The "bedroom tax" has made the government lost a high-profile legal case. Three judges gave a massive blow to this cruel and unjustly law.
On Wednesday, at the Court of Appeals, three judges rule that the bedroom tax unlawfully discriminated the plaintiffs on the basis of human rights. In 2013, the government introduced a welfare reform which reduced the housing benefit for individuals living in a property with more bedrooms than required.
According to BBC, the bedroom tax or also known as under-occupancy charge gratifies the housing association and the council to pay additional money if the occupants wish to live in a home larger than what they supposed to have. It is aimed to remove a spare room subsidy and encourage residents to move on to a smaller property to help them save money. But this law has been highly controversial due to some legal implications. The coalition government is still struggling to near the budget gap of UK.
Warren Todd, who suffers mental and physical disability caused by a rare genetic disorder, is the center of this case. He appealed to have a spare rooms for his caregivers to stay overnight in a three-bedroom home together with his Susan and Paul Rutherford, the child's grandparents. They recognized that their housing benefits were reduced by 14 percent as a result of the welfare challenge. The government makes an exemption for disabled adults but not for disabled children.
This was a case of domestic abuse, and the government should have considered the effect of the housing rule against those at risk for domestic violence. It would be hard to differentiate carers of disabled adults and children, in this case, Warren Todd according to the three judges who ruled the decision.
Labour work and pension secretary Owen Smith said that this victory is a massive setback to the bedroom tax. It gives hope to a lot of people who has been a victim of this cruel policy. He said that it is now time for the proponents of this law to discover a conscience and listen to the courts of law.
