DWP overturns bedroom tax due to room size
- 12 Dec
The Department for Work and Pensions has retracted a tribunal's decision to discharge two brothers from the bedroom tax due to room size.
This is a setback for those who are against the bedroom tax by arguing that if the room is small, then it should not be considered a bedroom due to overcrowding definitions according to the Housing Acts in Scotland and England.
The tribunal ruling found that there was no relevant link between the definitions of overcrowding in the Housing Act and bedroom tax regulations. The Housing Act states that a room between 50 and 70 square feet is adequate for a child under the age of 10.
Last year, brothers James and David Nelson appealed to a first-tier tribunal against Fife Council's decision to reduce their housing benefit. They argued that their third room was too small to be considered a bedroom under the Housing Act (Scotland, 1987) and should not be subject to bedroom tax. Their appeal was successful and the DWP overturned their decision.
Partner at Anthony Gold solicitors, Giles Peaker, told Inside Housing that room size is a common reason behind appeals against the bedroom tax.
Read more here.
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