Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council v RH and Secretary of State for Work and Pensions: [2017] UKUT 471 (AAC); [2019] AACR 27
Upper Tribunal Administrative Appeals Chamber decision by Mrs Justice Knowles, Judge Jacobs and Judge Hemingway on 1 December 2017.
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Judicial Summary
Court of Appeal decision reported as [2019] AACR 27
Housing Benefit 바카라 사이트� meaning of 바카라 사이트渂edroom바카라 사이트� in Regulation B13 of the Housing Benefit Regulations 2006 바카라 사이트� whether assessment requires authority to take into account how bedroom would be used by particular family unit. The claimant lives with her husband and their two sons in a property described in the tenancy agreement as having three bedrooms. Two of the bedrooms are small and awkwardly shaped. Originally, the family바카라 사이트檚 housing benefit (HB) covered their whole rent. The local authority, applying regulation B13, decided they had one excess bedroom and reduced their HB by 拢740 per year. The claimant successfully appealed to the First-tier Tribunal (F-tT). A three-judge panel of the Upper Tribunal set aside the F-tT바카라 사이트檚 decision and held that the regulation B13 assessment required the characteristics of the category of persons to the considered. The Secretary of State appealed to the Court of Appeal.
Held, allowing the appeal, that:
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바카라 사이트渂edroom바카라 사이트� is an ordinary word which is neither defined nor qualified in the regulations. The word has to be construed and applied in its context having regard to the underlying principle of the legislation, which is to limit HB entitlement to those occupying social housing. The language of the regulations demonstrates that the criteria identified as limiting such benefit is the entitlement of a tenant to a bedroom for persons listed in subparagraphs (5) and (6). Such an assessment is an objective one (paragraph 38);
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pursuant to regulation B13(5), the word 바카라 사이트渂edroom바카라 사이트� should be interpreted as meaning a room capable of being used as a 바카라 사이트渂edroom바카라 사이트� by any of the listed categories and not a room capable of being used as a 바카라 사이트渂edroom바카라 사이트� by a particular claimant (paragraph 41).
The Court of Appeal quashed the decision of the Upper Tribunal and, applying regulation B13, decided that the claimant is entitled to a two-bedroomed property.
Updates to this page
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Court of Appeal decision selected for reporting as [2019] AACR 27
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First published.