RLA : RPI : Government changes law to reverse court benefits loss

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other artilces from the December 2001 / January 2002 issue

Government changes law to reverse court benefits loss - December 2001 / January 2002

A Court of Appeal win for Stockport tenants over the legality of reducing their housing benefits has been met by an immediate change in the law, stealing away the effect of their victory from others.

Four Stockport tenants, represented by local solicitor Jean Walker of Thrasher Walker Partnership, won their case (Regina (Saadat and others) v The Rent Service) by successfully arguing that the local rent officer had extended the area of comparison for the purposes of setting housing benefit limits to too large an area. By using a 'locality' that extended to the

in it would inexorably bring the median, and with it the cap, down and thus drive out or pauperise otherwise eligible claimants', said the court. A 'locality' had to signify an area no greater than would enable the rent officer reliably to make the specified calculations and judgments.

A new cap which had reduced housing benefit by as much as £30 a week was illegal, said the court.

The victory was short lived, because only days later, in early November, the Government tabled a new statutory instrument allowing rent officers to extend the area of comparisons for the purpose of determining housing benefit to two or more areas.

Walker told RPI that the four tenants who had taken the case to court were likely to benefit, as also would the 'goodly number' who would have done so but for agreement to await the Court of Appeal result. But because of the new statutory instrument, others were likely to lose out.

other artilces from the December 2001 / January 2002 issue

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