Third party appointees
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Acting as a third party appointee
A claim may be made by a third party, known as an 'Appointee', if the claimant is unable, for the time being, to act.
In such cases, the appointee takes over all rights and responsibilities in relation to the Housing Benefit (HB) / Council Tax Reduction (CTR) claim, this includes claiming and /or receiving:
- Housing Benefit notifications
- Housing Benefit payments
- Housing Benefit overpayments
- Council Tax Benefit notifications
- Council Tax Benefit overpayments
- Council Tax Reduction notifications
- Council Tax Reduction awards
The appointee may be an individual, or an organisation. Once they are appointed, they become responsible for ensuring that any money that they receive on the claimant's behalf is used for paying their rent. Benefit payments can then be paid to the appointee, the person they are acting on behalf of, or in exceptional circumstances directly to the landlord. The appointee also becomes responsible for informing the council of any changes in relation to the claimant's circumstances, and/or changes in their capacity to act as an appointee.
How do I become an Appointee?
If the person you wish to act on behalf of already has a current claim in payment, download the Third Party Appointee form, fill it in, and return it to the Housing Benefits office within a calendar month of the date the appointee form was signed.
If the person you wish to act on behalf of does not have a current HB/CTB/CTR claim in payment, both the Housing & Council Tax Reduction form and the Third Party Appointee form should be completed together at the same time. Please ensure that a note is added in the 'other information' section of the claim form to say that a Third Party Appointee Form has also been completed. Both the on-line claim form and the printed version of the claim form have 'other information' sections that you can use for this purpose.
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