An example of a standard letter to challenge the bedroom tax HB decision

It has been argued here that all tenants affected by the bedroom tax / under occupancy charge put in writing a challenge to the formal letter and notification they receive of this, as this is your right. It also described how this impacts on the workings of the HB system as it will bring the system to its knees and overload it so much that it will go into meltdown and Liverpool City Council will need 632 staff alone working full time just to deal with these lawful challenges.  It went on to say this simple challenge by way of a letter has three basic forms:

• Firstly, it could ask for further information.
• Secondly it could ask the Council to reconsider.
• Thirdly it could be a formal appeal.

Or it could be any combination of these 3 types of challenge.  It asked others to get in touch with a view to creating a sample letter that every tenant could use in response to the bedroom tax letter they will receive.  This ‘call to arms’ received many responses for which so many thanks are deserved and resulted in one example of a standard letter to freely share. This is below.  It is a simple and reasonable request for further information from the tenant to the Council so the tenant affected by the bedroom tax decision can then consider whether to lodge a formal appeal based on having much more information on the facts of how the decision was reached.  

The guidance and other official documents released regarding the bedroom tax / under occupancy charge simply say the landlord informs the HB department whether a property has 1 bedroom or 2 or 3 or more and that is it.  It does NOT say definitively it is whatever the landlord says.  Further, the government and DWP have specifically stated they will NOT define what a bedroom is.  Yet how can you tax (or charge) something which you cannot or will not define?

There is no definitive guidance on how landlords share information with the HB department.  There are protocols in place that allow the sharing of information and information will have been shared.  Yet when did this information sharing take place? And what if the tenant is a foster carer or has a teenage son or daughter in the armed forces that were exempted just this week?  Would a social landlord know a tenant is a foster carer or has a teenage son in the armed forces? Probably not so the landlord could have inadvertently misinformed the Council’s HB department.  Further, what role the landlord played in this process will differ in Birmingham to Bristol or Bradford or Brent or Brighton.  It may well have different arrangements and processes between Landlord A and Landlord B within any town or city.

All any tenant knows is that there is an involvement of their social landlord in the HB department making the bedroom tax / under occupancy charge decision and no more than that.  Hence for a tenant to consider whether a formal appeal – the start of a legal process – is warranted or not, the tenant needs to have all the facts and not just assumptions within the bedroom tax decision-making process in their given local authority area

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Standard Letter

Dear Sirs,

I received your decision letter dated INSERT DATE and referenced above that imposed an under occupation charge, or bedroom tax of 14% / 25% (delete as appropriate) on my existing award of Housing Benefit.

I consider this unwarranted yet in order to challenge this in the correct way and potentially by way of formal appeal I require further information to be sent to me within 7 days of this letter and the urgency of that is to ensure I have enough time to formulate any such appeal and in full knowledge of the facts of my case within the time allowed; OR in the alternative I request the deadline for any such formal appeal be moved to 21 days after I receive the request information below:

1. A written copy of the Council’s policy and decision-making procedures in relation to referring a socially housed claimant decision to the Rent Officer Service.

2. A full explanation of how the council decided that (INSERT ADDRESS) was determined to be a 3 bed property for the under occupation charge and this to include what involvement if any of my landlord, (INSERT LANDLORD NAME) in this process.

Please state by way of covering letter with the requested information any changed deadline date from above with regard to a formal appeal.

Yours etc

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Comments

Time is of the essence given how imminently the bedroom tax will be imposed.

The suggested wording is merely that, a suggestion, and not any form of legal advice or other formal advice from anyone involved.  There was general agreement that the wording could be better yet also general agreement that it articulates what tenants should seek, namely as much information as possible so as to consider whether they want to issue a formal appeal.  That is very reasonable for tenants to seek as are the requests for further information and the timescale issues and any letter of challenge should not be frivolous or give any reason to be perceived and dismissed as frivolous.

The full information requested is not available on any Council website normally and for any Council to simply suggest the tenant look on the website or even post it there assumes that all tenants are computer literate and have access to a computer and printer.  That is unreasonable for any Council to suggest we maintain. There is full agreement that any such standard letter needed to be simple, understandable by every tenant and each Council and not be ambiguous as well as being reasonable.  This we maintain is achieved.

At the risk of patronising, the HB Decision Notice the tenant receives will have the tenants HB reference number on and this needs to be put on any such letter.  The tenant National Insurance Number as well and of course date and sign and keep a copy. Finally, it just seemed right to release this on the day of 57 demonstrations and marches up and down the country against the bedroom tax.

Good luck to all 660,000 tenants.

#RT via Bridget via http://speye.wordpress.com