Appeals

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When you apply for Housing and/or Council Tax benefit, you will receive a decision in writing from us about your claim. If you disagree with it, you can ask us to look at it again.

There are different ways in which you can do this. You can contact us to

Ask for an explanation of our decision
Ask us to reconsider our decision or
Appeal against our decision

In order to request any of these options, you must be an affected person. By this we mean that you are the claimant, an appointee or a person from whom we are seeking to recover an overpayment. Download a leaflet explaining these options, with the appropriate form (PDF 226kb).

Requesting an explanation of our decision

You can contact us, at any time, requesting that we send you a more detailed explanation of our decision. We will write back to you stating how and why we made the decision that we did. However, you must be aware that if you disagree with our decision, you only have one month from the decision date to request that we reconsider it or to appeal against it. Download the form requesting a written explanation (PDF 226kb).

Requesting that we reconsider our decision

If you disagree with our decision, you can write to us asking us to reconsider it. You must do this within one month of the original decision date. You must clearly state which decision you are asking us to look at again, and why you think the decision is wrong. You should also provide us with any additional information that may help us when we look at your claim again. Where possible, we will arrange for a different benefits officer to look at the decision. If it is found that it was correct, we will send you a letter telling you that we can not change it but that you can appeal if you still think that we are wrong. If it is found that our decision was wrong, we will change it and write to you explaining why and how we have done this. Download the form requesting a reconsideration (PDF 226kb).

Appealing against our decision

Any appeal that you make must be received within one month of the decision date. It must be signed by the affected person. If you have had a reconsideration of your claim, any appeal must be made within one month of the reconsideration date. You must clearly state the date of the decision that you are appealing against and the reasons why you think that our decision is incorrect. If we have not already done so, we will reconsider your case. If we are unable to alter our decision, we will refer your case to an independent tribunal administered by the Tribunal Service. Download the form requesting an Appeal Tribunal hearing (PDF 226kb).

The Tribunal Service

Tribunals are made up of members who are not employed by the council. They are experts on the issues affecting your appeal and are legally qualified to apply the law relevant to your case. We will prepare all the relevant case papers and send a copy to both you and the Tribunal Service. If you do not understand them, you can ask us to explain them for you or contact an advice centre or solicitor for help. The Tribunal Service will contact you regarding your case. There are two types of hearing, oral and paper. You will be asked by the Tribunal Service which you would prefer.

Remember, if the Tribunal decides that you have been getting too much money, your benefit will be reduced and you will have to pay back any resulting overpayment to the council.

Please click here if you would like more information on the Tribunal Service.

Contact us

By telephone

020 7525 1880 - housing and council tax benefit
020 7525 1850 - council tax

By post

Council Tax Section
London Borough Of Southwark
P.O. Box 782
Bromley
BR1 3YE

Please indicate which department your query is for.

In person

Bermondsey One Stop Shop
Spa Road
Bermondsey
SE16 3QN

Peckham One Stop Shop
Ground Floor
Peckham Library
122 Peckham Hill Street
SE15 5JR

Walworth One Stop Shop
151 Walworth Road
London
SE17 1RY

Dulwich Area Housing Office
41-43 East Dulwich Road
Dulwich
SE22 9BY

By email

Housing/council tax benefit: souhousingbenefitsuk@liberata.com
Council tax: soucounciltaxuk@Liberata.com