Bedroom Tax

[ilovemarkb]

Does the bedroom tax apply to people who own their own homes and are on benefits?? or is it just people who live in council / housing association?
properties thanks

[murraymints]

I don't think this ruling is sustainable....if smaller social housing is not available for tenant to downscale according to needs.....after a test case is brought to European court of human rights...can see it going away.....

[kloofnek]

Was a piece in the newspaper a few weeks back about this...I have kept it ...sorry ,no link but could possibly find one.

[factor-fiction]

Not sure about that, murraymints. Could the governemnt argue there are smaller properties available privately or within 50 miles (there will always be at least one)- or even in somewhere like Rumania as we are free to live there

[factor-fiction]

I belive there was some misinformation about small rooms but to me a room say 9 x 7 is perfectly adequate as a bedroom. In this case I don't think size matters- if the council regard it as a room it'll count

[cazzz1975]

private accommodation is also in short supply, especially to those who claim housing benefits (no dss heavily featured on lettings). Add to that the cost of private lets tend to be a lot more expensive

[kloofnek]

The couple involved (in the article) are using this challenge the "bedroom tax".It is the Section 326 Act in 1985.

[emmie]

for anyone affected, like me and any number of others, it's a bedroom tax by any other name. If you have had your h/b slashed, and then made to pay a lot more, and already struggle, this is the kick in the proverbials
you don't need. This is what i object to, it's not just that they have increased the amount one pays, it's that all those who have never worked a day in their lives get the same or more than those who did pay, and i don't find that very fair.

[emmie]

free to live in Romania, are you kidding.

[kloofnek]

I quite agree factor-fiction ,my boxroom is less than that and has a single bed,two sets of drawers in it.

[factor-fiction]

I agree but for a claim to the ECHR to succeed I'm sure you'd have to show nothing was available anywhere.

[Mamyalynne]

If the Council or Housing Association describe your home as 'two bedroomed' etc., then that is what it is.


Private tenants have long only been awarded the LHA for the bedrooms they require, regardless of how many they have.

This is an ill thought out and badly planned system, to my mind it has been rushed in.

[emmie]

mamy, indeed, but it won't be rushed out in a hurry, and will likely stay, or get worse.

[Mamyalynne]

I agree and I do feel for those like yourself caught in this trap. I am keeping my spare bedroom, I am lucky that I can.

[Graham-W]

There is no bedroom size exemption from the reduction in HB. The 70 sq. ft. is a fallacy.
From the National Housing Federation website:

Do the regulations define a bedroom?
No. The Government’s view is that it is for landlords to specify the size of the property and this ought to match what is on any tenancy agreement and reflect the level of rent charged. The bedroom tax will not take account of whether a room is a single or a double bedroom. A room either is a bedroom or is not a bedroom.
There have been rumours circulating on social media that room under 70 sq ft do not count as a bedroom - but this is not the case. The information seems to be based on a mis-reading of the Housing Act regarding overcrowding. End Quote
It would seem that the Landlord is responsible for defining whether a room is a bedroom or not and charging rent accordingly.

From DWP website:
Bedroom size
12.
We will not be defining what we mean by a bedroom in legislation and
there is no definition of a minimum bedroom size set out in regulations. It will be up to the landlord to accurately describe the property in line with the actual rent charged. End quote.

I wonder if a landlord would be subject to prosecution if he wrongly desribed to number of bedrooms.