The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions v Hockley & Anor (2019) EWCA Civ 1080 A quick note because I somehow missed this at the time. The Court of Appeal overturned the Upper Tribunal decision (our note here) on whether assessment of entitlement to...
Bedrooms- how many degrees of door opening?
SSWP –v- JM and Liverpool City Council (HB) (2020) UKUT 337 (AAC) An Upper Tribunal bedroom tax appeal decision that reminds us - or to newcomers, introduces you - to just how Alice in Wonderland things became because the bedroom tax regulations left the...
Hypothetical children and bedrooms
SSWP V WT and Redcar and Cleveland BC (HB) (2019) UKUT 372 (AAC) Very late to this one (I missed it) but a brief note on a doomed attempt in the Upper Tribunal to challenge The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions v Hockley & Anor (2019) EWCA Civ...
Bedroom tax, sanctuary schemes and human rights redux
Case of J. D. and A. v United Kingdom 32949/17 34614/17 The Supreme Court (Lady Hale and Lord Carnwath dissenting) found justified discrimination in imposing the bedroom tax on a woman who, as a result of domestic violence, had had her home treated under the...
Hypothetical bedrooms
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions v Hockley & Anor (2019) EWCA Civ 1080 If you can only actually fit one child into a bedroom and you have two children, how many bedrooms should you be allowed under the bedroom tax regulations (Regulation...
Supreme Court to consider remedies in bedroom tax cases
We noted here the Court of Appeal decision in Carmichael v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2018] EWCA Civ 548. In very summary terms, the Supreme Court decided in an earlier case that the application of the "social sector size criteria" / "bedroom...
Bedroom Tax – the powers of the Tribunal and a sufficient chest of drawers
Two bedroom tax related decisions - the first of which is a decision of widespread import on the powers (or lack thereof) of the First Tier Tribunal. The Secretary of State for Work And Pensions v Carmichael & Anor (2018) EWCA Civ 548 The was the SoS...
The Bedworth bedroom conundrum
Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council v RH and Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (2017) UKUT 471 (AAC) A very interesting (and perhaps surprising) Upper Tribunal 3 judge decision on the issue of 'what is a bedroom' for the purposes of Housing Benefit...
Fewer floors for HMOs and minimum room sizes.
The Housing Minister, Alok Sharma, has confirmed that the Government will be going ahead with its proposals to change the conditions for a mandatory license for HMOs to any property with 5 or more occupants in 2 or more households, regardless of the layout...
Bedrooms, river beds and more
A few things... In case you didn't see it through email or social media, I wrote a long piece about social housing in the aftermath of Grenfell Tower, which is on a separate page at that link. In Scotland, the Inner House of the Court of Session heard an...
The Tribunal unleashed
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions v Carmichael and Sefton BC (HB) [2017] UKUT 0174 (AAC) Oh my. This was the DWP's appeal to the Upper Tribunal of the First Tier Tribunal's decision on the Carmichael's bedroom tax appeal (our report here). It was...
With and without foundation – Bedroom tax in Supreme Court
MA & Ors, R (on the application of) v The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2016] UKSC 58 R (on the application of Carmichael and Rourke) (formerly known as MA and others) (Appellants) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Respondent) R (on...