Moving home
You must inform us if you move home. You can complete a change
of address form at any of the Worcestershire
Hub centres in the area, you may do this before you actually
move as long as you have all of the details of the new
property.
If you move out of Wyre Forest you should contact the local
authority in your new area to apply for benefit.
Do you have to pay rent on two
properties?
Housing Benefit is only paid for the property you are living
in. However, you may be able to have your rent paid on both
properties in certain cases.
Overlapping Benefit?
You may still be entitled to Housing Benefit for a maximum of four
weeks on a property you have vacated if:
- Your landlord is still charging you rent
- You have moved to a new home other than a temporary home
and
- You can prove it was unavoidable to pay rent on both
homes.
Benefit for a period before moving in? (also known as
benefit prior to occupation)
If you have to pay rent from your tenancy commencement date to the
date you moved in, you may qualify for Benefit prior to
occupation. The delay in moving must have been:
- Necessary in order to adapt the dwelling to meet the disabled
needs of you or a member of your family
- You are waiting for a social fund payment to meet a need
arising out of the move or in connection with setting up the home
and, a family member must be aged 5 or under, or your applicable
amount includes one of the following premiums - Pensioner, Enhanced
Pensioner, Higher Pensioner, Disability, Severe Disability or a
Disabled Child Premium
- You became liable to make payments in respect of the dwelling
while you were in hospital or a residential home.
However, even when the above conditions are met
for b) or c), benefit cannot be paid if you had to pay rent on a
previous property immediately prior to the tenancy commencing at
your new address.
Slightly different criteria apply to victims of domestic
violence.
To qualify you must apply to the Local Authority within four weeks
of moving in to your new home.
This information is for guidance only. It does not cover
all the rules for all the benefits for every situation, nor does it
provide a full interpretation of the rules. It should not be
treated as a complete and authoritative statement of the
law.