The primary and secondary legislation does not go into detail - is there any case law on this point? Does anyone have any experience of appeals in this area? Briefly, my case involves a client who spends the day (approx 7.30am - 9.30pm)at their carer's house, due to an elderly relative there who also requires care. Two nights each week the client stays over at the carer's house for respite reasons.

I dont know of any case law that fits your situation well, but R(SB)7-86 places a great emphasis on the sleeping arrangements. (This was in the context of someone who had been granted a Council tenancy but did not move in immediately)

The Commisioner also said (at para 5)

". In Herbert v. Byrne <1964> 1 W.L.R. 519 a person who had acquired the end of a long lease went and slept in the premises at night for about a month while continuing in other respects to live with his family in other premises. It was his intention to move the whole family into the new premises when ready. The question as viewed by the Court was whether at the end of the 4 week period the person concerned was occupying the new premises as his home. It was held that he was. "

In SOS for Work and Pensions v Miah (R(JSA)9/03), the Court of Appeal stressed that a dwelling occupied as a home denotes more about the living arrangements than the actual buildings occupied and that a sinlge dwelling can comprise more than one house and so both should be disregarded as capital in circumstances where a large family needs to be housed in two housessuch as where.

The fact that for benefit purposes someone is not generally considered to occupy more than one dwelling as a home was emphasised in R(SB)30/83.

I would emphasise the fact that your client usually sleeps at he own home, certainly for the greater part of the week, and that this is where she regards the centre of her existence to be.