Decision making and appeals

The benefit legislation sets out the processes and requirements which the benefits service must adhere to when making decisions on housing benefit and council tax benefit entitlement and dealing with appeals.

Who can appeal

• The benefit claimant
• Someone appointed by the council's benefits service to act for the claimant
• Someone appointed by the Court of Protection of under the Powers of Attorney Acts to claimant and receive benefit on the claimants behalf
• The landlord or landlord's agent where the claimant's benefit is paid direct to the landlord or the agent
• A person from whom the council's benefits service decides a recoverable overpayment of benefit is recoverable.

How appeals are to be made

• they must be made in writing - either by letter or on an appeals form provided by the benefits service
• they must be received by the council's benefits service within one calendar
• they must be signed by the person who has the right of appeal
• they must identify the decision that is being disputed
• they must details the reasons for the appeal - for example by giving the reasons why they think a decision is wrong.

What decisions can landlords appeal?

Landlords only have a right of appeal against decisions directly affecting them. For example they cannot appeal against the amount of a tenant’s housing benefit award.

Landlords can appeal against a decision that an overpayment has occurred, but only if it is being recovered from the landlord directly (not if it is being recovered from the tenant’s ongoing housing benefit entitlement) and only on the following points:

• The amount of the overpayment
• Whether the overpayment is recoverable.

How appeals are dealt with

When the benefits service receives an appeal it will

• Check that the appeal is 'duly made' - that is, that it has been made in time and contains all the information needed to identify the decision being appealed and the reasons for the appeal
• Look at the original decision again to see if it can be amended and
• If the original decision can be changed to the claimant's/appellant's advantage then a fresh decision is made with fresh appeal rights and the initial appeal lapses, or
• Where the original decision cannot be changed or is changed to the claimant's disadvantage then the appeal proceeds and will be passed to the appeals service for a Tribunal hearing.

The appeals service

The appeals service (TAS) is a government agency responsible for the administration of appeals, arranging Appeals Tribunals and making decisions on appeals in respect of various benefits. It is not connected with the council. The council's benefits service has to prepare a written submission explaining the decision being appealed and the law used in reaching that decision and the facts of the particular case. A copy of the submission is sent to the appellant at the same time as that it is sent to the appeals service.

The appeals service arranges a date for a hearing and notifies the appellant directly.

Complete an appeal form online.