Landlord Section – Appeals

Who may appeal?

If we are paying Housing Benefit to you in respect of your tenant you will be deemed to be a “person affected”, and you will be able to appeal against certain decisions that we make.

If we are not paying Housing Benefit to you in respect of your tenant, you cannot appeal against a decision we made as you are not treated as a “person affected”. If you do appeal against our decision, the appeal will be sent to The Tribunal Service but it will be dismissed.

What can be appealed against?

As we have already indicated there are only certain decisions, you as a landlord, can appeal against.

The two most common examples of appealable decisions that landlords appeal against are:

  • The decision to deem an overpayment recoverable. In other words, the overpayment being recovered arose as a result of circumstances that the persons affected, could not reasonable have known about, for example, a mistake by the Council
  • The decision about whom to seek recovery of an overpayment from. The power to decide whom to recover an overpayment from is a discretionary power of the Council. You can only appeal this decision if you feel that the decision we have made is unreasonable or outside the law.

The time limits for appeals

Appeals should be made within one calendar month of the date of the Council’s notification of the overpayment. Should the appeal be received after this date, a legally qualified tribunal member will decide whether to accept the appeal based upon any special circumstances for its late arrival. No appeal will be considered if it is more than 13 months after the decision being appealed was originally notified to the “person affected”.

All appeals was be made in writing. Wrexham County Borough Council has a dedicated appeals form to complete if you wish to appeal a decision. Alternatively you can write a letter to the Council outlining the decision you wish to appeal against and your reasons for doing so.

What will happen when I appeal against a decision?

Within 3 weeks of the receipt of your appeal the Council will send you an acknowledgement that we have received your appeal.

A properly qualified member of staff will then review your appeal against the necessary regulations that are concerned with the decision we have made. This officer will decide if the decision we made was correct or not, and if the decision can be reconsidered.

You will usually be sent a Written Statement of Reasons when the officer has reached a decision. This statement will explain the decision made and the reasons why or why not the decision has been changed. If the decision is changed in your favour, the officer will write to you with the new decision and your appeal will lapse.

What happens if the decision is not changed or I am unhappy with the decision?

In these circumstances we will make a formal submission to The Tribunal Service. Both yourself, and your tenant will receive letters advising that you have made an appeal, and you will both receive a copy of the papers submitted to The Tribunal Service.

The Tribunal Service is an independent body, and they will hear your appeal. Your appeal will be heard at a Tribunal, which will be chaired by a legally qualified person. It is your right to attend the tribunal in person and with a person to legally represent you, if you so wish.

The Tribunal Service will review the case and will reach a decision in accordance with the facts of the case and apply the relevant regulations. The Appeals Service will usually write to all the parties involved in the case within a few days of the Tribunal explaining the decision they have reached.

If the Tribunal Service upheld the Council’s decision they will then tell what further action you can take if you remain unhappy about the decision. If the Tribunal Service upheld your argument the Council will take remedial action in accordance with their decision.

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