information about housing benefit or council tax support