Written by Ömür Arslan, attorney at Arslan Advocaten (social security law). Registered in the specialisation register of the Netherlands Bar (Nederlandse orde van advocaten) for tenancy law and social security law.
Nederlands: Lees dit artikel in het Nederlands: Wmo-hulp afgewezen of verminderd: bezwaar tegen de gemeente
Türkçe: Bu makaleyi Türkçe okuyun: Wmo yardımı reddedildi veya azaltıldı: belediyeye itiraz
Has your application for Wmo support been refused, or are you receiving less domestic help, personal support or transport? Request the assessment report and the underlying advice. Check whether the municipality has sufficiently investigated your limitations, your need for help and what you are actually able to do. You can usually lodge an objection against a decision within six weeks. In doing so, explain specifically which necessary support is missing and what consequences this has for your daily life.
For many people, a Wmo decision is about very practical matters: a clean home, being able to go out independently or keeping track of daily appointments. A difference of a few hours or an unsuitable aid can therefore mean a great deal. Even so, an objection is stronger when you describe the problem precisely than when you merely state that the decision feels unfair.
This article helps you to take the decision apart. You will read which documents matter, how to substantiate your request for help and when an urgent procedure or another route deserves attention.
What is the Wmo intended for?
The Social Support Act 2015 (Wet maatschappelijke ondersteuning, Wmo) governs municipal support for self-reliance and participation in society. This may include, for example, domestic support, personal support, transport facilities or home adaptations. Which help is appropriate depends on the person’s limitations and circumstances.
Not every care need falls under the same Act. Nursing, treatment or long-term intensive care may fall under a different system. If the municipality refers you there, ask which specific provision is available and why it actually solves your problem.
A referral to another organisation is only useful once it is clear what you can apply for there and how the transition will work. Keep a record of contact details, applications and responses. This allows you to show whether a real alternative exists or whether you are being passed between different organisations.
Notification, assessment and application are separate steps
A request for help often starts with a notification to the Wmo desk or the neighbourhood team. The municipality then investigates your situation. The central government states a period of six weeks after the notification for this assessment. You can make use of free independent client support during this process. See applying for support under the Wmo.
A notification is not automatically the same as a formal application for a customised provision. That distinction matters while you are waiting for a decision. Ask in writing which step has been registered and on what date.
After the conversation, check whether you still need to sign or submit anything to have an application assessed. If the assessment takes too long, it is wise to have the statutory options reviewed. Do not simply keep phoning without recording which decision you are asking the municipality to take.
Preparing for the kitchen table conversation
Prepare an overview of what you can and cannot do on an ordinary day. Describe tasks separately: vacuuming, cleaning the bathroom and toilet, opening your post and paperwork, travelling or remembering an appointment. Also state how often something is needed and what happens when help is lacking.
A diagnosis alone does not show how much support is needed. Two people with the same condition can have very different limitations. Therefore make the link between your health and the specific activity that you cannot perform, or cannot perform adequately.
If possible, bring someone who knows how you function day to day. That person can help give examples and check whether important points have been discussed. Agree in advance that your own experience remains central and that nobody promises on your behalf to provide more help than is feasible.
What should the assessment report contain?
The report should make sufficiently clear which problems were investigated and which solutions were considered. Read whether your request for help has been set out correctly. Also check whether the municipality is relying on help from others that is actually available.
If an important point is missing, respond in writing. State, for example, that the report does describe that you can do your shopping, but not that you then need to recover for a large part of the day. Fluctuating capacity may also be relevant.
Do not casually sign for agreement if you disagree with the content. Ask what your signature means and how you can add corrections. Keep the original report, your response and the final version, so that it remains clear which information was put before the municipality.
Domestic help reduced: what should you look at?
When domestic support is reduced, what matters is why the municipality considers less help sufficient. Have your abilities improved, has your household changed or is a different set of standards being applied? Request the specific calculation.
A general reference to a clean and habitable home must be translated into an understandable entitlement. You must be able to assess which tasks will be taken over and whether this adequately compensates for your limitations. If a decision is unclear, have it checked whether the decision is sufficiently specific.
Compare the old and the new. Which tasks were previously included, which have been dropped and what time or frequency applies to them? Note what is left undone in practice. A short list of tasks with concrete examples can give more insight than a general statement that the new help is insufficient.
Customary help from members of your household
The municipality may examine what help can reasonably be expected from members of your household. This requires attention to their age, abilities and actual situation. The mere fact that someone lives with you does not answer every question about available support.
Describe what a household member already does and where the limits lie. Their own illness, disability or particular burdens may be relevant. Distinguish between what someone can cover occasionally and what is structurally feasible over a longer period.
Avoid taking a purely principled position that nobody has to do anything. A concrete overview offers more to go on: which tasks are needed, who can carry them out and which necessary help remains? That is the question on which the municipality must base a proper assessment.
Informal care is not an inexhaustible resource
Family, neighbours or friends sometimes already help before an application is submitted. This can keep problems out of sight, while the help is barely sustainable for the informal carer. So do not merely state that someone helps, but also under what circumstances.
Explain how much time the support takes, what other obligations the informal carer has and whether the help is available voluntarily and on a lasting basis. If the situation has changed, state since when. A daughter who took temporary leave is not automatically available permanently.
A statement about overburdening becomes stronger with concrete examples and, where appropriate, relevant professional information. Do not describe medical details of family members that have nothing to do with the request for help. What matters is the actual availability and limits of the support.
A general provision as an alternative
The municipality may argue that a general provision solves your problem. Think of a collective service or an easily accessible local offer. Ask which provision is meant, how you can make use of it and why it is suitable for you.
An alternative must not exist only on paper. Accessibility, ease of reaching it, opening hours and your personal abilities may be relevant. If a service turns out not to be available, keep the refusal or the information about the waiting time.
Describe a problem concretely. For example, do not simply say that collective transport is unsuitable, but explain which limitation conflicts with the way it works and what experience you have had with it. This allows the municipality to investigate specifically whether an adjustment is possible or another provision is needed.
An aid or home adaptation refused
With aids, the question is which limitations need to be resolved and whether the proposed provision is suitable for that purpose. A standard solution may work for one person and not for another. Ask for a clear description of the functional requirements.
Record trial use and experiences where possible. Does an aid not fit in your home, can you not operate it safely or does it not resolve your mobility limitation? Describe the specific problem and ask for an assessment.
Do not buy an expensive provision without consultation on the assumption that the municipality will automatically reimburse it later. First discuss the application, necessity and conditions. If there is an acute need, set it out in writing and ask which temporary solution is available.
Personal support reduced or stopped
With personal support, it can be difficult to show what the support prevents. Perhaps bills continue to be paid and appointments kept precisely because a support worker helps every week. That good result does not automatically mean that the help is no longer needed.
Describe which activities the support worker carries out, which skills you have developed yourself and where support is still needed. Distinguish between a goal that has been achieved and a situation that is stable only thanks to ongoing support.
A report from the support worker can help, provided it is specific. Ask for examples of what goes wrong without support and what frequency is needed. A general recommendation to keep the current hours is less informative than a substantiated description of the remaining need for help.
Medical information and independent advice
Sometimes the municipality needs medical advice to understand limitations. Ask which questions were put to the adviser and which information was used. Check whether the advice concerns your situation at the relevant date.
A letter from your treating practitioner can clarify facts, such as limitations, the course of your condition and your capacity. A practitioner does not necessarily need to be asked for a legal conclusion that the municipality must provide a particular provision. Translating this into Wmo terms remains a separate assessment.
If you believe a medical opinion is incorrect, identify the error precisely. Is information out of date, is a relevant condition missing or is an activity wrongly considered possible? A targeted addition or an expert response may then be more useful than sharing your entire medical file without explanation.
Objecting to the Wmo decision
You can usually lodge an objection with the municipality against a decision on your Wmo support within six weeks. The central government describes the objection and appeal route under the Wmo. Follow the instructions in your own decision.
State the reference number, the date and the parts you disagree with. Ask for the assessment file and an opportunity to explain your objection. If documents are still missing, lodge the objection in time and ask to be allowed to supplement your grounds later.
Formulate what you want to see changed. For example, an additional investigation into the capacity of your household member, or restoration of a particular entitlement because the calculation takes insufficient account of your limitations. A clear request makes the dispute easier to discuss.
An objection is different from a complaint about the provider
Have you been granted sufficient help, but the care worker does not turn up or the agreed tasks are not carried out? Then the issue may mainly be one of implementation. Raise it with the provider and with the municipality that is responsible for the provision.
Keep schedules, cancellations and your reports. Ask what replacement or remedial action will be arranged. If the municipality subsequently changes your entitlement, that may again involve a decision against which an objection is possible.
A complaint about communication or treatment does not replace an objection against an unfavourable decision. Conversely, an objection about the scope of the entitlement cannot always resolve a practical delivery problem straight away. It may therefore be necessary to tackle both issues at the same time, while keeping them clearly separate.
What if the help stops while the objection is pending?
An objection does not automatically mean that the previous support continues. Therefore explicitly ask the municipality for a temporary solution if the decision causes immediate problems. Describe what happens without help and which alternatives are lacking.
In urgent cases, interim relief from the administrative court may be considered. Among other things, this requires an objection or appeal procedure to be pending and the urgency to be sufficiently substantiated.
A care schedule, a report from a care professional and specific dates can help. Make it clear why waiting for the ordinary procedure is not responsible. The court assesses both the urgent interest and the legal position; a request therefore does not automatically lead to all previous help being continued.
Evidence that makes your need for help clear
| Subject | Useful information | What does this make clear? |
|---|---|---|
| Household | List of tasks, frequency and what is left undone after the reduction. | Which necessary tasks are not being carried out adequately. |
| Personal support | Concrete activities and a report from the support worker. | Which support remains necessary to function on a daily basis. |
| Informal care | Available hours, limits and changes in the situation. | Whether informal help is genuinely available on a lasting basis. |
| Aid | Functional requirements and experiences in use. | Why the proposed provision is or is not suitable. |
| Urgency | Date on which help stops and the concrete consequences. | Why a temporary solution is needed before the ordinary decision. |
Select documents that support your main points. For each enclosure, briefly explain what the municipality can derive from it. This helps prevent relevant information from going unnoticed in a bulky file.
Fictional example: less help because of a son living at home
A woman with disabilities receives less domestic support because her adult son has temporarily moved back home. According to the decision, he can take over various tasks. The assessment did not discuss that he has limitations of his own and will only be staying in the home for a short time.
A targeted objection describes which tasks he can actually carry out, what his living situation is and which help is still lacking after that. The objection asks for an investigation of those specific circumstances, instead of merely asserting that the previous hours must be reinstated.
This example is fictional. It shows how an assumption about available help can be examined. The outcome depends on the applicable rules and the actual situation of everyone involved.
Having a current entitlement reassessed in good time
Check the end date of your current Wmo decision. If support remains necessary after that date, get in touch about continuation in good time. Keep a record of your notification and ask how the municipality will prevent necessary help from lapsing between two assessments.
Describe what has stayed the same and what has changed. A previous award provides relevant background, but the current situation must also be clear. Add recent information if your limitations or the help available to you have changed significantly.
When an end date is approaching, explicitly ask for clarity about support in the interim. An appointment for a later conversation is not automatically confirmation that the previous help will continue.
Frequently asked questions about Wmo objections
Does it cost money to object to a municipal decision?
You do not pay a court fee for submitting a notice of objection. Legal assistance or your own expert may, however, involve costs. Discuss the options in advance, including any subsidised legal aid. Different cost rules apply to an appeal to the district court.
Do I always need a medical statement?
Not every dispute requires the same medical documents. Sometimes it concerns a calculation error or an incorrect assumption about the help available. Where there is disagreement about limitations, targeted medical information may be relevant. Gather what is needed for the specific point in dispute.
Can I get help with the kitchen table conversation?
Yes, you can make use of independent client support. Ask the municipality how to access this free support. A support worker can help you formulate your request for help and check whether the assessment takes all relevant circumstances into account.
Do I have to wait for a new decision if my health deteriorates?
Report a significant change in good time and ask for an assessment of your current need for help. A new situation may require attention alongside a pending objection. Make clear which information relates to the original decision and which to later changes.
My provider delivers fewer hours than were granted. What now?
Report the difference to the provider and the municipality and ask for the entitlement to be implemented. Keep the decision and the actual schedules. Have it assessed whether there is only an implementation problem or also a change against which you need to object.
Can a lawyer assess my Wmo refusal?
Provide the decision, the assessment report and any medical advice. Also state when the help stops. You can discuss your situation via Arslan Advocaten. The page on administrative law provides information about legal help with disputes with government bodies.
Read also
Medical urgency for housing refused: objection and evidence
Social assistance benefit reclaimed due to alleged cohabitation: objecting to the municipality
Engaging a medical expert in a UWV case: when does an expert assessment help?
