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To claim Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit you must complete one of the Council's application forms. If you are in receipt of Income Support (IS), income based Job Seekers Allowance (JSA-IB) or income related Employment & Support Allowance (ESA-IR), you will have completed Council Tax Benefit and Housing Benefit forms with your application for IS, JSA-IB and ESA-IR. These forms do not provide all the details required to complete for Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit so you will still have to complete one of the Council's own claim forms. The form is quite long and asks for a lot of information, please take time to read all the notes provided with the form to ensure it is completed correctly. If your application is completed correctly your claim can be processed without delay.

To download a pamphlet (Adobe Acrobat format) containing helpful information about claiming - click here.

An application form can be obtained from the Benefits Office - please click here for contact details.

You can also download a printable application form - for more information about this please click here

Help us to help you

We want to deal with your claim as quickly as possible so that you receive the benefit to which you are entitled, promptly. To acheive this, it is essential that you:

• complete the application form FULLY IN BLACK INK, answering ALL the questions that you are required to complete, (writing 'none' where appropriate).
• sign & date the application form. Any partner must sign the form.
• send in WITH your application form ALL the evidence that is required.

Please Note - The date when your benefit application is received by Revenue & Benefit Services affects the date your claim starts.

Click here for full details of documents required to support your claim.

REMEMBER: All documents must be originals, photocopies will not be accepted.

When sending in Application forms:

• Please ensure that your name, address and reference number (if known) are clearly written in black ink.
• Ensure all accompanying documents contain your name and current address.
• If you need more room, write the question number and your answer on a seperate sheet of paper, sign and date the separate sheet and securely fix it to the form.
• Send the completed application form and enclosures to:

Bournemouth Borough Council,
Revenue & Benefit Services,
Town Hall,
St Stephen's Road,
Bournemouth
BH2 6EB.

If your accomodation does not have a secure post box, it is recommended that you make a personal visit to the Benefits Enquiry counter with any valuable documents, so that they can be returned to you immediately.