The appeals
If you want more information about our decision you must contact us straight away, because you only have one month from the date of the decision letter to ask us to look at your claim again, or to appeal against it. You can also ask for a written statement of reasons for the decision, This sets out:
- The information we have used to make our decision,
- How your benefit has been calculated,
- The way any overpayment has been calculated(if applicable)
- The relevant Housing Benefit regulations which apply to your case and the reason why they do/do not apply
If you want us to look at a decision again, you have two options:
1. You can ask us to revise our decision.
Please write to us within one month of the date of the letter telling you our decision, giving the reasons why you disagree. We will look at our decision again and tell you what the outcome is.
2. You can appeal against the decision.
Please write to us within one month of the date of the letter telling you our decision, giving the reasons why you disagree. We will look at our decision again and tell you what the outcome is. If we do not change our decision, we will automatically pass your appeal to the Appeals Service and a tribunal hearing will be arranged to consider your appeal.
NB If you choose for us to look at your claim and revise our decision (option 1 above). You still have the right to request an appeal to a Tribunal Hearing (option 2) at a later stage, providing you inform us in writing within one month of receiving the outcome letter of your revision request.
Benefit
What are overpayments?
An overpayment occurs where you have been paid more benefit than you are entitled to. A change of circumstances may reduce your benefit. This could be for a number of reasons.
For example:
- An increase in your income
- Someone moving in with you
- You moving out of the property
If we do not know about a change in circumstances until sometime after it has happened an overpayment may occur. If an overpayment arises, the Council are legally obliged to try and get the money back.
How will the overpayment be recovered?
The overpayment may be recovered from either the person who caused the overpayment, or the person who received the overpayment.
Do you always recover all the overpayment in one go?
No.
Overpayments of housing benefit will, if possible, be recovered direct from your on-going entitlement to benefit at set weekly rates. Overpayments of Council Tax benefit will be payable through your Council Tax bill. Please contact us if you wish to make an arrangement to clear the overpayment.
If your housing benefit is paid direct to your Landlord we will notify you and your landlord of the overpayment and we will deduct a set amount from your benefit entitlement from the amount that is sent direct to your Landlord.
If you no longer qualify for Housing Benefit an invoice will be sent to you and if you cannot make full payment all in one go, you can make a request to arrange repayment of the debt by instalments.
Arrangements can be made by telephoning the Council's debt recovery unit on (01327) 302336.
What if I can't pay the money back?
If you let us know that you are having difficulty making repayments we can consider recovering the debt over a longer period of time. You should contact the Council’s debt recovery unit (on the above number) to discuss.
Can I appeal against an overpayment?
Yes - you have one calendar month from the date you are notified about the overpayment in which to make an appeal. (see the notes on the appeal process)
If we are making direct deductions from benefit being paid to your Landlord they can also appeal.
What happens if the Overpayment is not repaid?
Please do not ignore our letters as the debt will not go way. If the overpayment remains unpaid, or an agreement to repay the debt is not being maintained , the Council may take legal action through the Courts to recover the debt owed. If we do have to take further action to recover the money the amount you own will increase because if the debt is taken to Court, costs will be incurred.
Discretionary
What are Discretionary Housing Payments?
Discretionary Housing Payments are additional payments that the Council may be able to make to give you further assistance towards your housing costs. Normally this is paid to claimants with circumstances that require such payments and generally are only awarded for a short period.
To qualify for Discretionary Housing Payments you must:
- Be in receipt of Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax Benefit
And
- Require further assistance in order to meet your housing costs.
There is not a definitive list covering every situation that will be allowed a Discretionary Housing Payment. Each application will be considered according to its own merits and as the name implies is at the discretion of the Local Authority..
Below are some examples of when a Discretionary Housing Payment may be made:
- The family used to live some miles away from the hospital but have moved nearer so that the child can be visited.
- A disabled person lives in a ground floor flat near to a clinic they attend for therapy. They could get a cheaper flat, but it would mean higher transport costs they can't afford.
- In expensive accommodation -To make up the shortfall in rent between the Rent Officer decision / Local Housing Allowance and the actual amount of rent being charged for a period to enable the claimant to look for cheaper alternative accommodation.
How do I claim Discretionary Housing Payments?
You will need to fill in a Discretionary Housing Payments application form which can be obtained from the Benefits Service:
Contact us
