If you applied for Housing Benefit, Council Tax Reduction or a Discretionary Housing Payment and you don't agree with the decision we made, you have the following options:
- You can ask for a written explanation or statement from us explaining our decision.
- You can ask us to reconsider our decision by submitting a challenge.
- If you are still not satisfied, you can appeal against our decision on your Housing Benefit or Council Tax Reduction.
- You can request a review of our Discretionary Housing Payment decision.
If you want to ask for an explanation, challenge the decision or appeal then you must do this within one month of the date of the letter notifying you of the decision.
You can use this form if you are a landlord or housing association. Normally only the person actually making the claim has the right to challenge most aspects of a Housing Benefit claim. However a landlord or housing association can challenge decisions about who Housing Benefit payments are made to and about the recovery of Housing Benefit overpayments.
Please note that we currently have a backlog in dealing with queries under the appeals process so it may take up to 10-12 weeks for your claim to be reviewed. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
Request an explanation, challenge or appeal against the decision
Third Party Authorisation
Please be aware that we can only discuss a benefit claim with the person claiming the benefit. If you want someone else to be able to contact us on your behalf please fill in our Third Party Authorisation form.