Hanson, R (on the application of) v Middlesbrough Borough Council [2006] the High Court has considered eligibility for a council tax reduction under the Council Tax (Reductions for Disabilities) Regulations 1992.
Mrs Hanson had applied for a council tax reduction on the basis that her property had been specially modified to take into account the needs of a disabled person.
Mrs Hanson had been registered blind for some years, and a bedroom had been converted into an en suite bathroom to meet her needs.
Upholding the local authority's decision to refuse to award a council tax reduction, a Valuation Appeal Tribunal held that to qualify for a reduction the disabled person would need to find it at least 'extremely difficult' to live in the dwelling if the room were not available, and that this requirement was not met.
However in allowing Mrs Hanson's appeal, the High Court hold that the phrase 'extremely difficult' is not the statutory language. Instead, the statutory test in Regulation 3 of the 1992 Regulations as to whether something is 'required for meeting the needs of' a qualifying individual is whether it is 'essential or of major importance to his well-being by reason of the nature and extent of his disability'.
The Tribunal therefore misdirected itself in law, the High Court concludes -
first, they failed to apply a test of 'major importance' because they equated that with a test of 'extreme difficulty', and extreme is a harder test to satisfy than major; and
secondly, having found that the room was not essential, they failed to appreciate that there is the alternative and lesser requirement of 'major importance'.
