Decisions Disputes and Appeals

This section explains what to do if you think that a decision about your Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit is incorrect.

If you think the decision is incorrect, you can ask us to explain it. If you still think it is incorrect after we have explained it to you, we may be able to look at it again.

For most decisions, you can appeal to an independent tribunal who can change the decision if they agree that the decision is incorrect.

There are time limits for asking for decisions to be looked at again and for appealing. These time limits are explained further below.

For more information, contact the Benefits Office.

Click on the required heading below to go directly to the information you need.

The Decision
More information about the decision
Looking at the decision again
If the decision can be changed
If the decision cannot be changed
Appealing against the decision
What does The Tribunals Service look at?
Late Appeals
What happens after you have made an appeal?

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The Decision                                                                                                                     Top of page

If you get a decision in writing from us about Housing and/or Council Tax Benefit, you can ask us to look at it again. If we do not change our decision, you may be able to appeal to an independent tribunal. The letter telling you about the decision will tell you if you can appeal.

If you receive a decision in writing, it is usually because:

• You have made a claim for Housing and/or Council Tax Benefit,
• You have had a change of circumstances which has effected your benefit, or
• You have been told you have to pay back some of your benefit.

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More information about the decision                                                                            Top of page

If you have received a Housing and/or Council Tax Benefit decision letter and you want more information about the decision, contact us straightaway.

You must do this straightaway because if you want us to look at the decision again or if you want to appeal against it, you must do so within one month of the date on the decision letter, not the date you contacted the office.

You can phone, write or visit us. When you contact us, you have a choice - you can ask us to explain the reasons for the decision or, if you want more information to help you decide what to do, you can ask for a written 'statement of reasons' for the decision. You must do this within one month of the date of the decision letter.

We will send the 'statement of reasons' to you as soon as we can, and we will extend the one-month time limit you have for an appeal by the amount of time we take to send it.

If you disagree with the decision, you can ask us to look at it again or you can appeal against the decision.

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Looking at the decision again                                                                                       Top of page

If you have received a decision letter from us or a written 'statement of reasons' explaining the decision and you still think it is wrong, then please tell us and we will look at the decision again.

You must tell us within one month of the date of the letter. If you ask us for an explanation first, the one month is still counted from the date of the decision letter plus the time we took to send you the 'statement of reasons'.

If there are any special circumstances why you did not contact us within the month allowed, we may still be able to change the decision. Tell us what these special circumstances are when you contact us.

When you ask us to look at a decision again, a different member of staff will check the decision is correct. If the decision is wrong, we will change it.

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If the decision can be changed                                                                                     Top of page

If you asked us to look at our decision again, within one month, or had special circumstances for being late, we will change the decision back to the date of the original decision.

If you asked us to look at the decision again after the one-month time limit allowed and you did not have special circumstances for being late, the decision can usually be changed from the date you asked us.

We will send you a letter telling you what the new decision is. If you do not agree with the new decision, you can ask us to look at it again.

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If the decision cannot be changed                                                                                Top of page

If the decision cannot be changed, we will send you a letter to confirm the original decision. The letter will tell you if you can appeal against the original decision. If you can appeal, the one-month time limit starts again from the date of the letter of the decision.

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Appealing against the decision                                                                                      Top of page

If you have received a decision letter from us or a written 'statement of reasons' explaining the decision and you still think it is wrong, check that the letter says that you can appeal.

If you have the right to appeal against the decision, write to the Benefits Office stating you wish to make an appeal to an independent tribunal. The Tribunals Service will decide your appeal at a tribunal hearing. The tribunal is made up of people who are not from the local authority.

To appeal, please write to us, you can get help from an advice centre or from a solicitor. Write down all the reasons for your appeal. This is important because the tribunal does not have to look at anything you do not mention. Make sure that you sign your letter. Send it back to us within one month of the date on the decision letter.  Your letter should contain the following information to be accepted:

• It must be signed by you
• It must identify the decision you are appealing against
• It must give the reasons why you disagree with decision
• It must give enough information to accept that your appeal is duly made

If The Tribunals Service finds you have been getting too much money, your benefit will be reduced.  If it finds you have not received your full entitlement your benefit will be increased.

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What does The Tribunals Service look at?                                                                    Top of page

The Tribunals Service can only look at the evidence, the law and the circumstances at the time we made the decision you are appealing against. They cannot look at changes of circumstances that have happened since we made the decision. If a change of circumstance has happened that may affect the amount of benefit you are getting you should tell us straightaway. Do not wait for the appeal hearing. When you contact us, give us the reference number shown on the decision letter.

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Late Appeals                                                                                                                     Top of page

The Tribunals Service can only accept your appeal within one month of the date of the decision you are appealing against. They cannot look at changes of circumstances that caused a delay. These could be death, a serious illness, a postal strike, if you were abroad, or some other special circumstances. If your appeal is late, you should include a reason why in your letter to us.  Your letter should also contain all the information shown under the heading 'Appealing against the decision' above.

A tribunal member will look at the reasons you have given for the delay and will decide if your appeal can be accepted. They will look at:

• the special circumstances
• the length of time since you received the decision
• whether it is in the interests of justice that your appeal is accepted and
• whether your appeal is reasonably likely to succeed.

The Appeals Service cannot accept a late appeal if the only reason is that you did not understand the law or, interpretation of the law has changed since the decision was made.

Your appeal cannot be accepted if you appeal 13 months or more after the date on the decision letter.

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What happens after you have made an appeal?                                                       Top of page

After you have made an appeal, we will look at the decision again and explain our decision to you, if we have not done this already.

If we agree that the original decision is wrong and the new decision is to your advantage, we will send you a new decision and your appeal will stop. If you do not agree with the new decision, you can appeal against it.

If we agree that the original decision is wrong and the new decision is not to your advantage, we will send you a new decision and your appeal will carry on against the new decision. You will have another month to comment on the new decision.

If we do not change the decision, we will send your appeal with an explanation of the law and the facts used to make the decision to The Tribunals Service. We will also send any other relevant papers. We will send a copy of the appeal papers to you and your representative if you have one. Please read the appeal papers carefully. If you do not understand something, ask us, an advice centre or a solicitor to explain.

You will also receive a form which you must fill in and send to The Tribunals Service within 14 days of the date the form was sent to you. If you do not return it within 14 days, your appeal will stop. The form also asks you questions about how you want your appeal to be considered. You can choose between an oral hearing and a paper hearing. A paper hearing is held if you have chosen not to go to the hearing. Your appeal will be considered on the relevant papers sent to The Tribunals Service. If you choose to go to an oral hearing, you will be able to deal with any questions or issues that come up.

We will send you more advice once we have received your appeal.

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