Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support
Appeals, Revisions and Written Statements
Appeals, Revisions and Written Statements
If you do not understand your Housing Benefit and Council Tax support decision or think that your award is not correct, we will be happy to explain the contents of the letter to you and if there has been a mistake, we can correct it for you.
Alternatively you may be able to ask for a written statement or submit a reconsideration request or lodge an appeal.
If you want to discuss the decision with us please contact us.
Housing Benefit Appeals
Most decisions made on a Housing Benefit claim can be appealed.
An appeal must be lodged within one month of the relevant decision letter.
Any appeal must be:
- made in writing
- signed by you
- give the reasons why you disagree with the decision that you dispute
When we receive your appeal, we will reconsider the decision and if we cannot change our decision in your favour, we will send details of your appeal to His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service
If your appeal is late you must also include an explanation of why you did not appeal within the one month time limit. If the appeal is late, His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service will decide whether the appeal can be accepted late.
His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS.)
If the Housing Benefit decision that you appeal against cannot be revised in your favour, we will make a submission to HMCTS
You will also receive a copy of our submission, attached will be a form that you will need to complete and return to HMCTS.
Amongst other things the form will ask if you want to attend the hearing or if you want your appeal to be heard without you being present (this is called a ‘paper hearing’).
HMCTS will write to you to let you know when the tribunal will be held.
Tribunals are held locally; the nearest venue is in Blackburn, they are independent from the Council and are usually made up of one legally qualified panel member sitting alone.
Council Tax support appeals
The process for a Council Tax support appeal is not the same as the process for a Housing Benefit appeal.
If you think the decision made on your Council Tax Support (also called a Council tax reduction) is wrong you can appeal against the decision.
To appeal you should write to the Benefit Section stating what is wrong and why you think it is wrong. We will look at the decision that you are disputing and write to you with our decision.
If we do not respond to you within 2 months, or if you dispute the appeal decision that the Council has sent you you can appeal to the Valuation Tribunal.
The Valuation Tribunal Service has issued guidance on the appeal process and links to online appeal forms.
Requests for Reconsideration
A request for reconsideration should be made in writing, contain the reasons why you think the decision is wrong and should be submitted within one month of the date of the letter notifying you of the decision.
If we consider the decision we have made is correct, we will write and inform you, giving you the timescale for any appeal to be made.
If we revise the decision, we will change it and send you a new decision letter with appeal rights.
Written Statements
You can submit a request for a written statement at any time after a decision has been made to the address detailed below. This must be signed by you so we cannot accept telephone calls or emails.
If you intend to request that the relevant decision be reconsidered or you wish to lodge an appeal, your request for a written statement should be made within a month of the relevant decision.
If the request is made within a month of the relevant decision, the time taken to deal with the request will not count towards the appeal one month time limit.
Our address is:
Benefits, Revenues and Customer Contact
Accrington Town Hall
Broadway Offices
Accrington
Lancashire
BB5 1EZ