Battle over under-occupancy charge heads to Court of Appeal

Claimants challenging the Government’s under-occupancy charge – or so-called 'bedroom tax' – have won permission to take their case to the Court of Appeal.

Granting permission, Lord Justice Aikens said that the cases “…raise issues of public importance concerning the amended housing benefit scheme and the needs of disabled/ young people and so should be considered by the Court of Appeal.”

The judge said the points raised in the grounds of appeal and the proposed ‘skeleton’ argument had a reasonable prospect of success.

The proceedings related to changes introduced into the Housing Benefit Regulations 2006 by the Housing Benefit (Amendment) Regulations 2012.

The changes at the centre of the dispute altered the basis on which maximum housing benefit is calculated in relation to rents in the public sector.

Applying to existing as well as new tenancies, the reforms reduce the eligible rent for the purpose of the calculation in cases where the number of bedrooms in the property let exceeds the number permitted by reference to criteria set out in Regulation B13.

The reduction in eligible rent is 14% where there is one excess bedroom and 25% where there are two or more.

The Secretary of State for Work & Pensions, the defendant in the claim, has estimated that the moves will save £500m from the total housing benefit bill. The regulations came into force on 1 April 2013.

In July the High Court agreed that the regulations were discriminatory. However, the court ruled that this discrimination was justified save in cases where disabled children were unable to share a bedroom because of their disabilities.

Lawyers for adults with disabilities will argue before the Court of Appeal that the discriminatory impact of the measure on people with disabilities cannot be justified and is unlawful.

Lawyers for disabled children and their families are also to appeal the earlier ruling as, according to law firm Leigh Day, “they are now left in a position where they are currently not entitled to full housing benefit and do not know whether in fact they will be so entitled to full housing benefit in the future, to meet the costs of the homes that they need”.

The firm added: “This is because the Government has declined to confirm that the new Regulations, which the Court says must be made, will cover their situations, or to provide a date by which the new Regulations will be made, thus leaving the families subject to the bedroom tax in the interim.”

Ugo Hayter of Leigh Day, who is representing two cases of adults with disabilities, said: “We are extremely pleased to be able to take our fight to the Court of Appeal, we remain confident that this unfair, and we believe unlawful, bedroom tax will be repealed.”