Benefits

Housing Benefit is changing from April 2011 for tenants renting from a private landlord.

Find out if these changes affect you:

Tenants click here
Landlords click here

There are also other changes which may affect you if you claim Housing Benefit. If you have another adult aged over 18, that is not your partner, who normally lives at your property the amount of deduction we take from your benefit is changing. Compare the current deductions to the new April 2011 rates here.

Further information:

The Benefits Team calculate and pay Housing and Council Tax Benefits.

Housing Benefit (HB) and Council Tax Benefit (CTB) are income-related Social Security Benefits calculated, and paid by the Council.

If you would like to see if you qualify for these benefits please contact the benefits section or click on our benefit calculator. You can also use the links on the right to find out about other benefits you could be entitled to.

The amount of Benefit payable depends on the claimants' financial and personal circumstances. The Benefit schemes are designed to help people on low incomes pay their rent and Council Tax.

It's not just for pensioners
It's not just for the unemployed
It's not just for single parents

To claim benefit you can complete our online Housing/Council Tax Benefit Application form. To complete the form online, Housing/Council Tax Benefit Application form.

Our Benefits Advisor can visit you in your home or you can come into one of our five community offices within the Richmondshire district.

It may also be possible to obtain further help with your Council Tax bill by receiving either a discount, exemption or a reduction due to a disabled person living in the property. For further information about Council Tax discounts and exemptions please click Council Tax discounts.

You can download a Housing & Council Tax Benefit claim form and also a wide range of useful leaflets and forms relating to claiming Housing & Council Tax Benefit.

Our Service to you

We want to give you an efficient service so that your claim is problem free. You can help by:

returning your claim form promptly.
giving us as much evidence as you can when you return the form (otherwise we will have to write to you again which will delay settling your claim).
reading carefully any letters we send you so that we can correct any mistakes straight away.
asking us to check what your benefit is likely to be if you rent from a private landlord.
telling us about any change in your circumstances straight away. If you don't do this we might give you too much benefit which you will have to pay back later.

Customer Charter

Our Customer Charter sets out the standards of service you can expect to receive whenever you contact us. To find out more about it please click Our Customer Charter.

For details of our current performance please click current performance.

If what you are looking for is not here at the moment, or you would like further information please e-mail us at benefits@richmondshire.gov.uk, visit one of our community offices, or telephone 01748 829100 and ask to speak to a member of the Benefits Team.

Our office opening times are:

Monday to Thursday 8:45am - 5:15pm Fridays 8:45am - 4:45pm

Help with rent and/or Council Tax?

Do you have a friend or relative who thinks they may be entitled to some help with their rent or council tax, but they won’t apply because they hate filling in forms?

With effect from Monday 6 October 2008, The Benefits Team are offering a new "Telephone Claim" service for customers.

Customers just need to ring 01748 827108 and tell us they want to apply for help with their rent and/or council tax. Our friendly staff will then arrange to call them back at a time suitable to them.

We will then complete the form with the customer over the phone and post it out to them. The phone call will usually last between 10 and 15 minutes. All the customer needs to do is check the information, sign the declaration, and return the form to us, along with relevant documentation. It’s as simple as that. No filling in long forms, deliberating over which sections to complete and which sections to leave! We will do all that for them! We will even send a covering letter with the application form, detailing exactly what documentation the customer needs to send back with the form.

If you would like any further information regarding this new service, please contact Tracy Clarkson on 01748 827109 or Jackie Allen on 01748 827108.

Feedback: To comment on this service or request the services it describes complete our Service Request and Comment Form

Pages in this section

Who can claim?: Information and advice on qualification for housing and council tax benefit.

How do I claim benefit ?: Application form and information on location of Community Offices are here.

How is benefit paid: Includes payment dates and details of how benefit is paid

Overpayments

Changes in circumstances

Backdating and Appeals: Backdating and appeals

Discretionary Housing Payments

Rent restrictions

Benefit fraud: This section of the website gives information on how to report possible benefit fraud.

Useful Leaflets & Forms

Community offices: Information about our Local Community Offices, including contact details, opening times and list of services offered

Contacting us: Information on how to contact the Benefits Team and when and where surgeries are held.

Frequently asked Questions: Frequently asked questions

Save Money and Energy: Advice and Information on how to save money and energy

The Rent Service: The Rent Service is a government agency providing a rental valuation service to local authorities in England, supplying them with a range of valuations to assist them in settling claims for housing benefit

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