Newsletter Archive

If you work in supported exempt accommodation, you’ve probably felt the tug-of-war that starts the moment a council emails a sprawling “Reg 86” request. One month on the clock; twenty-odd items demanded—many of them nothing to do with deciding entitlement. This newsletter cuts through that noise. Regulation 86 is simple in law and often muddled in practice: it empowers authorities to ask for information reasonably required to determine entitlement or continuing entitlement to Housing Benefit. It does not authorise open-ended audits of your organisation, your HR files, or other residents’ records. Getting that boundary right is the difference between a clean award and weeks of avoidable delay, suspension, or refusal. What follows gives you a working playbook. First, we translate the regulation into plain English and show how Upper Tribunal commentary confines Reg 86 to the entitlement question. Then we separate what is usually reasonable (tenancy, eligible rent logic, category evidence, material income details) from what isn’t (bulk third-party notes, generic safeguarding packs, “send everything” trawls). You’ll see the most common overreach patterns—line by line—and a lawful counter for each, grounded in proportionality and data-minimisation. Because speed matters, we include three copy-ready templates: Narrow the Scope, Partial Compliance + Extension, and Adverse Inference – Pre-Emption. Use them to reframe requests around decision points, offer proportionate alternatives, and secure time where redaction or collation is genuinely needed. There’s also a compact “Fast Evidence Pack” checklist so you can deliver exactly what’s necessary, first time. The aim isn’t confrontation; it’s clarity. Councils need sufficient information to pay the right benefit. Providers need predictable, defensible processes that protect residents’ data and staff time. This guide helps you meet both: respond quickly, stay within the law’s lane, and keep entitlement moving without volunteering your entire filing cabinet.