Evidence to support your claim

You will need to provide us with documentary evidence to enable us to assess your housing benefit or council tax reduction claim.

If you can’t provide the documents asked for, you need to tell us why. We will then let you know what to do next.

Submit your documents

Types of documents we require

Proof of identity

Please provide us with any two of the following:

• birth certificate, marriage certificate, civil partnership certificate
• passport (current and valid) or national identity card
• NHS medical card
• award letter from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) or the pension service
• driving license (full driving license only)
• letter from solicitor, social worker, or probation officer confirming your identity
• Home Office acknowledgement letter (SAL 1 or 2)
• residence permit, Immigration and Nationality Directorate documents or application registration card

National Insurance number

• National Insurance number card
• P45 or P60 showing NINO
• payslips showing your NINO
• award letters from the DWP or pension service

Proof of earnings

• your most recent payslips
  • if you are paid weekly, you must provide payslips for 5 weeks in a row
  • if you are paid two weekly, you must please provide 3 payslips in a row
  • if you are paid monthly, you must please provide 2 monthly payslips in a row
  • if you have just started work, please provide whatever information is available to reflect your normal wages such as your first payslip and contract of employment

  Self-employment

  • please provide us with your full trading accounts for the last financial year
  • if you have been trading for less than a year, please fully complete our self-employed earnings form.
  • if you have just started work, please give us a forecast of your expected income during the businesses first 3 months

  Personal / work pensions

  • please provide us with your latest pension slip or pension statement or letter

  Social security benefits / tax credits

  • please provide your state benefit and tax credit award letters showing the current rate of benefit you receive
  • if unavailable, it may be possible for the Council to verify your entitlement directly with the DWP and / or the tax credit office

  Savings / capital

  You need to provide proof of all your savings. This would include:

  • bank, building society or post office account passbooks or statements (the last two monthly statement for each account, which should be not more than three months old, and should show all transactions into and out of the account)
  • premium bond certificates, national savings certificate, ISAs, stocks, shares and unit trusts
  • proof of any interests or dividends received from investments and savings
  • a letter from the bank or building society, which contains the same information as a statement

  Rent

  We will need to see your:

  • tenancy agreement
  • rent book
  • letter from your landlord
  • letter from your landlord agent

  The proof of rent should contain:

  • the full name and business address of any agent working on behalf of your landlord
  • the full name and business address of your landlord
  • the amount of rent you pay
  • what is included in your rent (heating, lighting, cleaning, water rates, meals, personal care, general counselling and support)
  • how often you pay your rent (for example, every week, every month, or every 4 weeks)

  This list is just a guide of the documents which are required. Sometimes we may be able to verify the information in another way, or there may be reasons for asking for something slightly different.

  If you only receive paperless documentation, such as bank statements, utility bills, or wage slips, these will be accepted.

  If you can’t provide any of the above documents, please contact us so we can discuss what documents you have available, and whether there is another way we can build up a picture of your identity and circumstances.

  If you can’t obtain all the documents, please still submit your claim. You will have up to a month to provide all the documents needed.