[2025] UKUT 344 (AAC)

The claimant suffers from a serious mental health condition and in late 2022 she was in receipt of various benefits including housing benefit in respect of her then home. She moved out of that property in early November 2022. In early December 2022 she moved into another property in the same borough. She did not tell the Borough Council about moving out of the first property or into the second, but on 11 January 2023 the council was told about her move by the DWP. Initially the council were told that the claimant had moved out of the first property and into the second on the same date, 6 December 2022.

The council wrote to the claimant on 11 January 2023 suspending her housing benefit with effect from 6 December 2022. In the meantime the claimant had received payments of HB up to 2 January. On 17 January the council wrote again saying that they had been informed that her address had changed and they needed to review her circumstances so as to work out how much benefit she was entitled to. The letter enclosed a change of address form (which I have not seen) and asked for: proof of the rent at her new address; her tenancy start date, the date she moved in; the date she moved out of her last home; and where she stayed in between moves.

The letter said “You must do this within one month of the date of this letter. If you do not give me these details within 1 month then you may lose money to which you are entitled.” It did not refer to the possibility of asking the council to extend the deadline, nor to the possibility of explaining why she could not provide the information. A reminder was sent on 25 January. This did offer the possibility of showing that any of the information did not exist or it was not possible to supply it. The claimant did not respond to either letter.

The council wrote to the claimant again on 10 February 2023 saying that her claim had been suspended on that date and inviting her to contact their helpline. They wrote again on 21 February saying “Following a review of your application and information received I have de-suspended and stopped your Housing Benefit claim from 12 December 2022. Full rent is now payable. As no ‘change of address’ form has been provided for the new address, it is implied no further claim is required, therefore your existing benefit has been cancelled, based on the available details.” The letter went on to say that the claimant had been overpaid HB from 12 December to 2 January and that the overpayment was recoverable and an invoice would be raised. This letter contains the decision under appeal.

On 10 March the council’s housing benefit department received an internal memo from the council tax department saying that the claimant’s former landlord had advised that the claimant left the first property on 11 November 2022. On 20 April the council write again saying that “Following a review of your application and information received I have stopped your Council tax Support from 11 November 2022 and your Housing Benefit from 14 November 2022.” It went on to say that the overpayment of HB from 14 November 2022 to 12 December 2022 was recoverable and an invoice would be raised. This had the effect of revising the earlier decision by extending the termination backwards in time.

In May 2023 the claimant contacted the council to book an appointment. The council tried to call her back and left messages but the claimant did not respond. At the same time the claimant contacted the local branch of Mind who corresponded with the council on the claimant’s behalf from May onwards. In September 2023 Mind wrote formally asking for a reconsideration of the decision of 21 February on the basis that the claimant was entitled to HB in respect of her new property; the letter enclosed some information about the new tenancy. In an email sent at the same time, the representative suggested that the period between the claimant’s move out of the first property and into the second be dealt with by a closed period supersession.

The council replied on 21 September; the letter did not deal very fully with what Mind had written, but did refer to the termination of the claimant’s HB in the letters of 21 February and 20 April, and contained a reference to the claimant’s rights of appeal.

Mind completed a Tribunal information sheet on 26 September. They explained that the application was late because of the claimant’s mental health condition and stated that the claimant was seeking the reinstatement of her HB with effect from the start of her tenancy at the new property and a closed period supersession superseding her entitlement during the period between the ending of her entitlement in respect of the first property and the beginning of her entitlement in respect of the second. It stated that that period was from 11 November to 1 December 2022. In the meantime, Mind supplied more evidence about the new tenancy. The council confirmed their decision and the appeal was passed to the First-tier Tribunal, which granted an urgent hearing on 17 January 2024. It upheld the council’s decision.