This claim form can only be used by people who live in Sandwell. If you are not sure whether your address is covered by Sandwell Council please use the gov.uk local council finder to check.
Please note: This form should only be used if you are not currently receiving Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction.
If you are only in receipt of Housing Benefit then you will still need to apply for Council Tax Reduction separately by clicking on the 'Start your claim' button at bottom of the page. If you are unsure whether you are entitled to Council Tax Reduction, please complete the Benefit Calculator which will indicate your entitlement to Council Tax Reduction or any other government benefits you may be eligible to claim.
If you are in receipt of Council Tax Reduction but not Housing Benefit and you are of a pensionable age or you live in special exempt or temporary accommodation (as defined by Sandwell Council) then you will need to apply for Housing Benefit by clicking on the 'Start your claim' button at bottom of the page.
If you are currently receiving these and have moved house, please fill in a change of address form.
The online Housing Benefit/Council Tax Reduction claim form should take between 30 minutes and one hour to complete.
The form will ask you for all of the details that we will need in order to pay your Housing Benefit/Council Tax Reduction claim. If you don’t have these to hand you may not be able to complete the form. Please make sure that you have the following details with you before you start.
- Your National Insurance number
- Your/your partner’s wage slips if either of you are working
- Details of any bank/building society accounts that you or your partner have
- Your tenancy agreement if you are a Private Tenant
When you reach the end of the claim there is an Evidence Checklist that tells you what you need to provide for us to be able to process your benefit claim. Please make sure to read through this and provide whatever you need to as soon as possible to help us to pay your claim as quickly as we can. You will not receive a letter from us asking for the information that is asked for on the Evidence Checklist. If the evidence asked for on the sheet is not provided within one calendar month of you filling the form in, your claim will be refused and you will need to fill in another form to apply again.
Take a note of the reference number that you are provided with and the date that you filled the form in. This will make it easier for us to help you if you have any questions about the form you have filled in.
When you reach the end of the form please make sure that you have submitted it. You will need to press Proceed on Step 1 of 3 and then the Submit my Claim for Benefit button after you have read through your Evidence Checklist. If the form is not submitted then we cannot process your claim for benefit and you may lose out on benefit that you are entitled to. Unless the form is submitted you have not made a claim for benefit.
If you have entered your email address then you will receive an email receipt for your claim. We strongly advise that you keep this receipt as proof that you have made a claim. Please allow three days from when you submit the form for it to appear on our systems.
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