Benefits and Support

☎ On average, calls to the Benefits team are answered within 16 minutes, and most (75%) are answered within 30 minutes.

☎ Most calls take about 12 minutes to complete.

☎ Our busiest times are 9 to 10 a.m. and lunchtimes. If you can phone outside these times, you may not have to wait as long.

☎ To contact us using another method, please see our Contact Us page where you can send a message through to the team.

☎ To find out more about call times and how we're tackling this issue, please see Call Centre Information.

View your Council Tax Account and Housing Benefit Payments online

Use our online service to keep track of your Housing Benefit payments.

Use our online service to check payments, update us and more.

Most people who want to make a new claim will need to claim Universal Credit, but there are some exceptions.

If something has changed recently, such as your earnings, people you live with, contact details or savings, let us know about it here.

If you need to tell us about a change in your self-employed earnings, or we have asked for your updated accounts, you can do so here.

Information about support available in the area for residents experiencing a wide range of issues.

If you have been asked to complete a Benefits Review Form, you can do so here.

If you are on low income, you may be able to apply for Council Tax Reduction (CTR) to reduce the amount you have to pay.

If you are experiencing financial hardship due to the cost of living crisis, you might be able to apply to the household support fund.

If you need to send us evidence to support your application for housing benefit or council tax reduction, you can email it to us.

If you need to submit a claim for Discretionary Housing Payments you can do so here.

Are you having trouble making ends meet? Find out how to get help here.

You must contact us in writing within one month of receiving your decision letter.

You must contact us in writing within one month of receiving your decision letter.

If you have been overpaid Housing Benefit, you can find out about repaying it here.

Find out about Benefit Fraud, including what it is and how you can report it to us or the DWP.

If you have a general enquiry about housing benefit or Council Tax Reduction, you can ask it here.

Find out the Local Housing Allowance rates for the South Hams area.