Housing benefit termination appeal

I am now working for an advice project that’s a partnership of three housing associations. I’ve been asked to appeal a decision to terminate the housing benefit of a tenant who receives ESA with and SDP; he is vulnerable and was rehoused by my employer from local authority housing because of a need for a wheelchair amenity bungalow. I have limited information so far, but I’m looking for a bit of advice on tactics as I have very little experience with housing benefit challenges.
I don’t currently have a decision letter/date for the decision, although I’m visiting the tenant with a support worker to try to locate it on Friday morning. The housing officer has forwarded me email correspondence with the council’s benefits team in which they state that they sent a new HB application form to the tenant the day following his move, but the form was not returned. I know that this would be a legal grounds for termination if the claim, but as the tenant has a daily support worker attending, who among other things deals with his correspondence, I’m a little sceptical that it was ever received. Additionally the housing officer was previously told that the reason for the termination was a break in tenancy, rather than failure to provide information.
If you were me, would you do a speculative appeal to get the information the council hold disclosed, do a SAR for it and take it from there, or something else I haven’t thought of?

Was the move within one LA and is the new housing supported accommodation?

Yes, same LA and no - it’s just a wheelchair amenity bungalow with daily input from Link Living support workers

So he should never have been sent a HB claim form - it might be that this was actually a request for information about his new tenancy(?)

EDIT: To clarify, moving within an LA is just a change in circumstances. There shouldn’t be any interruption to the HB claim (unless there was a gap in tenancies).

The claim might have been suspended while the LA was waiting for this info. And, assuming that was the case, if he failed to respond to that request for evidence etc, the claim was terminated. In which case you’d be appealing arguing he had grounds for failing to provide info / providing late.

If you don’t have a decision because it hasn’t actually been made yet it may well be that the claim is still only suspended, and you can resolve it without an appeal.

If the LA just terminated the claim because he moved that’s their error and you can appeal that fairly straightforward. No regs to cite etc, moving within an LA just isn’t one of the circumstances where a HB claim would terminate.

EDIT2: Noticed you mentioned a break in tenancy. If that was the case (assuming this was after the SDP gateway closed), it sounds like he was misadvised to claim HB. The correct advice would likely have been to claim UC for housing costs, and you’d be looking at a compensation claim for misadvice and/or a DHP for backdated rent costs, while he has to claim UC for rent going forward.

In any HB termination case, then the issue is always first whether the LA, in its letter requesting information from client, actually explained to the claimant his duties when information was requested. So it must state:

1. He had to provide info within a month.
2. The month could be extended if LA satisfied would take him longer to provide.
3. The duty to provide information could be waived if he satisfied them the info did not exist.

It is extremely common for LA letters to fail to do this.

Where that happens then the grounds of appeal are that no power to terminate arises.

You can find a discussion of this here: https://askcpag.org.uk/content/200380/housing-benefit-suspensions

I have never seen an LA termination decision that was lawfully made.

So shove in the appeal. Then look closely at the wording and dates of the letters requesting information and compare them to what is required in reg. 13(4) HB&CTB; (D&A) Regs 2001 and point out any failures. There are quite a few UT/Commissioner decisions on this which explain it- referred to in Jon’s article.

Thanks both, very helpful, and “I have never seen an LA termination decision that was lawfully made” gave a much needed laugh.
Appeal it is then!