West Berkshire Council rule that a bedroom is not a bedroom because it is only 49 square feet
The Mirror reported that Julia Jones seemed likely to lose £17 of her £70 weekly income because of her liability to the bedroom tax as a result of her having a second room.
She appealed to her local council to have her home re-classified as a one-bedroom property.
The council agreed because, according to the news item, the second room measured just 7ft by 7ft, which means it is not legally considered to be a bedroom.
For more on this story see www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/victory-widow-victory-sunday-people-1955436
Challenging the bedroom tax on the basis of bedroom size
The rules for the bedroom tax do not specify the size of a bedroom. The definition of what constitutes a bedroom is up to the landlord. Once a room is defined as a bedroom it can be used as part of the assessment whether the bedroom tax applies.
The Mirror article suggests that the 1985 Housing Act can be used to challenge decisions. However section 326 of the 1985 Housing Act lays down size rules for rooms to avoid overcrowding and includes living rooms as rooms for sleeping. It also classifies rooms as suitable for half persons (children under 10) to sleep in
The bedroom tax is concerned with rooms classified by landlords as bedrooms but is not concerned with double rooms, half person rooms or small rooms. Because of this the Act cannot be used to challenge bedroom tax decisions.
For more information see the National Housing Federation website.