RR2 - A guide to Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit
Checking your Housing Benefit/Council Tax Benefit
Your council will send you a decision notice telling you if you can get Housing Benefit (HB)/Council Tax Benefit (CTB) and how much you will be able to get. This section explains how you can find out more about the decision and what to do if you disagree with the decision.
Information about the decision [HB Reg 77(4), CTB Reg 66(3)]
If you want more information about the decision you can ask the council to give you an explanation, or a written statement
of reasons (if you have not already been sent one). Write to the council asking for a written statement of reasons. Make
sure you sign the letter yourself. The council must send you a statement of reasons within 14 days of you asking for one,
or as soon as possible after that.
Looking at the decision again
If you think your local council has made a mistake in working out your benefit entitlement, you can ask them to look at it again (this is known as an application for revision). Tell the office that sent you the decision letter that you disagree. You must do this within one month of the date of the decision letter, or they may not be able to consider any dispute. The council will check if the decision is correct. [HB Reg 77(5), CTB Reg 66(4)]
If the decision is wrong
If the decision is wrong it will be changed. If you do not agree with the new decision you can ask for it to be looked at again.
If the decision cannot be changed
If the decision cannot be changed, the council will write to tell you this. The letter will confirm the original decision and
tell you whether you can appeal against it. If you can appeal, the one-month time limit starts again from the date of the new
letter confirming the decision.
If you want to appeal against the decision
You need to complete an appeal form saying why you disagree with the decision. The appeal should be made within one month of the date of the decision you disagree with. If you appeal after this time you will need to say why you could not appeal earlier. You cannot appeal 13 months or more after the date on the decision letter.
After you have made an appeal
After you have appealed, the council must tell you how they reached their decision, if they have not already done this. They must also look at the decision again.
At this stage they may decide that the original decision was wrong. If the new decision is to your advantage the council 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 the new decision is not to your advantage, they will send you a new decision. Your appeal will continue against the new decision. You will have another month to comment on the new decision.
If the council does not change the decision, they will send the Appeals Service:
- your appeal
- and an explanation of the law and facts used to make the decision
- and any other relevant papers.
The Appeals Service will decide your appeal at the tribunal hearing (see below).
A copy of the appeal papers will be sent to your representative if you have one.
You will also receive a form (TAS1). You must complete this form and send it to the Appeals Service within 14 days of the date the form was sent to you. If you do not, your appeal may stop. The Form asks you to choose between an oral hearing and a paper hearing. You can go to an oral hearing, when you can respond to any questions or issues that arise. You do not need to go to a paper hearing.
Appeal tribunals
- HB/CTB tribunals are made up of up to two members who do not belong to the council.
- Tribunal members will be experts on the issues involved in your appeal.
- All tribunals have a legally qualified member to help apply the law to your appeal.
- Tribunals may also include someone with financial qualifications.
The result
What happens next is the same whether you have an oral hearing or a paper hearing.
- You will be given a decision notice explaining the tribunal’s decisions as soon as possible after the appeal hearing. A copy will be sent to the council that made the original decision.
- You can ask for a statement of reasons. This gives an explanation of the tribunal’s decision including the facts and the law used. You must ask for a statement of reasons within one month of the date you are given or sent the decision notice. You must ask for a copy of the statement if you wish to appeal to the Social Security Commissioners (see below) because the time for seeking leave to so appeal runs for one month beginning on the day the statement was sent to you.
- If you want a record of the appeal hearing you can get a copy of the record of the proceedings up to 6 months from the date of the hearing.
- If your appeal is successful, the council will usually put the decision of the tribunal into effect as soon as they receive their copy of the tribunal’s decision. But if the council think the case should go to the Social Security Commissioners they will not put the tribunal’s decision into effect.
Social Security Commissioners
The Commissioners are barristers, solicitors or advocates of not less than 10 years’ standing. They are independent of the Department for Work and Pensions and local councils.
You [or the council] can only appeal against the tribunal’s decision on a point of law. If you do not agree with the tribunal’s decision you may be able to appeal. You should have kept the tribunal’s written statement of reasons to show the Commissioners.
How to appeal to the Commissioners
When the Appeals Service tells you its decision, it will tell you what to do if you are unhappy with the decision and give the time limits.
You can ask an advice centre, solicitor or another suitable person or organisation to help with your application.
Amended by following regulations:
The Housing Benefit & Council Tax Benefit (Decisions & Appeals) Regulations 2001 S.I.2001/1002
Housing Benefit & Council Tax Benefit (Decisions & Appeals) (Transitional & Savings) Regulations 2001 S.I.2001/1264
Housing Benefit & Council Tax Benefit (Decisions & Appeals) and Discretionary Financial Assistance (Consequential Amendment and Revocations) Regulations 2001 S.I.2001/1605.
The Social Security, Child Support and Tax Credits (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2005 SI 2005/337.