To claim Housing or Council Tax Benefit you can choose one of the options below:

• complete a new claim form or notify us about a change of address over the telephone
• download a printable application form (available below)
• collect a form from the Benefits Office
• request an application is posted to you

To arrange to complete an application over the phone or request one to be posted, please contact the office on 01202 451592 and select option 1. You will be asked to leave a message which includes your name, address and contact telephone number. A member of staff will contact you within 1 working day to book you an appointment. The arranged appointment can last 30 – 45 minutes for a new claim form and 10 – 20 minutes for a change of address form and will be recorded for training and quality purposes. You will be asked questions about your household, income, capital and rent, if this is applicable, so please have any relevant information to hand.

It may also be necessary to complete various other forms to support your claim. Some of these can also be downloaded from this page from the links below:

• Housing & Council Tax Benefit Application Form
• Certificate of rent - for your Landlord to complete, to confirm your rent
• Earnings Certificate - for your employer to complete, to confirm your earnings
• Request for direct payment to your bank account - form to request payment of Housing Benefit to be made directly to your bank account
• Self-employed earnings form - for self-employed people to complete, to confirm their self-employed earnings.
• Change of Address within Bournemouth - if you already claim Housing Benefit in Bournemouth and move to another property in Bournemouth, you can complete this short form.
• Change of Circumstances form - for you to advise of any changes in your circumstances, apart from a change of address.
• Statement of Residency - to confirm you have actually moved into your accommodation (required if you have applied for benefit prior to moving into your accommodation).
• Request for direct payment of Housing Benefit to Landlord/Agent bank account - to be completed by the Landlord/Agent only, to change from cheque to bank payments
• Backdating Request - to request your claim be backdated, if required
• Discretionary Housing Payment Application
• Report of Lost/Stolen/Not Received Cheque
• Student Application Form - extra form required for students
• Person From Abroad Form - extra form required for persons from abroad
• Request for Overlapping Housing Benefit form - request for benefit to be overlapped for 2 properties

For further helpful information about applying see How to apply for Housing &/or Council Tax Benefit or How to apply for Council Tax Benefit.