Bedroom tax on council tenants

[bull041161 10]

Well there sending home visits out to people affected by this. Im glad some people think this is wrong anyway i thought this was a tory forum with all the negative posts at first. Well i just hope thay never have to claim beneffits as some people look down on you like a scrounger. But me and my wife have paid enough in over the years

[Jeffrey Shaw 93]

Either way, it's not a tax and it operates due to HM Government rules (not merely because the Local Authority say so).

[Cyclone 10]

But what about the persons/ people with a disability, who have been given a supposedly "Oversized" property, because it is a property that is adapted to the needs of the disabled tenant? (hoists, stairlifts/ through-floor lifts/ wet rooms, extra rooms on ground floor, etc, for example?)

 

They are being put at a disadvantage, and are actually being punished, financially, for needing a property that is suitable for their disability.

 

Is this correct?

 

If there is a smaller adapted property available, then fine, if there is not then there should be no charge as they cannot move to a smaller property if there isn't one that is suitable.

[Ms Macbeth 76]

People will be evicted. There are single people living in 2 bed flats who are in no fit state to move, mainly people with serious mental health problems. Most of them won't be able to make up the shortfall and there is no exemption for them in this law. A safe, quiet home is the absolute basis for good mental health, and there are people who will have this taken away from them. I suspect a lot will stay put and ultimately be evicted for arrears. And anyway, there are nowhere near enough 1 bedroom properties for everyone who is under-occupying to move into.

 

I agree some people will have a very hard time. There have been some positive outcomes for folk who at one time wouldn't have had to try and live alone, and I fear this will mean a lot of the good work will have been for nothing.

 

I'm also concerned about people with physical disabilities currently living in suitable adapted properties. How will they find smaller homes that have the necessary adaptations? Also, people who can't physically manage all the work involved in moving home, or can't afford to pay removal costs.

[nexusdee 10]

I'm just wondering how they are going to do this - my mum was waiting 8 years before she was able to get. 1 bedroom property, are people going to be fined because the council won't have enough suitable properties & I must admit I agree with the majority of posters that this tax is only something else those who work have to pay

[Doris Night 10]

If the idea is to save money how will this be if people will be shuffled about. There's still only a certain amount of properties. Won't some people receive less HB while others receive more as they are allocated bigger properties?

[Plain Talker 11]

Is this correct?

 

If there is a smaller adapted property available, then fine, if there is not then there should be no charge as they cannot move to a smaller property if there isn't one that is suitable.

 

There are nowhere near enough smaller properties, let alone adapted properties. (My best mate had 7 months on homeless priority before she was finally housed in a wheelchair-accessible flat)

 

A smaller property may not automatically be suitable. What about the person who needs a second bedroom for a carer? or for medical/bulky equipment? Should a disabled person be moved into a property that has adaptations that are not the right ones for their needs?

 

Does the disabled person have to move into an unsuitable property just because it's smaller? how does the person manage whilst waiting for the correct adaptations? How do they manage whilst the council decide they are going to assess them/ find the money to get the necessary adaptations done?

 

The disabled person is still out of pocket, paying this "fine" whilst waiting for suitable housing. Unfortunately, the government have beggar all sense, about this, as they have not looked at the needs of the disabled, and not used the idea that you and many others have come up with, in that a disabled person, living in an adapted property ought to be exempt from this.

 

My property is adapted to my needs. I have my support network around me, and I would find it incredibly difficult to move.

 

Also, I actually don't see why I should have to move, when I live in a suitable property, or why I should be forced to pay a premium, (contrary to the equalities act!) to live in a property that is perfect for my needs.

[Cyclone 10]

I think you might be making unwarranted assumptions PlainTalker.

If a 2nd bedroom is required, then it's required isn't it and wouldn't fall under the umbrella of a room that isn't required.

If no smaller property suitable property is available, then the onus is surely on the council to provide one, not charge someone extra whilst they are willing but unable to be rehoused due to the councils failure.

 

You are assuming the worst, that a disabled person will be charged when they are unable to move to a smaller suitable property because no such property exists, I see no reason why this should be the case.

 

You don't see why you should live in a property that is suitable but not beyond your needs? Or why you should pay if you want to keep a house with more bedrooms than you reasonably need? If this is applied sensibly as I've just outlined, then continued objection will just be using disability as an excuse, instead of being a valid objection.

[quicken 10]

I think you might be making unwarranted assumptions PlainTalker.

If a 2nd bedroom is required, then it's required isn't it and wouldn't fall under the umbrella of a room that isn't required.

If no smaller property suitable property is available, then the onus is surely on the council to provide one, not charge someone extra whilst they are willing but unable to be rehoused due to the councils failure.

 

You are assuming the worst, that a disabled person will be charged when they are unable to move to a smaller suitable property because no such property exists, I see no reason why this should be the case.

 

You don't see why you should live in a property that is suitable but not beyond your needs? Or why you should pay if you want to keep a house with more bedrooms than you reasonably need? If this is applied sensibly as I've just outlined, then continued objection will just be using disability as an excuse, instead of being a valid objection.

 

http://www.housing.org.uk/policy/wel...droom_tax.aspx

 

 

 

 

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[Cyclone 10]

The url is malformed...

[Bonjon 10]

They should introduce an "excessive private land tax". If people have more land than they need they should pay a tax on it..

 

Why should they? If a private land owner has bought the land then what's the issue?

 

Now if they were renting the land from the council then fair enough.

[Cyclone 10]

If they are renting the land then they are already paying for it.

 

Now if they were being given the land as a form of social benefit then fair enough...