This guide is for anyone who wants to appeal against a Housing decision. This includes but is not restricted to:
- their application for housing
- on a change of tenancy or
- a homeless assessment
The housing policy officers consider all appeals. They are independent, senior officers who had no part in making the original decision.
What help is available?
If you wish to appeal against our decisions, we strongly recommend that you approach an independent housing information and advice service such as Citizens Advice Scotland or Shelter for help. They will be able to explain our decision to you and what it means. They can help you write your letter of appeal to us or they may be able to represent you or act on your behalf
Appeal against what?
There are several grounds on which you can appeal. These include:
Decisions on applications and tenant requests
- you think your application has been placed on the wrong category
- housing refused to assign, convert or allow you to succeed to a tenancy (this means that you believe an application to change who is the tenant of a tenancy has been unfairly refused)
- you have made a request for permission and this has been refused by housing
Homeless decisions
You think your homeless decision is wrong because the housing officer made a mistake in deciding whether you:
- are homeless now or within 56 days; or
- are intentionally homeless
You think an offer of temporary or permanent accommodation is unreasonable because:
- it would make you overcrowded; or
- you could not reasonably live there, for example, you would be at risk; or
- it does not meet the needs of any person who lives with you; or
- it does not consider the best interests of your children
How do I appeal?
You should write to the performance and access team within 21 days of receiving the decision.
The address is:
Performance and access team,
Housing,
Angus House,
Orchardbank Business Park,
Forfar,
DD8 1AN
Or email housingqpp@angus.gov.uk
You should explain to us why you think the decision is wrong. Please note, you cannot appeal against the same decision more than once.
What happens after I put in my appeal?
The housing policy officer will ask for a copy of your case file from the officer who made the decision and will consider all the information.
The housing policy officer may invite you to attend an interview to listen to your views and check all the information was considered. A friend, relative, representative or independent advocate can accompany you if you wish. The housing policy officer may also contact you or your representative to ask for more information before making their decision.
The housing policy officer will issue a written decision on your appeal as soon as possible. We aim to do this within 21 days. The decision will explain what the findings are in your case. They can either dismiss or uphold your appeal in full or in part. If they decide to uphold your appeal, the original decision will be treated as if it was never made. If the housing policy officer needs further information, it may take longer than 21 days – we will write to let you know if this is the case.
Depending on the ground of your appeal, the housing policy officer may in certain circumstances, replace the wrong decision with one of his or her own.
The Quality Assurance and Appeals Panel (QAAP)
If we need information from a medical professional to decide on your appeal, we may decide to send it to the QAAP. This Panel meets
every two months and includes representatives from the medical advisory service, occupational therapy, and local housing teams and is chaired by a housing policy officer. If we decide to send your case to the QAAP, we will write and tell you when the next Panel is.
Our service commitment
We have set a 21-day target to decide on your appeal.
If you are dissatisfied with the outcome of your appeal
If you remain dissatisfied with a decision that we have made on your appeal, you can seek judicial review. This means that you can ask the court to set aside our decision because we:
- exceeded or abused our authority; or
- failed to perform a duty delegated to us; or
- showed bias
If you wish to seek judicial review of our decision, we advise you to seek independent help from an organisation such as Citizens Advice Scotland or Shelter