Information on claiming
Detailed information for people who wish to claim Housing and / or Council Tax Benefit is available by following the related links to the left of this page.
Will I qualify & I want to make a claim
If you wish to see if you will qualify for Housing / Council Tax Benefit, you can calculate your benefit online. If you do qualify you can then carry on and complete your claim, you will be guided through the process but can telephone for advice or help at any point.
You can call in for advice, leaflets or forms at
The Benefits Section,
7 Whittaker Street,
Radcliffe, M26 2DT.
Telephone 0161 253 5008.
E-mail: housingbenefits@bury.gov.uk.
You can pick up a claim form at the following council offices:
- The Longfield Centre, Prestwich,
- The Town Hall, Bury or
- any Local Authority Neighbourhood Office or Council Information Point.
Changes after you have claimed
If certain circumstances change after you have made your claim, you must, by law, tell us. This is because the change could affect how much benefit you get. If the change means that your benefit would go up, you will lose money if you don't tell us.
If the change means that your benefit would go down you will have to pay the money back. You could even be prosecuted if you don't tell us about a change that means you are getting too much.
You must tell us about these changes as soon as they occur - remember you can telephone us on 0161 253 5008 - and we can then advise you of any documents we will need to see, or;
Please use the following links to on-line forms which you can use to notify us of a change of circumstance.
Notify us of a change of circumstances (claimants)
Notify us of a change of circumstances (landlords)
Don't rely on someone else to pass the message on
View your claim
If you are already in receipt of Housing or Council Tax Benefit you can now view your claim online.
If you are a landlord who receives payment of Housing Benefit you can view details of payments and award of benefit only online
Fair processing statement
Bury Council will use the information we hold about you to process your claim for Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit.
We may pass the information to other agencies or organisations such as the Department for Work and Pensions or Her Majesties Customs and Excise, as allowed by law.
We may check information you have provided, or information about you that someone else has provided, with other information held by us.
We may also get information about you from certain third parties, or give them information to :
Prevent or detect crime;
Protect public funds; and
Make sure the information is correct.
These third parties include government departments, local authorities and private-sector companies such as banks, organisations that may lend you money and companies that assist us in fraud detection and prevention such as Experian.
We will not give information about you to anyone else, or use information about you for other purposes, unless the law allows us to.
We are the data controller for the purpose of the Data Protection Act.
