Benefits
You can claim Housing Benefit if you pay rent to a private landlord, Housing Association or a Local Authority, and are on a low income (involving either full or part-time work), have savings of less than £16,000, or are receiving state benefits. You can also claim Council Tax Benefit if you pay Council Tax on your home and meet any of the above requirements. If you are claiming Income Support or Jobseekers Allowance (income based) and under 60, the Benefits Agency will provide you with a form to claim Housing Benefit, which you should complete and send to Revenues and Benefit, Ground Floor, Wellington House, 22-32 Wellington Street, Leicester, LE1 6HL. If you are not claiming Income Support or Jobseekers Allowance (income based), or are over 60 and claiming Pension Credit, you should contact the Revenues and Benefit office directly for a form. The telephone number is (0116) 252 7006. Alternatively, you can visit Revenues and Benefits reception in ground Floor, Wellington House, 22-32 Wellington Street. The opening times are: 8:45 am - 4:30 pm on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday (doors open at 8.30am in order to pre book appointments for the day) 11.00 am - 4:30 pm on Wednesday (doors open at 10.00am in order to pre book appointments for the day) 8:45 am - 4:00 pm on Friday (doors open at 8.30am in order to pre book appointments for the day) New Appointment system The appointment system for the new claims desk has changed. We are now offering both same day appointments and pre-booked appointments for this service. You can still come to our reception and be given a same day appointment at a set time so you can leave the building to return for the appointment. If all the same day appointments have been taken, you will be able to pre-book an appointment for another day. You may also telephone our office and arrange a pre-booked appointment up to one week in advance, or up to two weeks in advance if the new claims service is particularly busy. Details of the period each day when either same day appointments or pre-booked appointments will be seen by a new claims officer are listed below:
This new way of offering appointments will give our customers more flexibility and still significantly reducing the length of time interviews take and the average time a customer is waiting to be seen on their appointment day. There has also been a change to the appointment system for reporting changes in circumstances. Each afternoon one appointment cubicle for same day appointments will be changed to a "wait to be seen" (drop in) cubicle for reporting changes in circumstances. You can also contact us by email housingbenefits@leicester.gov.uk. If you need general information on claiming Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit in languages other than English, visit benefit-leaflets.org/leaflets.asp*. Our Welfare Rights Service also provide free information and assistance. |