Bedroom Tax

Camden council is planning to move some 700 families out of London all together. (The average wage in the area is £37,000 pa so rents are very high.) This will disrupt children's schooling and destroy any social support system of friends and family. If these families are being moved to an area where housing is cheaper, it might also prove to be an area where there is high unemployment. Not thought through, but then this is ultimately the responsibility of our central government so what do we expect?

I see what they're aiming at - an elderly person living in a four bedroomed house which s/he can't afford to heat or maintain while a family of four squeeze into a B&B room with shared facilities needs to be discouraged. But this......?

Exactly - and so on. There are many reasons to have a spare room. Also a one bedroom property is generally small overall so there's not even enough space for ordinary living for a couple ( or even a single person). Where do you dry the washing? Oh it's just vindictive .

It won't work. Most 'affordable housing' is two or three bed. There are just not enough one bed properties out there for rent. At least not around here. I don't see how the government can in effect fine people for having a spare room if there is no alternative accommodation.

In theory it's not a bad idea, but I think everyone should be entitled to one spare room. Couples don't always want to share a bedroom - excessive snoring, shift work - there are many reasons. And it's not unknown for a separated single person to want their child to stay. Or a friend/relation to help out when sickness strikes. And so on.

There is nothing they can do. They can't build new one bedroom properties and they have no say in the setting of the rent allowance in each area.

What are councils going to do about situations like this? It's just awful.....

I've looked in this area. There are no one bedroom properties that would be cheaper that the two bedroomed house we live in. And nothing at all for the £299 a month that we are allowed.

VQ - yes that's true if you stay in your social housing but there are some examples where moving would mean that the rent in the smaller house was higher than in the bigger house! That's one reason I think it's vindictive because it's somehow about more than cutting benefits.

It's just a way of cutting benefits on the sly. If I have to pay £100 a month towards my rent that's £100 less they have to pay me.

Trendygran - I couldn't agree more. There seems something so inherently cruel and vindictive about it. They wheel out the one person with 3/4 bedrooms argument but no evidence as to how many this affects. And as I said on another thredd, if you have to leave social housing for the private sector, there's no security of tenure

Whilst not personally affected by this, I just cannot believe it is happening in 2013. This government seems determined to return to Victorian times ,themselves excepted of course, with resultant overcrowding and even more distress for those involved. Wonder how many spare rooms they have between them? !

I think there's some complication about when universal credits come in and if one of you is of pension age and the other isn't but Gran7 is OK. This is one of the problems isn't it of changes like this - lots of people get worried and upset. Just like people believe they have to sell their house when they go into care when it all depends - and certainly not if remaining spouse still living there

Sorry should have added.....it won't affect you. Pensioners are exempt.

If you're on a pension you're ok Gran7.