Housing benefit appeals

Please check the details of your award on the notification letter which detailed the amount of your entitlement. If you think we have made a mistake or you disagree with the decision you can ask us to explain the decision by phoning, writing or visiting us.

Contact details for benefits

If you think the decision is wrong you have one month from the date of the letter to request a reconsideration. You must clearly state why you think the decision is wrong. Once your ‘request for reconsideration’ has been looked at by the benefits service they will contact you to advise you of the decision.

If we agree with our original decision you have one month from the date of the letter to lodge an appeal. Your appeal must be in writing (not by telephone) clearly stating what you are appealing against and must be signed by you.

Please note: this information is for general guidance only. Please contact us to talk about your individual circumstances and we will be able to give you more information.

Understanding your benefit decision

When we deal with your claim for benefit we will send you a benefit decision letter, which will show the information we have used to work out your benefit entitlement. You should check this letter carefully. If you believe that this decision is wrong, or would like to query it you should contact us within one month and you have three options:

• You can ask us for a statement of reasons for the decision at any time and we will explain the decision in more detail. Once you have received your statement of reasons, you can still ask us to check the decision again or submit an appeal. The one month you are allowed to make your request or submit an appeal will be extended by the time it has taken for us to provide you with the statement of reasons.
• You can ask us to reconsider the decision by writing to us within one month of the decision clearly asking us to reconsider the decision and explaining why you think the decision is wrong. The decision will be checked again and you will be informed in writing of the outcome.
• You can appeal against the decision by completing an appeal form or writing to us within one month of the decision clearly stating that you would like to appeal to an independent appeal tribunal and explaining why you think the decision is wrong. If you appeal, your case will be referred to the Tribunal Service for a tribunal judge to decide if our decision is correct or not. It may be better to ask us to reconsider the decision first, because you can still appeal after we have sent you the outcome of your reconsideration request.

Appealing against the decision

Your appeal must be:

• in writing
• signed by yourself
• clearly state what you are appealing against and should identify the date of the decision against which you wish to appeal and explain in full why you think it is wrong and give relevant facts. It will be helpful if you can provide evidence to support your request or appeal. Representation If a representative is appealing on your behalf, you must still sign the appeal and let us know in writing that you have authorised somebody else to deal with your appeal.

Representation

If a representative is appealing on your behalf, you must still sign the appeal and let us know in writing that you have authorised somebody else to deal with your appeal.