Councils 'Should Form House Building Companies'

A government-commissioned report into council house building will recommend councils form companies to build off-balance sheet and increase joint working. Keith House, leader of Eastleigh Borough Council and co-author of the report, told Inside Housing it would recommend ways councils could access further borrowing power without the government lifting caps on the housing revenue account (HRA). He suggested council-owned companies could be one way of achieving this. Setting up a company allows the council to borrow from the public works loan board at low rates without breaching its HRA cap. Read more on Inside Housing.

Landmark Bedroom Tax Ruling Issued

A tribunal has overturned a decision on the bedroom tax, setting a precedent that could force some councils to rethink how they decide who needs a room for an overnight carer. The ruling, the first by an upper tribunal to set a precedent, overturned a first-tier tribunal decision that had upheld a housing benefit cut by Eastleigh Borough Council. The Hampshire local authority reduced the benefit of a woman who lives in a three-bedroom house with her daughter and was therefore deemed to have a spare room. The woman contended that she required a room for an overnight carer because she suffered from severe asthma and eczema, and produced a doctor’s letter saying the ‘unpredictability’ of her asthma means ‘she may well need and often does have someone staying overnight to look after her’. Read more on the Nearly Legal website.