Housing Systems: Combating poverty and sustaining tenancies.
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Providing Evidence: What's Required?

KEY FACTS:

  • If the claimant is getting a DWP benefit such as Pension Credit or Income-Related ESA, then the HB Office can accept that their NI number, proof of ID and evidence of income/savings has already been verified ie by the DWP / Pension Service.
  • The claimant has one calendar month from the date of request to provide the evidence - this time limit can be extended.
  • Sometimes HB Offices request information that is available to them from elsewhere (eg evidence of benefit income), or that is irrelevant to the claim (eg forwarding address of non-dependant), or almost impossible for the tenant to provide (eg nil income) - such requests can be challenged using Letter EV5, EV7 or EV8 - depending on the circumstance.
  • HB Offices are allowed to use risk-based verification; the evidence they require may differ for different claims based on risk - HB Circular S11/2011
  • If the claimant fails to provide the evidence requested within the time limits given their claim for HB will fail - but there may be grounds for challenging this decision and getting the claim re-opened.
    They can use Letter EV1 to ask for more time; and there are more letters for other situations (eg request for evidence unreasonable) on the Evidence section of the Standard letters page here.

Follow the links below for more information. 



Proof of ID/NIno

How can a claimant provide proof of ID / NIno?

Household

What evidence does the claimant need to show with regard to others in the household?

Income

What evidence does the claimant have to provide regarding their income?

Savings

What evidence does the claimant have to provide regarding their savings?

Rent

What evidence will the claimant have to provide about their rent?

Child Care Costs

How does the claimant evidence their child care costs?

Living in a Hostel?

Special rules for those living in a 'hostel'.

Problems Providing

What if the claimant is having problems providing the evidence requested?

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