Launch of GLC 'toolkit guide' calling for mass take-up challenge to bedroom tax housing benefit decisions

Govan Law Centre has launched a free 'toolkit guide' to help tenants challenge cuts to their housing benefit with the introduction of the bedroom tax from this month.  Tenants issued with a ‘bedroom tax’ decision by their local council only have one month to challenge it. They can only appeal later than this if they have a good reason for the delay, such as illness.

GLC's toolkit contains a number of untested legal arguments which tenants can select and insert into a pro forma ‘Dispute Form’. Some of these relate to court challenges taking place in England and Wales, and if these are successful tenants can only benefit from them for past deductions if they have lodged a ‘Dispute Form’ with their council because of the 'anti-test case rules'.

GLC’s toolkit provides step by step guidance and illustrations on how to complete a ‘Dispute Form’ – what to say, where to send it to, where you can get further advice, what will happen next.  We hope the toolkit will be of assistance to both tenants and advisors alike. We believe many tenants will have grounds in principle to challenge

If you would like a copy of GLC’s toolkit guide please visit our webpage here, and we will provide you with the option to download the toolkit in either PDF or rich text formats, and in addition we will e-mail you the links to download it too. We are asking for the first part of your postcode so that we can work out the level of take up across the country.

Although our guide is aimed specifically at Scotland for simplicity, the guidance and pro forma guidance is equally applicable in England and Wales as housing benefit is a UK-wide law, and the arguments for challenging the bedroom tax are also UK-wide.

Glasgow Advice Agency calls for local authority guidance to enable tenants to mitigate bedroom tax

As reported in The Herald (Saturday, 16 February 2013) the Glasgow Advice Agency (GAA) has obtained the opinion of senior counsel and understands that the meaning of 'bedroom' for the purposes of the Housing Benefit (Amendment) Regulations 2012 is not legally defined, and that, importantly, the definition is not static or fixed in time. GAA funds and manages free financial inclusion, welfare rights and advice services across the South and North East of Glasgow. Its principal members include GLC, Govan Money Matters Advice Centre and GEMAP Scotland.

Essentially, GAA understand that it is a matter for each local authority as 'the relevant authority' under the regulations to determine what is and is not a 'bedroom', and that the actual use of a room by a particular household will be critical in deciding whether that room is a bedroom or not. Accordingly, GAA believes it is possible for tenants to change the use of what might be regarded as a 'spare bedroom' in terms of the regulations into something that need not be counted as such, and not be subject to the housing benefit under-occupancy deductions (bedroom tax). In that regard, the guidance and approach of individual local authorities will be critical.

In particular, this approach is of obvious application for disabled tenants in Scotland or the UK who may use a 'spare bedroom' for the purpose of therapy, storing wheelchairs, medical equipment or to undertake medical procedures. Other tenants may be able to avoid the bedroom tax too. The critical factor is there is a need for formal guidance and then advice to ensure an uptake of that guidance to help tenants mitigate against the bedroom tax.

"GAA believes there is a key role for the Scottish Government to take a lead in this matter and provide formal guidance for local authorities to enable a consistent approach and facilitate best practice across Scotland."

At present, 95,000 households in Scotland are affected from 1 April 2013, with a cost implication in lost rent to councils and housing associations in the sum of around £50m per annum in Scotland. GAA believe the issuing of guidance and providing advice could enable many of those affected by the bedroom tax with a means to lawfully mitigate against it by using a spare room for a purpose that would not be regarded as a bedroom in law.