We are carrying out maintenance work on our online system for Council Tax, Benefits and Business Rates.
This maintenance will take place from Monday 20 April at 8:30am to Tuesday 21 April at 5:30pm. This maintenance may prevent you from accessing your account.
We apologise for any inconvenience.
Being temporarily absent from your home
If you leave your home for a short time, your Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax Reduction will not change. This also applies to anyone in your household.
However, you must tell us if you or somebody in your home:
- goes abroad for four weeks or more; abroad means outside of England, Scotland or Wales. (Going to Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man also counts as going abroad.)
- is absent from your home for 13 weeks or more
- is absent and does not intend to return to the home
In some cases, you can extend the time you are away from home without it affecting your Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax Reduction.
When you notify us that you or a member of your household is temporarily absent from your home, you need to tell us the reason why and the expected dates of the absence.
You can do this by using our change in circumstance reporting process.