Landmark Legal Judgment Says Government's Rent Service Calculated Housing Benefit 'Unlawfully'
Unlawful Housing Benefit
30/07/2008
In a landmark judgment announced today the House of Lords, the highest court in the country, has ruled that the Rent Service, an executive Agency of the Department for Work and Pensions which provides a rental valuation service to local authorities in England, has been assessing the rate of housing benefit for claimants unlawfully.
The Law Lords' majority 3:2 judgment could affect thousands of people claiming housing benefit for privately rented accommodation across the country who have had their benefit capped unfairly due to the approach used by the Rent Service, putting them at risk of losing their homes.
The Rent Service will now need to review the housing benefit regime and set the rent allowance according to the fair process described by the Law Lords.
The landmark legal case was brought by law firm Irwin Mitchell on behalf of Daniel Heffernan (51), from Sheffield, whose housing benefit was calculated and capped using comparisons across a vast area including not just the whole of Sheffield but extensive surrounding areas as well.
The Law Lords found that in common with other parts of the country the Rent Service calculated Mr Heffernan’s housing benefit using too large an area, a practice which has forced people on housing benefit to move to the poorest areas.
Kate Fletcher, a lawyer at Irwin Mitchell, who represented Mr Heffernan, said: "Mr Heffernan is obviously delighted with today's judgment which will mean he will not be forced to move from the area in which he has lived for most of his life.
"The improper interpretation of the legislation by the Rent Service has seen large areas of the country become no-go areas for housing benefit claimants due to the lack of availability of affordable private rented housing within the capped housing benefit levels determined by the Rent Service."
"Mr Heffernan, along with many other people, will now see his housing benefit recalculated at a fairer, local level, resulting in a more equitable distribution of housing benefit.
"This approach will prevent the ghettoisation of many areas of the country which has in the past occurred as housing benefit claimants are driven into poorer areas."