When making a claim for Housing Benefit we will need to see documents relating to you and your partner.
How to send us your documents
Make sure you put your name and address on any evidence you send us.
- You can take photographs of your documents and attach them to your online application.
- Alternatively you can contact us online and send the documents online after you have applied
- You can also post your documents to The Benefit Assessment Team, PO Box 676, Threemilestone, Truro, TR1 9EQ. Please do not send original copies of documents.
Don't delay making your claim, even if you haven't got all the evidence now.
To speed up your claim make sure we receive the evidence quickly, within the next few days if you can.
If you don't get the evidence to us within a month, we may not be able to award you anything at all.
Please tell us if you are having problems getting your evidence.
The evidence we need
You could provide any of the following to confirm your identity:
- Birth, marriage or civil partnership certificate
- Passport
- Medical card
- Utility bill in your name received in the last three months
- Driving licence
- Bank/Building society card or statement
- Letter or email from HM Revenues and Customs, the Department for Work and Pensions or the Pension Service
- Letter or email from a solicitor, social worker, probation officer or doctor.
These are examples, not a full list. We need one document for you and one for your partner, if you have one.
Make sure you put your name and address and reference number, if you know it, on any evidence you send us.
You could provide any of these to confirm your National Insurance number:
- P45 or P60
- Letter or email from HM Revenue and Customs about tax or tax credits.
- Bank statements with benefit payments received showing your National Insurance Number on the statement. For example, from Employment and Support Allowance or State Pension payments.
- Payslips, salary statement or works pension statement (as long as it shows your National Insurance Number).
- Letter or email that the Pension Service or Jobcentre Plus has sent to you (as long as it shows your National Insurance Number).
- National Insurance Number card.
These are examples, not a full list.
See the government's website for more about National Insurance and how to apply for a National Insurance number if you don't have one.
You could provide some of the following to confirm your income, capital and savings:
- Payslips. For you and your partner, if you have one. These should be for the last five weeks if you are paid weekly, or the last 2 months if you are paid monthly.
- Your latest pension statement or latest trading accounts if you are self-employed.
- Your latest Child Benefit award letter from the Child Benefit Office, showing your current address, or your recent bank or building society statement showing payment of Child Benefit. We don't count your income from Child Benefit.
- Copies of bank, building society or post office account passbooks or statements. Statements must show all transactions for the last two full months. We can accept internet banking statements provided by you, if they include the website address, name of the account holder, account number and sort code. We can't accept mini statements that just show a balance.
- Share certificates or dividend statements for stocks, shares or bonds. Please do not send original documents.
- If you are a student, full breakdowns of all student finance. You may get a further money off your bill if you are a student.
These are examples, not a full list.