皇冠体育app

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Judicial Summary

Reported as [2018] AACR 30

Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit鈥� Non-dependent deduction 鈥� Regulation 3(1) and 74(7)(a) 鈥� meaning of normal home

皇冠体育app appellant was in receipt of housing benefit (HB) and council tax benefit (CTB) from Bournemouth Borough Council. 皇冠体育app appellant鈥檚 mother, a resident of Germany lived with her for various periods of time. Bournemouth Borough Council decided that the appellant鈥檚 mother was actually living with the appellant, working in the United Kingdom and claiming working tax credit from the address in Bournemouth and she should properly have been included as a non-dependant on the appellant鈥檚 benefit claim. 皇冠体育app First-tier Tribunal (F-tT) dismissed the appellant鈥檚 appeal on 29 January 2016 and ruled as a matter of law that a person can be resident in more than one place at the same time. 皇冠体育app appellant appealed to the Upper Tribunal (UT), the issue before the UT was the proper construction of regulations 3(1) and 74(7)(a) of the Housing Benefit Regulations 2006; what is meant by the expression 鈥渘ormally resides with鈥� and the inter-relationship between the statutory definition of 鈥渘on-dependant鈥� and the exemption from a non-dependant deduction where the person concerned has their 鈥渘ormal home鈥� elsewhere.

Held, allowing the appeal, that;

1. an adult may well reside in more than one place but he or she can only have one 鈥榥ormal鈥� home or residence. 皇冠体育app F-tT accordingly erred in law as it proceeded on the assumption that a person cannot only reside in more than one place at the same time but can also normally reside in both places at the same time (paragraph 32);

2. the test for a non-dependant under regulation 3(1) is whether the person concerned 鈥渘ormally lives with the claimant鈥� that involves a three-stage test. First, does the person reside in the same dwelling as the claimant? Second, does the person normally reside there? Third, does the person normally reside with the claimant? (paragraph 34);

3. a HB claimant under the 2006 Regulations can only qualify for benefit in respect of one property. 皇冠体育appre is no reason why a non-dependant should be in any different position, i.e. that he or she should only have one place where they normally reside /have their normal home;

4. regulation 74(7)(a) is otiose (paragraph 56).

皇冠体育app Judge re-made the original decision, directing Bournemouth Borough Council to recalculate the appellant鈥檚 entitlement to housing benefit and council tax benefit.