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Busy day for bits of news. On the bedroom tax, Lord Freud announced in a House of Lords debate today that amending regulations to remove the 1996 claim exemption will be produced in March, though they haven't got definite parliamentary time yet. (Not got a...
As set out in the previous post, the DWP has confirmed that 4(1)(a) of Schedule 3 of the Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit (Consequential Provisions) Regulations 2006 has the effect that any HB claimant who has been claiming continuously since before 1...
[Update 10/01/2014 - see further post on details of who is 'exempt' and suggested actions.] Readers may well have seen material going around that suggested that a housing benefit claim that was continuous from pre 1 January 1996 was exempt from the bedroom...
If a tenant on a statutory periodic tenancy stops living in the property, but the tenancy is not ended, who is liable for the Council Tax? CT v Horsham District Council (HB) [2013] UKUT 617 (AAC) This was an appeal to the Upper Tribunal from the benefits...
There are two new First Tier Tribunal bedroom tax appeal decisions on the FTT decisions page, at the bottom. One from Liverpool and one from Edinburgh. Both are Article 14 discrimination based, with disabilities meaning a bedroom could not be shared, one...
Hammersmith & Fulham Council have come up with a novel way of angering their tenants. Faced with a substantial rent arrears problem, with a reported 46% of tenants in arrears (what with the bedroom tax, the end of council tax benefit and all), H&F...
In other bedroom tax news, the DWP has issued a Circular to Local Authorities on The Housing Benefit and Universal Credit (Size Criteria) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2013 - the new regulations implementing the Gorry judgment on LHA and housing...
A quick note on a succesful bedroom tax First Tier Tribunal decision in Islington. Unfortunately there is no statement of reasons [Update 21/01/2014 - Statement of reasons and adviser submissions are here] and the decision notice, which I have seen, says...
Emery v Wandsworth LBC (2013) QBD 14 November 2013 [not reported elsewhere, note on Westlaw] This was an application by Ms E for permission to apply to discharge a Civil Restraint Order made against her in the High Court. Ms E had made an urgent application...
The DWP issued a bedroom tax related circular on 30 October 2013. HB U7/2013. The full text is below. Removal of the spare room subsidy – First tier Tribunal decisions Background 1. Generally local authorities (LAs) initiate appeals to the Upper Tribunal...
The Prevention of Social Housing Fraud Act comes into force tomorrow (Tuesday 15 October 2013) in England only. The text of the Act is here. A key point is the introduction of 'Unlawful Profit Orders', which get around the decision of the Court of Appeal in...
A proper note to follow, but there has been a significant First Tier Tribunal appeal in a bedroom tax related case in Hereford. The decision is here (and also on the FTT decision page in the menu above). This is an LHA decision, not on the bedroom tax. While...