More problems and bad press for the Local Housing Allowance.
A benefits tribunal has found in favour of a tenant in Walsall who needs 24-hour care. She has a two bedroom property with her second bedroom essential for her carers who make use of it all night and all day on a shift system.
The council said it would only pay LHA to the tenant to cover the rate for a one bedroom property and this decision has left the tenant dependant on discretionary housing payments from the council to cover the rent of her property.
The tribunal found that the regulations on the LHA issued to councils contravened the European Convention on Human Rights, discriminating against the tenant as a severely disabled person. If Walsall Council appeal against this decision it will be heard by the upper tribunal and a favourable outcome for the tenant would set a precedent for similar claims. See an article about this here.
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