Appeals

Appeal your Housing Benefit or Council Tax Support decision

If you believe our decision about your Housing Benefit or Council Tax Support is wrong, you have a few options:

• Ask us to explain the reasons for the decision
• Ask us to review the decision
• Appeal the decision

The decision could relate to:

• The amount of housing benefit / council tax support discount payable
• The rent eligible for housing benefit
• How we have calculated your income
• How we have calculated and recovered an overpayment of housing benefit

Housing Benefit Appeals

1.  How to ask for an Explanation, Review, or Appeal:
   You must submit your request in writing to this office within one month of the date on the Housing Benefit decision letter.

You can contact us by:

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Post: Revenues and Benefits, PO Box 11, Pershore, WR10 1PU

We will consider the decision made and let you know if we have decided to change the decision or if it should remain as it is.

2. Submitting a formal appeal:
   If you want to bypass the request for an explanation and just submit an appeal / or after our explanation, you still disagree with the decision, you can formally appeal via a letter to this office; you don’t have to complete a specific form. Your written appeal must be submitted within one month of the decision letter / or our reconsideration letter, and the appeal must be signed by the person who is claiming the housing benefit.
3. If the Council changes the decision:
   If, after we get your appeal or your request for a reconsideration, we decide that the original decision was wrong, and we change the decision to your advantage, then we will send you a new decision notice and the appeal process will end.
4. If the Council doesn’t change its decision:
   If we don’t change the decision after reviewing it, your appeal, along with all the relevant paperwork, will be sent to the Tribunal Service to be listed by them for an oral or paper hearing in due course. A single judge, who is impartial and independent from the government, will review your case and make a decision based on the law and the facts.

For more details, visit the gov.uk website (opens in a new window)

If you think the Tribunal Service’s decision is wrong in law, you can appeal to the Tribunal Service for a hearing in the Upper Tribunal (opens in a new window).

Council Tax Support Appeals

1. Requesting a Review:If you would like us to review the decision made on your Council Tax Support, and before you make any appeal directly to the Valuation Tribunal, you must first contact the Council in writing and request a review from this office.
   
   • Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
   • Post: Revenues and Benefits, PO Box 11, Pershore, WR10 1PU
2. Appealing the Outcome:
   If you’re not happy with our reply, or we don’t reply to you within 2 months, you can appeal directly to the Valuation Tribunal. Some decisions (mainly administrative ones) can’t be appealed, but the Valuation Tribunal will let you know if the decision you’re disputing cannot be appealed.
   
   The Valuation Tribunal will send your appeal onto us and we will prepare a response with all the relevant information and evidence.  This submission will be sent to both you and the Tribunal at the same time, to be listed by the Valuation Tribunal for an oral or paper hearing in due course.

If you have any further questions regarding appeals, please contact us via our contact us page.