Government Defeated In Bedroom Tax Case

A couple who had their housing benefit reduced because they were unable to share a bedroom due to a severe disability have defeated the government in court for the second time. In a decision passed down by the Upper Tribunal, the court ruled Jayson and Jacqueline Carmichael should not have been subject to the bedroom tax. A Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) spokesperson said they would seek to appeal the decision. The couple successfully challenged the bedroom tax at the Supreme Court last year. The Supreme Court ruled the government had unlawfully discriminated against Ms Carmichael, who has spina bifida and is unable to share a bedroom with her husband and as a result had her housing benefit reduced. Read more on Inside Housing.

Bedroom Tax Ruling Blow to Separated Families

A grandfather who lives with his grandson part-time has lost an upper-tier tribunal against the bedroom tax, in a blow to separated families. In a decision made at the end of June which has only recently come to light, an upper-tier tribunal judge said that a previous lower tribunal decision ruling in favour of the family had made an “error of law”. The tenant had his housing benefit reduced by 25% because he was judged to have two spare bedrooms. A lower-tier tribunal last year reduced this to 14% because the grandson often lived with his grandparent and he needed a room to sleep in. After an appeal by the DWP, an upper-tier tribunal overthrew this decision and upheld the ruling to cut the tenant’s housing benefit by 25%. Read more on Inside Housing.

DWP Overturns Bedroom Tax Room Size Judgement

The DWP has overturned a tribunal’s decision to exempt two brothers from the bedroom tax due to room size. The upper tribunal ruling, which is binding on all first-tier tribunals in Britain, found there was no relevant link between the overcrowding definitions in the Housing Act and bedroom tax regulations. The Housing Acts state that a room between 50 and 70 square feet is only sufficient for a child under the age of 10. Download a copy of the judgement from the DWP website.

Does The Upper Tribunal Say EVERY Bedroom Tax Decision Was Unlawful? Yes!

Is every single bedroom tax decision wrong in law and does every single bedroom tax affected household have legitimate grounds to appeal it? The answer is YES! That is what the Upper Tribunal lead case decision says – I was right all along and that the bedroom tax decision-making process is and always has been an unlawful sham and ALL decision made are official errors or unlawful. EVERY council said we don’t have to define bedroom and it is up to the landlord!  Oh dear as this UT lead case has said they are errors of law and that all decisions made this way are unlawful. Read more on the Speye blog.

The Elephant in the Bedroom

Finally, the Upper Tribunal decision on room size and the bedroom tax has been released.  And the upshot? Well, frankly a bit of a mess. The appeals were by the DWP of two FTT decisions that rooms of 64 square feet and 66.3 square feet were too small to be classed as bedrooms. As the UT put it, both the FTT decisions found that:

i) under occupancy can be seen as the flip side of overcrowding

ii) to be a bedroom a room should be large enough to be appropriate for use as a bedroom by an adult - or by two children, and

iii) had Parliament intended that these long-standing statutory minimum standards should be disregarded by the Tribunal, the FTT would have expected that to have been clearly stated in the legislation.

Read more on Nearly Legal.

Disabled Couple Win Bedroom Tax Exemption - But Welfare Chiefs Appeal To Overturn Decision

A couple who beat the Bedroom Tax because of disability said they felt “betrayed” after welfare chiefs decided to try to overturn their court victory. Jacqueline Carmichael, 42, who has spina bifida, and Jayson, 52, won an exemption when a tribunal ruled the tax breached their human rights. The couple were penalised for having a spare room in their flat in Southport, Merseyside, even though wheelchair-bound Jacqueline’s condition makes it impossible for them to share a bedroom. The DWP will appeal. Mr Carmichael said: “We are shocked and saddened. Now we could be faced with a big bill if the Upper Tribunal overturn this decision.” Read more on the Daily Mirror website.

Legal Challenge to Bedroom Tax Fails

An attempt to overturn a bedroom tax decision on human rights grounds has failed because of discretionary housing payments. The upper tribunal refused an appeal against a cut to a claimant’s housing benefit under the bedroom tax policy. The appeal was brought by a tenant who is the sole occupant of a two-bedroom home. His second bedroom is used a few days of the week by his 14-year-old son, who lives with his mother for the remainder of the time. The tenant argued that article 8 of the Human Rights Convention of Human Rights should have been taken into account by a first-tier tribunal, which upheld the council’s decision. The upper tribunal judge found that the first-tier tribunal’s decision was ‘erroneous in law’, as it did not give adequate consideration to the human right argument. However, he found that the error was ‘not material’ to its decision to refuse the appeal. 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.

DWP Loses Universal Credit Documents Appeal

The Department for Work and Pensions has lost an upper tribunal appeal over documents concerning the progress of universal credit implementation. The documents include an independent project review on the problems so far encountered in rolling out the scheme, a risk register, an issues register of problems with the scheme, and a milestone schedule, detailing how far along the full implementation of the scheme is. The department claimed release of the documents would have ‘a chilling effect’ on the workings of the DWP. The judge ruled there was a strong public interest in releasing the documents, and denied there would be a ‘chilling effect’ if the documents were released to the public. Read more on Inside Housing.

Housing Benefit Removal Regulations Upheld By Judges

It is lawful to discriminate against tenants with disabilities by removing their housing benefit if their home is left unoccupied for more than a year, top judges have ruled. Three tenants with mental health issues challenged regulations which say benefits will be withdrawn if their properties are left unoccupied for more than 52 weeks. They all had their benefits stopped under the regulations when they were detained in hospital as a result of their conditions. Their case was first rejected in the Upper Tier Tribunal when judges ruled that while the regulations did discriminate, the discrimination was justified. Read more on Inside Housing.