Lost HB Forms

I agree that you can argue in the alternative here, but it will also be very useful to have the LA’s letters re evidence required, the notice of suspension and the notice of termination. You then need to check that those letters comply with the Regulations, in particlular, Regulation 13 of the Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit (Decisions and Appeals) Regulations 2001 as amended.

I have successfully appealed decisions like these because the LA has not fully complied with the Regulations governing suspension and termination and therefore had no legal power to terminate entitlement in the first place.

As for evidence that the subsequent claim was made in March, I agree that much will depend on your clients credibility as a witness.Corroboration would help but is is not essential [(See RI)2/51, R(SB)33/85, CH/4065/2001, CP/3037/2004]

The question of good cause for delay in making a claim is not the same question as that of failing to provide information.  LA’s often conflate and confuse the two issues.

As an LA rep once told me in Tribunal, they appear to regard the regulations as just “guidelines” (his word) with which it isn’t always convenient to comply. Needless to say the appellant won as there wasn’t the slightest evidence that the regulations had been used - indeed, an admission they almost certainly hadn’t.