If you want to make a claim for housing benefit and council tax benefit, you will need to complete a claim form. We can assess you for housing benefit and council tax benefit at the same time, using the information you give on this form.

You can get a claim form by calling into any of our local offices or by: -

Telephone - 0345 678 9001
Email - benefits@shropshire.gov.uk

Alternatively, you can download a claim form from our website using the link on this page.

Claims visiting service

Shropshire Council offers a new claims visiting service to our customers. If you choose to use this service, an officer will visit you in your home and help you to complete your claim form. They will also collect the evidence we need to assess your claim.

This team will also be able to help you with advice on other welfare benefits and will help you to claim these if you wish to do so. If you would like a new claim visit, please telephone the Claims Visiting Service on 01743 253 771, where a member of staff will arrange an appointment with you.

Useful information about claiming in advance

If you are not on benefit already and you are moving to a new address, you can claim housing benefit up to 13 weeks (17 weeks if you're aged 60 or over) before you move. We will not normally be able to pay you any money before you move in (because you must be resident in your home in order to get housing benefit), but it can help us to more quickly assess your claim. This way, you do not have to wait for your claim to be assessed once you have moved in.

What other information will I need to supply to claim benefit?

We need a lot of information from you before we can make a decision on whether you can get benefit:

• A completed benefit claim form
• Two original documents for proof of identification for both yourself and your partner (if you have one)
• An original document showing national insurance numbers for yourself and your partner (if you have one) (by 'partner' we also mean civil partner)

We will also need to know all about:

• Your financial circumstances, including your earnings, pensions and any other state benefits you have coming in - you will need to provide details of all of your savings, capital and any other accounts you have, such as building society or post office accounts
• People in your household, for example partner, children or a lodger - we will need details and proof of all their income and savings
• The kind of property you live in and the rent you pay - this only applies if you want to claim housing benefit

It is important that you tell us all this information on the claim form that you fill out. Please answer all questions. You will also need to send us proof of all the details you tell us about. You must send us original documents as we cannot accept photocopies. We will return these documents to you.

If your proof (or some of your proof) is not available straight away, it is important that you do not wait for this before sending your claim form to us. You must send your claim form to us as soon as it is ready otherwise you may lose money you are entitled to.

You can send the proof to us afterwards but note that evidence to support your claim must be provided within 1 calendar month, otherwise the claim becomes invalid and you will have to make a fresh claim. If you are unable to provide the evidence we need, you must contact us immediately.

What if I need help completing my benefit claim form?

Please contact the Benefits Service, where a member of staff will be pleased to help you.

If you would like to request a visit online, please follow the link on this page.

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