How to Apply for Council Tax Reduction in Ealing Online

Before You Touch the Form

Ealing Council's online CTR application times out after 20 minutes of inactivity per page, and any saved draft you leave unsubmitted gets purged from the server after 14 calendar days. Gathering your documents before you log in will save you from having to restart.

You'll need:

• Proof of identity: passport, driving licence, or birth certificate plus a current utility bill
• National Insurance number: from a DWP letter, P60, or payslip
• Council tax bill: your current Ealing demand notice or tenancy agreement
• Income proof: five weekly payslips or two monthly payslips; if self-employed, your accounts
• Universal Credit statement: the full online breakdown showing all elements and net earnings, if you receive UC
• Bank statements: covering all accounts for the past two full months
• Non-dependant details: proof of income or student status for every adult living in your home

Accepted file formats are .docx, .pdf, .xlsx, .txt, .jpeg, .gif, and .png. The maximum individual file size is 50MB. Zip files are blocked by the council's security filters.

The Application Steps

1. Create an Ealing My Account at ealing.gov.uk using a valid email address.
2. Open the form titled "Apply for housing benefit and council tax reduction." Despite the name, this is the correct route for CTR.
3. Complete each section: personal details, household composition, income and benefits, capital and savings, non-dependants. The system times out page by page, so move through each section in one sitting if you can.
4. Upload your evidence directly through the portal. If uploads fail, email documents to [email protected] with your full name, address, and benefit reference in the subject line.
5. Submit the form. You'll get a confirmation through My Account.

Setting Your Claim Date by Phone

If you can't complete the form immediately, call 020 8825 7000 to register an intention to claim. This locks in your baseline application date. But you must still complete the online form and provide all evidence within one calendar month of that call. Miss the month and you lose the earlier start date.

This matters because Ealing does not backdate working-age CTR claims. Every day between when you could have applied and when you actually did is support permanently lost.

Moving to Ealing From Another Borough

If you already receive CTR elsewhere and move into the London Borough of Ealing, your old claim does not transfer. You need a fresh application through Ealing's portal. The two councils run separate schemes with different income bands and rules.

If you're moving within Ealing, you don't need a new full application — report the move as a change of circumstances through My Account and the council will transfer your entitlement to the new address and recalculate based on the new property's band.

After You Submit

Ealing Council will process your claim and issue a formal Notification of Decision confirming your income band, award percentage, and the amount credited to your council tax account. A revised demand notice follows, showing your new balance and adjusted instalments.

If anything looks wrong on that decision — the wrong income band, a missing disregard, a non-dependant deduction that shouldn't apply — you have one month from the date on the letter to request a review.

The Ealing Council Tax Reduction guide walks through the full evidence checklist, income band calculations, and what to check on your decision notice.

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