What are your views on the bedroom tax?

[Cheekychops84]

the new tax for hb claimants where u loose some hb for bedrooms u don't need? we work so at the moment won't b affected but if workers later on down the line are affected I think is a bit unfair as we are paying all rent and bills ourself at the same price as Private Rent?

I don't know whether to laugh or cry at that remark. It is indeed very sad.

It is important that we pick our battles. The coalition's biggest mistake, the one that costs us most dearly is that they aren't dealing with the banks and big business that suck millions out of our coffers every day. The pharmaceuticals peddling dodgy drugs to the NHS, the offshore brigade, the absolutely minted people that live in this country and choose to spend their money on stupid things when it could fund a scanner for a hospital or a charity for a year, the Supermarket moguls who force our farmers out of a living and store their profits abroad. Those that pay lawyers the highest price to win cases against the most vulnerable in order to retain their Company image.

These are the things the labour party should have been dealing with all those years - this coalition certainly won't. One thing they are trying to do, it seems, is make the basics more fair and just, closing loopholes and things like the LHA have really scuppered overpriced rents and accordingly, will bring rental property price down.

I do strongly believe that the labour party will have to tackle the big issues if they ever do come in again.

cantspel. how much do you think these magic disability benefits are? lots of them are actually intended to be used for needs arising as a result of your disability.not housing.
what if you allready have a sofa bed being used?

you need permision to build a stud wall in most LA/HA housing you will not get it if the room is not deamed large enough to do so. often the smal room is not big enough to fit a bed suitable for 2 adults to share.

how many kids would you bung in one room if you could only fit 1 or 2 beds in it at a push?

i quite agree that lone people shouldnt be in far to big houses but the main group of people in this suituation are exempt from the rule.
but i dont think that people should be caused issues because of a poxy box room or if they have a reasonable legit reason to have a extra room.and i dont think a 15yo should be expected to share with a 1yo.

outraged not paying in was the very reason you gave and is the reason you consistantly give in any benefit bashing thread.

stamp duty land tax or what ever its called now is based on your propertys value. vat is purchase based poor people buy stuff as well.your children if they are not privatly educated are entitled to free school transport if the school is more than a certain distance away providing a suitable one is not closer.
poor people are expected to fund there own work transport as well.

achillea then why are that group of social housing tenants exempt from the rule?

as to the dramatics, are the cab and every other benefit advice service being dramatic as well? the info you keep linking to is not the info that has been recived by hb employees.

Stamp duty is based on your properties value, yes, but I don't see how that means I somehow have the option to move if I want to. I don't. Therefore I don't have a spare bedroom, which is fine because I don't need one. But then neither do lots of people who live in social housing.

If I have another child, our house won't grow. If dh or I develop a medical condition that means we can't share a bed, our house won't grow. If dh dh or I develop a medical condition that means we need ocassional overnight carers, our house won't grow. We would have to make do, and that's fine. But if we could make do, then so could renters who aren't also going to be in a position where they also have to find money to maintain their home.

Of course poor people buy stuff, and therfore pay VAT, but social housing tennants don't have to buy stuff like a new boiler like the one I'm saving up for. They don't have to pay buildings insurance that owners have to pay. They don't have to find money to fix their roof when they find it's leaking.

My children are not privately educated, and I couldn't afford for them to be.

When your children move out your house won't shrink either.

They don't own a house thats worth money at the end of 25 years either.

Socknickingpixie i know just how much disablility benefits are as i care for a disabled mother and son. Dla is to pay for the extras and then there is also esa if they are unable to work so plenty o=to find the extra £25 per week for the additional room.

If you cant get permission to put in a stud wall then put in a free standing divider as you wouldn't need permission for that. As to how many could you fit in a small room well as many as you needed to the same way someone who owns would have to. Use bunks, triple bunks, junior sized beds or whatever it took. And maybe with time and peoples expectations of what the state will pay for people will begin to think about these things before they get pregnant.

Like it or not we do now have a culture of the state will provide so i am going to do as i dam well please. You see it every week on here with someone wanting more children but cant really afford them being told its ok have them, they can share, dont costs alot extra, you will get extra ctc ect.

They give you the keys to a new house every time you have a child when you live in social housing.

Everyone knows that

I know people who live in 2 bedroomed council houses that do have 3 children in one bedroom so stop banging on that they get a bigger house every time they have another child.

Stop believing all you fucking read.

Of course they dont but there are plenty of people having babies they cannot afford and some of them do live in social housing.

Yes and plenty of people who own their own houses get CTC and WTC so whats your point?

there is no value in comparing home owners and social housing tenants - becuase that is not a fair comparison.

the 'oh poor me' bollocks with the stamp duty fees and the solicitors fees - cry me a fucking river - you have equity - your children get a share of that when you die. giving them the capital to get on the housing ladder.

there are sensible decisions that have to be made, but this argument is futile - pointing at poor people and saying @ how dare they@ its bullshit.

build more houses, put in place laws which prevent land banking, give social housing providers grant money to build - instead of taking it away.

this is what it boils down to - the govt are saving millions in saving grants for social housing providers, at the same time they will raise the HB bill astoundingly

but

but

that will become the LA problem - different set of accounts and then suddenly the govt accounts look amazzzzzzzzzing.

whilst future generations look at a huge housng benefit bill and wonder what the fuck to do with it

its robbing peter to pay peters best mate from eton - make the books look good -to try and create confidence in the british economy in the short term

short term short sighteness is what it is.

if any govt ( the one before was as useless) wanted enough homes in this country for the amount of people that need them - they would make it happen.

as it is - it suits this govt very well indeed to point at 'the undeserving' and tell us CONSTANTLY how undeserving they actually are.

Loves custardo a little bit for that post.

Okay there are some aspects that are problematic (17 year olds in education still need space, for example), but surely most people can see that the basic principle is fair? A spare room is not something one is entitled to. Most of my peers who bought do not have one, especially those with children.

I do think little old ladies in large houses should downsize. I recognise that owners who downsize have capital, but I also recognise that many are downsizing because they have shitty pensions and can't afford the running costs of a larger property.

Emotive arguments about little old ladies & "it's their home" doesn't take away from the fact that people - some of whom are struggling themselves - are paying taxes to fund a "nice to have" in some cases. I would however say that this legislation needs more work to ensure it is applied fairly and that appropriate safeguards for the vulnerable are in place.

They will have a spare room when their children leave home though.

Social housing tenants do not have spare rooms if they have children.

little old ladies get to stay in the medium term - as its stepped up - they are more likley to vote after all

oh and the single person council tax must stay too .

politicians can't be seen to fuck old ladies over

It's all about the spin, as ever.

Novack - form filling is a nightmare actually, i applied for & now receive low rate DLA; the form was not just a form but a booklet; i was very unwell when i received the booklet & it took me weeks to finish it because i was so overwhelmed by the task (got mental health & neurological problems).

I can see why people are anxious; when you are struggling to pay bills then it doesn't matter if it's rented or mortgaged accommodation - it's scary to know how easily you could lose your home.
Moving home is stressful & expensive for both buyers & renters.

I pay mortgage for a 2-bed house that i bought when i was in better health & was able to work full time. I'm single & currently childless; i'm not sure if i'm eligible for HB.
'Selling the house' is not an option as i have no spare cash at all for solicitors fees; estate agents' fees, surveys etc. etc. If i could sell the house then living in a tiny home, for example a 1-bed flat would involve paying ground rent & maintenance too anyway.

I think it must be very difficult for people with children - my dad remembers sharing a bed with all this brothers but that was in the 1950s - things should have got better by now!!

Will they usual?

I'll tell the couple I know who sleep in their living room so that their 2 teenage daughters can share the one room of their flat that.

Oh and my other friends with two opposite gender DC in a two bed flat can also look forward to a spare room in ooh, 20 yrs time (providing they don't need to house youngest DS until he is 25). That'll give them great comfort when they're trying to run their home business from same flat in the interim.

Or the couple I know who are having to downsize to a 2 bed with DC 3 on the way due to redundancy.

I could go on, but these are just emotive examples, like the little old ladies. There are difficult circumstances within social housing, private renting & those who've just scraped into home ownership. They don't make good law. I'd reiterate, the basic principle of not getting more than you need is fair.

Plus, the people who end up with the spare room? They have paid for it. Unless you hold the view that all property is theft, there is surely a difference between having something you don't need but which you've paid for vs expecting some other bugger to fund it ongoing.

Another one who thinks that no one in social housing shares bedrooms.

Was that comment aimed at me usual because I don't know where I said people in social housing don't share bedrooms. I know full well that they do.

I know plenty of people who are or have been in social housing or otherwise in receipt of housing benefit, including many of my own family.

It doesn't follow from that that owner occupiers all have loads pf space or that people should get extra money to fund space they don't need.

I have a friend who lives in a 2 bed house...she became disabled 3.5yrs ago and her husband left her about 8mths ago...he was her carer up until then....

Now as she is on her own and needs help to shower, etc she needs her bathroom adapted to be a 'wet room' as she has balance issue's which have caused falls and accidents and she has lots of problems with stepping in and out of the shower unit she has....

Our local council has been dragging their heels to get this wet room done for her because they want her to downsize to a 1 bed bungalow which is already adapted with wet room.....

She has been hounded, harrassed and cajoled by housing officer and she still needs her wet room done....

She needs her 2nd bedroom so her son can stay with her on her bad days, etc and after her treatments every 6 weeks....when she is bedridden for 2/3 days

The council have now stopped trying to make her move but will be charging her for the extra room for carer's

It's an outrage and still after 8mths she is waiting for this wet room....

Because no one in social housing ever paid tax either did they.

Only home owners pay tax according to MN.

Only homeowners can have their family stay over to help out.Fuck the social housing tenants let them rot.