Appealing against a housing benefit decision

If you have received a decision letter about Housing or Council Tax Benefit and you think it is wrong you can:

• ask for the decision to be looked at again
• ask for an explanation of the decision
• ask for a Statement of Reasons (how the council came to its decision) 
• appeal to an independent tribunal through the Tribunals Service.

Your appeal needs to be in writing, and should say why you disagree with our decision.

Send your appeal to:

Benefits Appeals
Wolverhampton City Council
PO Box 3300
Wolverhampton
WV1 1ZT
 
When we receive your appeal, we will look at your details again to check if we have got your decision right.

If we think there has been a mistake, we will put it right and let you know. But if we believe we are right with our decision we will tell you why.

You have one calendar month from the date of our response to request that we pass your case on to an independent tribunal run by the  Tribunals  Service.

What happens next?

When we do this we will send you a copy of what we send to them. This will also include a form for you to fill in and return to them. This lets them know whether you want a paper hearing where you do not attend, or an oral hearing where you get the chance to put your arguments forward.

If you opt to attend the hearing you will be told of the day of your appeal, and both you and the council will get a chance to attend and have your say before the Appeals Tribunal decide what is correct.

If you are writing to us more then one month after our decision then you will need to state the reason for your delay. We can only accept this if there are special circumstances for the delay.

In the event of us  not accepting your reasons for a late appeal, the Tribunals Service will have the final say.

Further information

 

If you require further information about the appeals process or a current appeal, use our online e-form (secure).