What to do if you think the decision about your Housing Benefit, Local Housing Allowance or Council Tax Reduction is wrong.
- Who can appeal?
- What happens if I disagree with your decision?
- What is a 'Statement of Reasons'?
- How do I 'Dispute the Decision' (Housing Benefit/Local Housing Allowance only)?
- I am aggrieved how do I serve a "Written Notice" (Council Tax Reduction only)?
- What happens when you look at my decision again?
- How do I appeal to the Tribunal Service (Housing Benefit/Local Housing Allowance only)?
- How do I appeal to the Valuation Tribunal Wales (Council Tax Reduction only)?
- Can I appeal after the one month time limit (Housing Benefit/Local Housing Allowance only)?
Who can appeal?
Any person who is affected by a decision made about Housing Benefit, Local Housing Allowance and/or Council Tax Reduction:
- A claimant/applicant (the person making the claim);
- An appointee, who is acting on someone else's behalf (chosen by the courts or a person the Local Authority agrees can act on someone's behalf);
- A landlord/agent – but only in matters relating to who we pay benefit to or whether an overpayment of benefit should be recovered from them;
What happens if I disagree with your decision?
When we have decided on your claim we will send you an official notification letter. The letter will confirm all the details we have used to work out your entitlement and it is important that you check that the information is correct.
FOR HOUSING BENEFIT OR LOCAL HOUSING ALLOWANCE:
If you want to know more about the decision or if you think it is wrong, you should get in touch with us within one month from the date of the notification letter or we may not be able to consider any dispute.
You can either ask for an explanation or:
- ask, in writing, for a written 'Statement of Reasons'
- ask us to look again at the decision – 'Dispute the Decision'. This must be done in writing. If the decision can be changed we will send you a new decision. If we cannot change the decision we will tell you why. If you still disagree you have one month to appeal from the date of the new decision.
- 'Appeal' against the decision – this can only be done in writing. If you appeal against the decision your appeal will be referred to an Independent Tribunal administered by The Tribunal Service.
FOR COUNCIL TAX REDUCTION
If you require more details on any matter set out in the notice or the reasons for the decision you can within one month of the date of the letter request in writing a 'Written Statement of Reasons'.
If you are aggrieved by the decision you can within one month of the date of this letter serve a 'written notice' on the Council clearly stating the matter(s) by which, and the grounds on which, you are aggrieved. We will consider the matter(s) to which your notice relates and will notify you in writing of our decision with reasons. If following this letter you are still aggrieved you then have 2 months to appeal directly to the Valuation Tribunal for Wales (VTW).
Please note that you may also appeal directly to the VTW if we have failed to notify you of our decision within 2 months of you serving a 'written notice' on the Council.
What is a 'Statement of Reasons'?
A 'Statement of Reasons' will provide you with a written explanation of the reasons behind our decision. This statement will give you more information to help you decide what to do next.
Please note that for Housing Benefit and Local Housing Allowance the time taken by the Local Authority to respond to your request will not count towards your one month time limit. However, the quicker you request the 'Statement of Reasons' the longer you will have remaining on your one month time limit to decide what to do next.
If following the 'Statement of Reasons' you still disagree with the decision you can:
FOR HOUSING BENEFIT OR LOCAL HOUSING ALLOWANCE:
- 'Dispute the Decision' or
- 'Appeal' against the decision.
FOR COUNCIL TAX REDUCTION
- Serve a 'Written Notice' as detailed above
How do I 'Dispute the Decision' (Housing Benefit/Local Housing Allowance only)?
You must write to us within one month of the date on the original decision letter clearly outlining the decision which you are disputing.
If there are special circumstances, which meant you could not contact us within 1 month of the date on the decision letter, we may still be able to review the decision. You must tell us what the special circumstances are when you contact us. For example, a death, a serious illness, an absence abroad, a postal strike or some other special circumstance.
If you did have special circumstances and we agree that the decision is wrong, any change will be made from the date of the original decision.
If, however, you did not have special circumstances and the decision is wrong, then we may still be able to change the decision but only from the date you contact us.
I am aggrieved how do I 'Serve a Notice' (Council Tax Reduction only)?
If you are aggrieved by the decision you can within one month of the date of this letter serve a 'written notice' on the Council clearly stating the matter(s) by which, and the grounds on which, you are aggrieved.
What happens when you look at the decision again?
FOR HOUSING BENEFIT AND LOCAL HOUSING ALLOWANCE
When you ask us to look at a decision again, we will check that the decision is correct. A different member of staff will usually do this.
If the decision is wrong, we will change it and you will receive a new notification letter. If you disagree with the new decision, you can ask us to look at it again.
If we cannot change our decision, we will write to you explaining why. 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 on the letter confirming the decision.
FOR COUNCIL TAX REDUCTION
When you serve a 'Written Notice' we will consider the matter(s) to which your notice relates and will notify you in writing of our decision with reasons.
If following this letter you are still aggrieved you then have 2 months to appeal directly to the Valuation Tribunal for Wales (VTW).
Please note that you may also appeal directly to the VTW if we have failed to notify you of our decision within 2 months of you serving a 'written notice' on the Council.
How do I appeal to the Tribunal Service (Housing Benefit/Local Housing Allowance only)?
If you want to appeal against our decision you must do so in writing within one month of the most recent decision sent to you i.e.
- The original decision letter
- If you 'Disputed the Decision', the date of the letter informing you of the outcome of the dispute
Your request should explain the reasons why you are appealing.
After you have appealed, if we have not already done so, we will look at our decision again.
If we do not change our decision, we will send your appeal, and an explanation of the law and facts we used to make our decision to The Tribunal Service. The Tribunal Service is independent from the Local Authority and all tribunals have a legally qualified tribunal member to help apply the law to your appeal.
A copy of the appeal papers will also be sent to you (and your representative if you have one).
How do I appeal to the Valuation Tribunal Wales (Council Tax Reduction only)?
Your appeal must be made direct to the Valuation Tribunal Wales (VTW) and not Ceredigion County Council. Their website 'Valuation Tribunals Wales' contains a downloadable appeal form together with guidance notes to help you make your appeal. The website also contains additional guidance leaflets following submission of your appeal.
The VTW address is: Mrs A H Smith BSc PHD FGS, Clerk to the Tribunal, West Wales Region, Valuation Tribunal Wales, Llys y Ddraig, Penllergaer Business Park, Swansea SA4 9NX
The VTW is independent from the Local Authority and will make a decision about your Council Tax Support at a Tribunal Hearing.
Can I appeal after the one month time limit (Housing Benefit/Local Housing Allowance only)?
An appeal which is made outside the one month time limit will only be accepted if there are special circumstances that caused the delay. For example, a death, a serious illness, an absence abroad, a postal strike or some other special circumstance. You should include an explanation of why you could not appeal within one month.
If we accept your reasons for lateness, we will process the appeal as detailed in 'How do I appeal to the Tribunal Service (Housing Benefit/Local Housing Allowance only)?'
If we do not accept your reasons for lateness then your request for an appeal will be forwarded to the Tribunal Service. A legally qualified tribunal member will look at the reasons you have given for not appealing in time and will decide if your appeal can be accepted. They will look at:
- whether there were special circumstances for the delay;
- 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 Tribunal Service cannot accept a late appeal if the only reason is either
- that you misunderstood the law or
- if the interpretation of the law has changed since we made the decision.
Your appeal cannot be accepted if you appeal 13 months or more after the date on your decision letter.