resident carer entitled to own bedroom

This was the email I sent to DWP about changes to housing benefit

Could you please send me the the part of the The changes to housing benefit this paragraph pertains to


“The changes to housing benefit already take into account the specific needs of carers.

Housing benefit is based on the occupation needs of the household,

and the resident carer is allocated,and entitled to, their own bedroom.


And this is the reply

Thank you for your e-mail, which has been passed to Housing Policy for a reply as Lynne Isaacson no longer works on Housing Benefit matters.



Although the Department for Work and Pensions has overall responsibility for the scope and structure of the HB scheme, local authorities have full statutory responsibility for its day-to-day administration. This Department cannot give an authoritative interpretation of the regulations; that is a matter for authorities to decide subject to any legal ruling and dependent on the circumstances of each individual case. Any enquiries about how individual benefit awards have been assessed should be directed to the relevant local authority. We hope, however, that you find the following comments helpful.



When a local authority is presented with a case of a claimant with a resident carer, it will first make a decision under HB Regulation 7 as to whether or not the carer is occupying the claimant’s dwelling as their home and whether they are part of the claimant’s household. Adult members of a claimant’s household (other than their partner) are usually treated as non-dependants and attract a deduction from the claimant’s benefit, but HB Regulation 3(2) prescribes that a person ‘who lives with the claimant in order to care for him or a partner of his and who is engaged by a charitable or voluntary organisation which makes a charge to the claimant or his partner’ for the services provided by the carer is not treated as a non-dependant. If it is established that a resident carer forms part of the claimant’s household, then HB Regulation B13(5) allows a bedroom for them as “a person who is not a child” when calculating the number of bedrooms that the claimant is entitled to for purposes of the removal of the spare room subsidy.

So if this the case and as I am my wife's carer and form part of her household, am I entitled to a bedroom

Terry wrote: This was the email I sent to DWP about changes to housing benefit

Could you please send me the the part of the The changes to housing benefit this paragraph pertains to


“The changes to housing benefit already take into account the specific needs of carers.

Housing benefit is based on the occupation needs of the household,

and the resident carer is allocated,and entitled to, their own bedroom.


And this is the reply

Thank you for your e-mail, which has been passed to Housing Policy for a reply as Lynne Isaacson no longer works on Housing Benefit matters.



Although the Department for Work and Pensions has overall responsibility for the scope and structure of the HB scheme, local authorities have full statutory responsibility for its day-to-day administration. This Department cannot give an authoritative interpretation of the regulations; that is a matter for authorities to decide subject to any legal ruling and dependent on the circumstances of each individual case. Any enquiries about how individual benefit awards have been assessed should be directed to the relevant local authority. We hope, however, that you find the following comments helpful.



When a local authority is presented with a case of a claimant with a resident carer, it will first make a decision under HB Regulation 7 as to whether or not the carer is occupying the claimant’s dwelling as their home and whether they are part of the claimant’s household. Adult members of a claimant’s household (other than their partner) are usually treated as non-dependants and attract a deduction from the claimant’s benefit, but HB Regulation 3(2) prescribes that a person ‘who lives with the claimant in order to care for him or a partner of his and who is engaged by a charitable or voluntary organisation which makes a charge to the claimant or his partner’ for the services provided by the carer is not treated as a non-dependant. If it is established that a resident carer forms part of the claimant’s household, then HB Regulation B13(5) allows a bedroom for them as “a person who is not a child” when calculating the number of bedrooms that the claimant is entitled to for purposes of the removal of the spare room subsidy.

So if this the case and as I am my wife's carer and form part of her household, am I entitled to a bedroom

Hi T,

We do not really advise on "The Bedroom Tax".

The problem seems to be that you are carer to your wife.

For spouses/partners only one bedroom is allowed, and you do normally reside at the property.

There have been successful cases at The FTT where claimants have won appeals on The Bedroom Tax under indirect discrimination, Article 14 of ECHR, read in conjunction with Article 1 of The First Protocol of the convention, where it has been deemed that the spouse/partners cannot share a bedroom due to one or both of the spouses/partners disabilities.

However, these successes have now been appealed by The LA/DWP to The UTT.

It is quite complicated, and my best offer of advice would be to read the information on the following sites :

speye.wordpress.com/2014/10/13/social-la...edroom-tax-strategy/

&

nearlylegal.co.uk/blog/bedroom-tax-ftt-decisions/

There is also information to be gleaned from : This Topic Thread on rightsnet.

The DWP are correct in that they do only offer "Guidance" (Although there are some exemptions covered under legislation) to LA's and that it is up to each individual LA to interpret said guidance.

Further info can be found in HB circulars, bulletins and guidance Here , Here, and Here.

Hope this helps, and good luck.

bro58