Managing Housing Benefit Claims in Supported Housing | Part E: Tools and Appendices
This appendix provides model letters for requesting information under regulation 86 of the Housing Benefit Regulations 2006, with a provider’s reply and a pre-send checklist. It puts Chapter 12 (12.1 to 12.5) into practice. It has five parts:
- Part A: model information request
- Part B: worked example, for a rent increase at the shared house used in Appendices 6 to 8
- Part C: model notice after suspension (Decisions and Appeals Regulations 2001, regulation 13)
- Part D: model provider reply
- Part E: checklist for councils before sending a request
The law in brief.
- The duty. A claimant must provide such information and evidence “as may reasonably be required” to decide entitlement, within one month “or such longer period as the relevant authority may consider reasonable” (regulation 86(1); Appendix 2, A2.7).
- To whom. The duty falls on the claimant, not the landlord (NSP v Stoke-on-Trent City Council and AT [2020] UKUT 311 (AAC), para 63). The request is addressed to the claimant, and sent to the provider with the claimant’s written authority, because the provider usually holds the evidence.
- It must identify what is needed. A person cannot fail to comply with a requirement they do not know about, and a letter that does not adequately identify the information is defective (CH/1764/2008 [2008] UKUT 13 (AAC), paras 14 and 24).
- Co-operation. The council knows what questions it needs to ask; the claimant supplies the answers; and the council should not count against the claimant a gap it could fill itself (Kerr v Department for Social Development [2004] UKHL 23, paras 62 and 63).
SHP’s position. A good request names the decision, explains why each item is needed, says what is already held, and invites better or simpler evidence. That is not a legal requirement for every point, but it is the most effective way to get the right answer first time and to avoid disputes (Chapter 12, 12.4).
Using the models. Text in [square brackets] is to be completed or deleted. The models are written in plain English and can be adapted to the council’s house style. Councils should not send a standard list regardless of the question (Chapter 12, 12.3).
Part A: Model information request
[Council letterhead]
To: [Claimant name], [address]
Sent to: [Provider name and contact], with [claimant name]’s written authority dated [date]
Our reference: [claim reference]
Date: [date]
Housing Benefit: information we need to decide your claim
Dear [claimant name],
1. What we are deciding
We are deciding [your new claim for Housing Benefit from [date] / whether your Housing Benefit should change because of [the rent increase from [date] / a change in your circumstances] / the annual review of your scheme]. The question we need to answer is [for example: whether your home is exempt accommodation; whether a service charge is eligible; whether the rent increase is reasonable].
2. What we already have
We already hold the following, and do not need it again: [for example: the scheme file accepted on [date], including the landlord’s registration, the lease schedule and the service description; your tenancy agreement; last year’s rent build-up].
3. What we need and why
| Ref | Information needed | Why we need it | Acceptable form |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | [item] | [the question it answers, and why what we hold is not enough] | [for example: summary, extract, copy] |
| 2 | [item] | [reason] | [form] |
| 3 | [item] | [reason] | [form] |
If you or [provider name] can answer any of these questions with different or simpler evidence, please tell us. We will consider it.
4. When we need it by
Please send the information by [date: at least one month from the date of this letter]. If you need more time, please contact us before that date and tell us why. We will agree a longer period where it is reasonable, for example where the information involves other organisations or affects a whole scheme.
5. If information does not exist
If something we have asked for does not exist, or it is not possible to get it, please tell us and explain why. Where you can, offer other evidence that answers the same question.
6. What happens next
[New claim:] We will decide your claim using the information we have by the date above. If information is missing, we may not be able to accept part or all of your claim.
[Existing award:] If we do not receive the information, we may need to suspend all or part of your Housing Benefit. We would write to you first to explain what you need to do and give you at least one month to do it.
We will write to you with our decision and the reasons for it, and tell you how to ask us to look at it again or appeal.
7. Your information
We will use the information only to decide your Housing Benefit, and we will keep it securely. Please send summaries or extracts rather than whole files where they answer the question. [Link to the council’s privacy notice.]
8. Contact
[Name], [role], [direct telephone], [email]. Please quote [reference].
Yours sincerely,
[Name and role]
Part B: Worked example
This example is fictional. It is a request about the rent increase at the five-bedroom shared house in Appendix 8, where the scheme file is already in place.
1. What we are deciding. We are deciding whether your Housing Benefit should change because of the rent increase from [1 April]. The question is whether the increase is reasonable (alternative regulation 13ZA).
2. What we already have. The scheme file accepted on [date], including the lease schedule, the service description and staffing model; last year’s rent build-up; and this year’s build-up, received on [date], showing an increase in the eligible rent of £6.86 a week (2.7%).
3. What we need and why.
| Ref | Information needed | Why we need it | Acceptable form |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Evidence of the CPI uplift applied to the lease payment | The lease payment is the largest single cost and has increased by 3.0% | The lease clause on rent review and the CPI figure used |
| 2 | Summary of the repairs that caused the increase in repairs costs | Repairs costs increased by 9.1%; we need to see whether this reflects tenants’ needs or one-off costs | Repairs log summary for the year, with causes (Appendix 7, B1) |
| 3 | Confirmation of the pay award | Staff costs increased by 4.0%; the time split is unchanged | A short statement or board minute |
We do not need the staff job descriptions, time recording or accounts again, as nothing has changed since the scheme file was accepted.
4. When we need it by. [Date, at least one month later.] We will keep paying Housing Benefit on the existing rent while we consider the increase (Chapter 18, 18.4).
Part C: Model notice after suspension
Use this notice only where payment has been suspended and the council needs information to decide whether entitlement continues. The council must notify the person of the requirements of regulation 13 (regulation 13(3)), and entitlement cannot be terminated for failure to provide information until the period that follows has ended (regulation 14(2)(a); CH/1764/2008, paras 21, 25 and 26; Chapter 12, 12.5). The regulations referred to are the Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit (Decisions and Appeals) Regulations 2001.
Legal points behind the notice.
| Point | Regulation |
|---|---|
| Payment may be suspended “in whole or in part” where an issue arises about entitlement, or whether an award should be revised or superseded | 11(1) and (2)(a) |
| Payment may also be suspended, in whole or in part, where a person fails to provide information required under regulation 86 | 13(1) and (2)(c) |
| The council must notify the person of the requirements of regulation 13 | 13(3) |
| The person has one month beginning with the date the notice was sent, or a longer period the council considers necessary, to provide the information or satisfy the council that it does not exist or cannot be obtained | 13(4) |
| If they do, payment is made or restored, so far as practicable, within 14 days of the decision to restore it | 13(5) |
| If they do not, entitlement ends from the date of suspension, but not before the regulation 13(4) period ends, and not at all where payment was suspended only in part | 14 |
| Where a regulation 11 suspension is resolved and benefit is properly payable, it is restored, so far as practicable, within 14 days | 12 |
Housing Benefit: suspension of [all / part] of your payments and information we need
Dear [claimant name],
1. What we have done. From [date], we have suspended [all / the part of your Housing Benefit that relates to [the disputed service charge / exempt status]] under [regulation 11 / regulation 13] of the Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit (Decisions and Appeals) Regulations 2001. [We are continuing to pay £[amount] a week, which is not in question.]
2. Why. [Reason, for example: we wrote on [date] asking for [items] and have not received them.]
3. What you need to do. Under regulation 13 of the same regulations, you must, within one month beginning with the date this notice was sent, [date], or any longer period we agree:
- provide the information listed below, or
- satisfy us that the information does not exist, or that it is not possible for you to get it
| Ref | Information needed | Why we need it | Acceptable form |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | [item] | [reason] | [form] |
4. What happens then. If you do one of these, we will decide whether payment can be restored. If it can, we will restore it, so far as practicable, within 14 days of that decision (regulation 13(5)).
[Full suspension:] If you do neither by the date above, your entitlement to Housing Benefit may end from the date payments were suspended (regulation 14).
[Part suspension:] If you do neither by the date above, we will decide the part of your Housing Benefit that is in question on the information we have, and write to you with our decision and your right to ask us to look at it again or to appeal.
5. Contact. [Name, role, telephone, email, reference.] If you need more time, please contact us before [date].
Part D: Model provider reply
Providers can use this reply, sent on the claimant’s behalf, so that the council can see at a glance what has been sent and what is outstanding.
| Field | Entry |
|---|---|
| Council reference and date of request | |
| Claimant name and scheme | |
| Items enclosed (by Ref number) | |
| Items to follow, and when | |
| Items that do not exist or cannot be obtained, why, and alternative evidence offered | |
| Extension requested, and reason | |
| Items that are commercially sensitive | |
| Provider contact |
Part E: Checklist for councils before sending a request
| Check | Done |
|---|---|
| The request names the decision to be made and the question to be answered | ☐ |
| Each item is “reasonably required” for that decision, not for commissioning, contract monitoring or licensing (Chapter 12, 12.1) | ☐ |
| The council has checked its own records, the scheme file and public registers first (Chapter 12, 12.2) | ☐ |
| The letter says what is already held, and why it is not enough | ☐ |
| Each item has a reason and an acceptable form, such as a summary or extract | ☐ |
| No item asks for whole files, minute-by-minute logs or information that does not exist (Chapter 12, 12.3) | ☐ |
| All the questions are in one request, not a series of letters | ☐ |
| The deadline is at least one month, with a way to ask for more time | ☐ |
| The request is addressed to the claimant and sent to the provider with written authority | ☐ |
| The letter explains what happens if information is not provided, without threatening suspension as a first step | ☐ |
| A named contact is given | ☐ |
Previous: Appendix 8: Model Rent and Service Charge Build-Up
Next: Appendix 10: Model Decision Notice
This template is licensed under CC BY 4.0: you can adapt it, with credit to SHP. See Rights and licence. Supported Housing People Ltd, Version 1.0, October 2026.