The supreme court has ruled that, for a small number of cases, the bedroom tax is a breach of human rights and should be ignored by tribunals.
The court ruled that where a claimant has a need for an extra bedroom to store medical equipment, it would be a breach of the Human Rights Act to force their partner to pay the bedroom tax.
It is believed the ruling will apply to 155 partners of severely disabled people who need an extra bedroom.
The ruling is important not just for this case but also for others where human rights breaches are at issue, because it gives lower courts the right not to apply regulations which breach the Human Rights Act.
Solicitors Leigh Day commented:
“This ruling is of great significance because it not only allows for the case of our client and that of the 130 couples whose cases were stayed behind it to be resolved with the social security tribunals disapplying the bedroom tax to ensure none of those individuals suffer a human rights breach, but also because it paves the way for decision-makers to avoid human rights breaches in other areas.”
