Appealing the bedroom tax

If your housing benefit has been restricted in spite of the need of a disabled adult or child in your household to have a separate bedroom, then you should make an application for a ‘discretionary housing payment’ (DHP).
Most local authorities have a form on which to request DHPs. If your local authority does not, write a letter instead. The authority may ask for detailed information about your circumstances and those of your household. Explain these fully, including any disability needs that anyone has.
You can find out more detailed information in our Disability Rights Handbook. This and all our other publications are available from our shop at https://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/shop. You can also place orders by contacting Disability Rights UK.
You can get help and information at your local advice centre, such as Citizens Advice. You can get more information about where to get personal advice from our factsheet F15 - find out where to get advice. All our factsheets are free to download on our website at disabilityrightsuk.org.
Nearly Legal has a regularly updated page of bedroom tax appeal decisions at http://nearlylegal.co.uk/blog/bedroom-tax-ftt-decisions/
The websites www.homeswapper.co.uk and  www.houseexchange.org.uk have been set up to help tenants who are looking to swap their home, for example if you wish to swap your tenancy to one for a property with fewer bedrooms.
You can view the Discretionary Housing Payments Guidance Manual at www.gov.uk/government/publications/discretionary-housing-payments-guidance-manual. The DWP also has a selection of factsheets on the bedroom tax, which are aimed at local authorities and advisers. You can get these at www.gov.uk/government/collections/local-authorities-removal-of-the-spare-room-subsidy.