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, 470KB) to help you complete the application form please use the 'help notes' (PDF, 75KB).  See the information on our Golden Promise Scheme to see how you can make your claim our priority.If you are concerned about your claim or want to know how we are performing as a council then please have a look at our benefit performance page. 

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 form (PDF, 258KB) to fill out by hand.

Delamere House Customer Service Centre Refurbishment

Delamere House CSC and reception has been refurbished and is open from 9am on Friday 16th April 2010.

How to pay Council Tax bills/ Parking fines:-

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

Latest information

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
• Westfields, Middlewich Road, Sandbach

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.

Free Computers for low income families

More than a quarter of a million families will be able to claim free computers and internet access under the new Home Access programme. This programme is designed to boost the achievements of children from lower income families.

Home Access is a government drive which will help low-income families to get access to a computer and the internet to get online at home.

The Home Access programme will allow 270,000 families with children in years 3 to 9 to apply for grants to buy computers and broadband connections from approved suppliers.

If you are a low income family receiving certain benefits you could qualify for a grant to buy a computer and/or a minimum of one years’ internet access.

Depending on what you need, the grant allows eligible families to buy one of the following packages:

1. full package (a computer, one year's internet access, service and support)
2. a computer with service and support only
3. one year's internet access only

More information can be found about this programme on the Home Access website.

Help with Leisure Costs

If you are in receipt of certain benefits then you may be eligible for up to 50% discount on a range of activities including, swimming, sports centres and many other leisure facilities across the Cheshire East area, for more information take a look at the Everybody Options area of this website.

Additional information

• Help with Rent and Council Tax for Pensioners (PDF, 697KB) 
• Help with Rent and Council Tax for People of Working Age (PDF, 658KB) 
• Claim Now Booklet (PDF, 153KB) 
• Guide for Students (PDF, 99KB) 
• Benefit Information Leaflets

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).