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Reclusive man wins bankruptcy hearing
A RECLUSIVE man with learning disabilities who faced losing his Sheffield home over an unpaid council tax bill of just £800 has had the case against him dropped using anti-discrimination laws.
With the help of experts at the Sheffield Law Centre the man, who wants to remain anonymous, had a bankruptcy application against him dropped on the grounds it went against the Disability Discrimination Act and was a breach of his human rights.
The 52-year-old, who cannot read or write, faced losing the home he inherited from his parents where he has lived all his life, after Sheffield Council brought the case against him for the unpaid tax bill last year.
In the years before 2008 the authority had written off his bills, classing them as "uncollectable", but took the debt forward to file for bankruptcy instead. In doing so they failed to assess him for an exemption - which is guaranteed in law for people with severe mental impairments.
On hearing of his position a friend of the man put him in touch with the Law Centre, where Douglas Johnson from the Equal Rights Project took on his case.
At Sheffield County Court yesterday Mr Johnson applied for the application to be overturned, arguing that in bringing the case the council had:
n discriminated against his client by failing to make reasonable adjustments to its usual practices
n failed to assess his exemption correctly
n failed to comply with the legal duty to have due regard to the need to promote equality of opportunity
n breached his human right to respect for his home by using such a drastic step to recover a fairly small sum of money when they could have taken alternative steps.
The man has now been made exempt from paying any council tax in the future, and the bankruptcy claim has been annulled.
Sheffield Council has also agreed to pay the costs of taking the case to court.
Mr Johnson said: "This should never have happened. People who can read and write often fail to understand the incredible difficulty faced by people who don't. What is most worrying is how vulnerable individuals can be completely swamped in the system and have no hope of even asking for the protection that is supposed to be given to them." And Chris Cole, chairman of the Law Centre, added: "Anti-discrimination laws only work when those affected are able to enforce their rights.
"This case highlights the essential work of the Law Centre in assisting vulnerable individuals challenge unlawful actions."
A report released in January by the Liberal Democrats revealed Sheffield as the city council which brought the second highest number of bankruptcy claims over unpaid council tax in 2007/08 in the country. It brought 143 cases, behind only Tower Hamlets which issued 185.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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