Forum Home → Discussion → Housing costs → Thread
Bedroom Tax Additional bedroom for carers.
Has anyone had the above subject to a review. My customer was granted an extra room for carer in 2014 when she supplied a letter from her consultant stating she needed the room for an overnight carer. She was and is still in receipt of high rate DLA. Now the council have sent her a new application form as they say they are reviewing her claim and they require her to provide a new letter from her consultant. The customer had difficulty in obtaining the original letter (as the consultant didn’t feel he should spend time writing letters) and also she had to pay a substantial amount for the letter. She is unwell and because she has not responded to this request her whole amount of housing benefit has been suspended. Just wondering if this is normal practice ?
The definition of ‘person who requires overnight care’ in reg 2 of the HB Regs says that they need to be getting the appropriate rate of benefit (which your client is) and that they should be a person -
(b) whom the relevant authority is satisfied reasonably requires, and has in fact arranged, that one or more people who do not occupy as their home the dwelling to which the claim or award for housing benefit relates should–
(i) be engaged in providing overnight care for P;
(ii) regularly stay overnight at the dwelling for that purpose; and
(iii) be provided with the use of a bedroom in that dwelling additional to
those used by the persons who occupy the dwelling as their home,
so I can’t see how a letter from the consultant is relevant - what is needed is evidence that a carer is actually staying overnight on a regular basis. I would go back to them with what evidence you have that the carer is there and argue that that is sufficient.
I agree: if the continuing provision of overnight care is self-evident, it doesn’t require a consultant’s letter. The only way I could see that being relevant would be if in the eyes of a layperson it is not apparent that the claimant “reasonably requires” overnight care, and the need arises from some esoteric condition that only an expert would understand. I would have thought getting top whack DLA(c) ought to be sufficient to answer that question.
You would think the worst that should happen in the meantime is part suspension to the rate that would be payable without the extra bedroom. But I suspect the Council views this as a complete review of the whole case - a periodic check to make sure that all entitlement conditions are satisfied. If the claimant has not provided the usual bread and butter stuff like proof of income and capital she ought to do that a.s.a.p. and argue about the overnight care separately. If the only outstanding matter is whether or not the bedroom is still needed they should at least be able to pay most of the HB.
I have now been informed by the Local Authority that they are reviewing all their room for carer exemptions and want all the customers to reapply and produce the necessary supporting documents. Failure to do this will result in all the housing benefit being suspended. One of my customers says she is too ill at present to do this and now we are not having any rent paid for her. I was told that a new process has been made by the authority and they may well be reviewing every year from now on.
I have now been informed by the Local Authority that they are reviewing all their room for carer exemptions and want all the customers to reapply and produce the necessary supporting documents. Failure to do this will result in all the housing benefit being suspended. One of my customers says she is too ill at present to do this and now we are not having any rent paid for her. I was told that a new process has been made by the authority and they may well be reviewing every year from now on.
Not quite sure how they think they can do that, there is an old case about requesting “reasonable” information regarding a claim, can’t think of what it is or find it right now, but they can’t just apply a blanket policy. Unless there is something else going on and they are not saying?
With regard to the need of an overnight carer see 2014 UKUT 325 AAC
http://administrativeappeals.decisions.tribunals.gov.uk/Aspx/view.aspx?id=4255
What utterly bizarre behaviour from a local authority. Do their elected members know this is happening? Obviously you absolutely shouldn’t tell them….................