Information and evidence

Unless you receive either Universal Credit, Income Support, Income-based Jobseekers' Allowance, Income-Related Employment and Support Allowance or Pension Credit (Guarantee Credit, you will be required to provide evidence of the following: 

• identity
• National Insurance number
• income and capital
• rent 
• the income of any non-dependants living in your household. 

We need to see original documents.  Unfortunately, copies cannot be accepted.

Evidence of Identity

This has to be one of the following:  

• passport
• driving licence, or
• birth certificate.

Evidence of National Insurance Number

We can accept the following:

• a recent payslip
• a recent pension statement
• letter from the Department for Work and Pensions
• a P45, P60 or any other document from HM Revenue and Customs showing your National insurance number. 

Report a lost or forgotten your National Insurance number. 

Evidence of Income

You must provide proof of your household income. When we refer to household income, we mean any income earned by you, your partner and any other adults (non-dependants) in your property.  The type of evidence that you will be required to provide will depend on the type of income. We have given some examples below of the minimum evidence requirement for different types of income:

• Employment/Earned Income - if you, your partner or any other adults in your property are working, you must provide your:

  • last 5 consecutive pay slips if you are paid weekly; or
  • last 3 consecutive pay slips if paid fortnightly; or
  • last 2 pay slips if you are paid monthly or 4 weekly.

If you have only recently started employment and you do not have the full required amount of pay slips, please do not delay in sending us your application. We will advise you of what is required.  Please note, we cannot accept handwritten pay slips. If you receive handwritten pay slips, or you have lost your original pay slips, please ask your employer to complete and sign a  Certificate of Earned Income (PDF) [200KB] .

• Self-Employed Income - if you, your partner or any non-dependants in your household are self-employed, proof of this income must be provided to support your application.

The minimum requirement for a business which has been in operation for more than 12 months would be self-employed accounts (preferably accounts which have been prepared professionally) for the previous 12 months. If your, your partner's or any non-dependant's business has been in operation for less than 12 months, we will require our  Self-Employed Declaration Form (PDF) [372KB]  to be completed.

• State Benefits and Tax Credits - if you, your partner, children or any other adults in your property are in receipt of any state benefits or Tax Credits for themselves or anyone else, including children and adults who do not live with them, you must provide your award letter as evidence.

• Other Income - if you, your partner, any children or any other adults in your property receive any other type of income, you must provide proof of this. Examples of this other income may be maintenance, private pensions, income from boarders and more.

• Proof of Child Care Costs - in certain circumstances, the costs which you are required to pay to a registered childminder can be taken into consideration when calculating your entitlement to Council Tax Reduction and/or Housing Benefit. To tell us about these, please submit a Childcare Certificate (PDF) [303KB]  which should be signed by your registered childminder.

Evidence of Savings and Capital

Proof of all savings and capital held by you and/or your partner must be provided.  The type of evidence that you will be required to provide will depend on the type of savings and capital, such as:

• Bank Accounts, Building Society Accounts, Post Office Accounts, ISAs, etc - you must provide full bank statements showing your name, address, account number and these must carry the stamp or logo of the bank or building society for all accounts held. These statements must detail the transactions for at least 60 consecutive days immediately prior to submitting your claim.

• Premium Bonds, National Savings Certificates, Stocks, Shares and Unit Trusts - original documentation must be provided as evidence.

• Property or land owned (other than your home) - you must advise us on your application form if you own any property or land other than the property which you occupy as your home. Proof of this ownership should also be provided in the form of original documentation. If you have any outstanding mortgage on this property, you should also provide original documentation to support this.

Evidence of Rent

If you rent your property from a Housing Association or a private landlord, you must provide proof of the rent that you are required to pay. As proof of rent we accept either:

• your original lease (not a photocopy) which has been signed by yourself and your landlord, or
• if you do not have a lease, please complete a Rent Details form (PDF) [189KB] .

Evidence regarding Non-Dependants and Second Adults

If you have an adult in your property who is over the age of 18 and who you do not receive Child Benefit for, you will need to provide proof of his or her income.

If you are claiming Second Adult Rebate, your entitlement is calculated using your second adult's income.

If you are claiming Council Tax Reduction and/or Housing Benefit, the income of any other adults in your property may affect your entitlement: