Housing Benefits and Council Tax Benefit

If you wish to claim help with your rent or council tax you may be able to claim housing benefit or council tax benefit. You do not have to be receiving any other benefits, just be on a low income or low wage. You may be able to claim help if other people live with you who are on a low income, this is known as second adult rebate.

Please get in touch with us in order to claim or alternatively download the Housing and Council Tax Benefit claim form (PDF, 192KB)  to help you complete the application form please use the help notes (PDF, 112KB) See the information on our Golden Promise Scheme to see how you can make your claim our priority.

We can offer welfare benefit advice over the telephone or in your own home.  For further information ring our dedicated advisors on 0300 123 5013 or email the Benefits Department.

Alternatively if you are unable to come into the offices you can complete our home visit request form.

Once you submit this form, the Visiting team will aim to contact you within 5 working days to arrange your visit. 

Please ensure you give us a contact telephone number so that we can contact you quickly.

For impartial advice on benefits, debt management and welfare rights you can contact the Citizens Advice Bureau 

If you need advice about mortgage or rent arrears, please visit the Housing Options area of the website.

We also have an online calculator so you can see how much housing benefit or council tax benefit you may get.

If you pay rent to a private landlord you can check how much rent may be met by housing benefit and what size accommodation your household needs by using our local housing allowance calculator (MS Excel, 4.8MB).

Already getting Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit?

Don’t forget to tell us about any changes in your circumstances or those of any other people who live with you. You can now do this online using our online change in circumstances form or download a copy of the change in circumstances form (PDF, 184KB) to fill out by hand.

How to pay Council Tax bills

• Pay online
• Council Tax bills can also be paid at your local post office
• Or call our payment line on 0300 123 5039
• By Post to Cheshire East Council, Municipal Buildings, Earle Street, Crewe, CW1 2BJ

Latest Information - Benefits Cap - Welfare Reform Act

From April 2013 there will be a cap on the total amount of benefit that people can get.  This is likely to be £500pw for couples and lone parents and £350pw for single people (some groups are excluded).  This will be delivered in 2 phases, with Housing Benefit being restricted from April 2013 but the remaining income not capped until the customer is transferred to Universal Credit (October 2013 onwards). 

The DWP will be writing to all those potentially affected during May 2012.  The letter will advise them to contact Jobcentre Plus for support looking for work but to approach the Council to discuss housing options. 

More information is available at Direct.gov

April 1st 2012 Changes 

From 1st April 2012 the LHA rates will be frozen for the next 52 weeks, this means there will be no changes to the rates that have been set for this month.  The same rates will be used throughout the year, to calculate Housing Benefit Entitlment, up to 1 April 2013.

Newsletters to be issued to Benefit claimants (PDF, 72KB) and a separate newsletter to landlords (PDF, 78KB)in March 2012

Changes to Housing Benefit from 1 January 2012

The shared accommodation rate currently applies to single people under the age of 25 living in accommodation that they rent from a private landlord. This will be extended to people aged under 35.

This means that single people under 35 will no longer receive Housing Benefit based on one bedroom self-contained accommodation.

Further information is available on the FAQs page .

Changes to Housing Benefit from 1^st April 2011

The Government introduced legislation changing the Local Housing Allowance rules from 1 April 2011, these are;

• the maximum £15 weekly Housing Benefit top up/ excess that some customers can receive under the Local Housing Allowance arrangements will end
• the five bedroom Local Housing Allowance rate will end so that the maximum level is for a four bedroom property
• caps have been introduced so that Local Housing Allowance weekly rates  in any area cannot exceed:
  • £250 for a one bedroom property
  • £290 for a two bedroom property
  • £340 for a three bedroom property
  • £400 for a four bedroom property
• all Local Housing Allowance rates have reduced so that about 3 in 10 properties for rent in the area should be affordable to people on Housing Benefit rather than every 5 in 10 properties as now.
• disabled people who have a carer who stays overnight but who doesn’t normally live with them will receive help. The change means that your Housing Benefit will take into account the cost of an additional bedroom providing you rent a property which has a bedroom for your carer. 

Further information is available on the FAQs page .

We have also produced a Benefit Matters Newsletter for Claimants (PDF, 210KB) and a Benefit Matters Newsletter for Landlords (PDF, 227KB).

Benefit Take-up

The Benefit Take-up Team at Cheshire East Borough Council are committed to ensuring that our residents receive the benefits to which they are entitled.

• By encouraging take up, the benefits service can improve the financial position of residents and reducing unnecessary stress for vulnerable members of the community.
• The take up of benefits helps to improves the local economy and eases the pressure on services dealing with long term poverty.

There are many reasons why people do not claim the benefits to which they are entitled. The barriers to claiming include:

• Lack of knowledge
• Stigma associated with claiming
• Bad experiences in the past when dealing with benefit claims
• Believing it is a complicated process
• Lack of personal contact during the claims operation

We will seek to encourage all customers to claim benefits they are entitled to. However, there is recognition that certain groups may need specific focus and expertise. These may include;

• The elderly
• Owner-occupiers
• Disabled groups
• Lone parents
• Working families on low income

We will be holding events across the Borough in the coming weeks that will give information about the Benefits that are available.

Golden Promise - Make your Benefit claim our priority

If you make a claim for Housing and Council Tax Benefit, or change address, we need more information and original evidence from you before we can decide on any entitlement.

To have your claim treated as a priority case you must:

1. Complete an application form in full
2. Bring your completed application form and priority request form (PDF, 300KB) together with all information including original documents to one of the following Customer Service Centres:

• Delamere House, Crewe
• Town Hall, Macclesfield
• Civic Hall, Nantwich

For more information on these centres opening times, location and contact details please see the Customer Service Centres details page.  

As a priority case we will make a decision within 3 working days. If a decision cannot be made we will contact you within 2 working days by telephone to explain why.

Additional information

• Help with Rent and Council Tax for Pensioners (PDF, 302KB) 
• Help with Rent and Council Tax for People of Working Age (PDF, 250KB) 
• Claim it Now (PDF, 1.5MB)
• Guide for Students (PDF, 569KB)
• Help with Leisure Costs

If you have any comments about the Benefits Service or about the pages on the web site relating to Housing and Council Tax Benefit, please complete a comments form (MS Word, 117KB).