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?

usual I don't know if you're responding to me or someone else, but I've not seen many posts on this thread making any claim that today's benefit claimants have not paid into the pot.

I pay quite a lot of tax. If I break my leg, I expect A&E to treat it. I don't expect them to treat it, wrap it up in a bow & ask me if I'd like anything else whilst I'm there.

I think a high tax on empty second homes (ie. especially those used as 'holiday homes' by the owners & not rented out to others) is needed...

There are so many villages on the South coast of England which are full of empty houses that are 'second homes' owned by eg. Londoners.
Also in my large town there are entire blocks of flats by the sea which are empty for much of the year.

Many locals on lower wages have been priced out of renting OR buying in the area where they've grown up.
There is minimal spare 'social housing' in this area.

A lot of houses on council estates were sold to their tenants under the 'right to buy' scheme - yet these estates have problems with gangs & notorious criminal families, so the ex-tenants of houses in the middle of these estates have no hope of ever selling their properties because no-one with local knowledge wants to own or even privately rent a house there.

One answer would be to offer financial incentives to 2nd home owners to let their 2nd homes out to local housing associations or to rent them out privately at a rent set by the local authority.
But that would affect the govt's core voters (the older middle classes eg.) so won't happen.

If you have more bedrooms than you need and you are claiming hb you should downsize.

I am in a two bedroomed bungalow. It is designed to be accessable. The housing association only has two bed properties available for those of us who have disabilites that mean we need accessible accomodation.

The council only adapts when you are already living in a place.

When my health deteriorates I will need my carer to live in. Do you suggest I move to a one bed council flat that is not suitable, have the council retrofit it to adapt it, then when my health gets worse move back?

Another group it affects are foster parents. It has to be cheaper to pay housing benefit for a spare room that is available when a child needs it than to put that child in care.

Hasn't this always been the case?
Not with council / HA properties. If you are on income support and in a council / ha place you used to get your full rent. It meant that a family with one child could be allocated a three bedroom house without penalty if they were claiming HB.

Disabled people that need a carer will be able to have an extra bedroom for free.

Latara I agree with you about second homes and sink estates.

Charging people with empty homes might add something to the coffers, but not enough to make up for the housing stock that is lost through under-occuptation. In my opinion there should be no such thing as low cost housing for all. If you are poor you should have your rent paid for, of course, but why subsidise housing for the wealthy? It creates a false economy where people end up accepting lower wages because they can afford to because their property is cheap. The taxpayer loses out and the minimum wage employers take home the profit.

I live in a similar place to latara however the council estates are aspirational areas as they are so expensive.Instead everyone hets hb on sea view flats, new builds, very decent sized houses.All the second homes are hb homes for people on benefits either not working or often working very minimal hours.

So beebee you're saying that in some areas the council stock has been sold and is now owned privately and is desirable but the buy to let landlords are housing all the people on low incomes? That was the purpose of the right to buy scheme all those years ago, a way to encourage people to look after their areas (and change their voting tendencies). You are almost saying that it has worked then - much as I hate to say it.

Oh yeah achillea I would love a council house they are often really big here with a garden etc but they either have people in them from years back or are bought.My friends parents bought theirs for 16k and its worth 150k now.No way we could afford that we have 2 kids in a 2 bed flat no garden or parking and Im lucky compared to my friends my good friends lives in a 1 bed flat with her fiance and kid as they are also owners.

Most of my friends on full benefits or single mums doing 16 hours live in lovely places such as sea view apartments, private rentals in houses off professionals, a new build place that is only 5 years old in 3 bed townhouses.

Its the system though and I dont begrudge them it, I just wish I had thought when we bought flat about having kids and we could of done the same.

It has definitely worked in no segragation but there isnt much incentive to work more hours or often work at all.

I will also say it depends where you live I have family up nortg on benefits and the houses they put you in are terrible all metal boarded up and lots of crime.Here on benefits and very low income its a good life.Thats why so many people here are from the north.It all depends on where you are.

Here I would kill to live in a council house my familys estates up north I wouldnt even go out after dark.

Bee I think people like you that have bought in an over-priced housing market are indeed suffering the most. The only way round it is to sell up or move to a different area for more space.

So people are moving from the sink estates up North out to where you are just to get a council place? Where do you live? It's sad to think that the sink estates were once desirable places to live. I wonder if that will soon happen to other places that are now desirable. If there are no jobs in an area, it tends to go downhill regardless of the housing arrangement.

This is I think purely s benefit cap if u can survive with the less HB u can stay where u are so not really going to free up houses is it?

in the long term it will free up the large homes that empty-nesters have. This is what they should be focussing on, not the growing families.

achilliea if your idea that people with disabilities or children with disabilities who need a carer will not be subjected to the rule, whats the descretionary housing fund for? why is the application process so different?

you have still not commented on why if its only really going to impact on oaps in large houses they dont need why are oaps exempt not only from the extra bedrooms bit.but also by a compleatly different way of assesing income?

Point one - I don't know what the discretionary housing fund is. But I do know that people who need a carer to live with them will get the extra room free.

Point two - it will impact on those who have empty nests and are, say in their 40s won't be able to keep half empty homes until they die - that's another 40 years of two extra bedrooms. They can't touch current pensioners as it would be too disruptive for them and would be morally wrong. I don't know why pensioners' income i assessed differently, that's another discussion.

It's not an outrage on the councils side. It's bloody mindedness and pigheadedness that someone who is offered a wet room adapted property that they need is willing to cut off her nose to spite her face and thinks that the rest of society should pay for a property to be adapted at taxpayers expense when there is one already available and being offered.

If it takes someone months wit to fill in a form that is a few pages long what else are they doing with their time.

It deff needs revising! Disabled are effected as are foster cares which is wrong oap's are not but in fairness occupy bigger houses I know of 10 cases 2 of which occupy 5 beds alone and can
No longer maintain the place. Most are living downstairs in one room. But it would b unfair to force them to move but they are the majority taking up larger properties. As are the ones who's children have recently flown the nest so to speak this should not include families with young children they may increase their family size ? I would like another child we have 3 I do work as does my partner I dont claim any benefit not even tax credit well we get CB but what do I do if we are told to downsize ? Have another child then back on the list for 5-8 years? Hmmmm fair not!

I didnt buy in 2006 I bought in 2003 so I will hopefully be able to move in my mid thirties,so its not too bad.Its just if your on benefits you get it straight away.I will never move area I will just make do if I can never move.

I live on south west coast in a popular tourist place.Not many jobs here above minimum wage and a lot of people think why bother doing more work when you can get the same income for free and a really nice place to live.Its the system not the peoples fault.

Nobody's forced to move, disabled people do get a free room for a carer.

www.housing.org.uk/policy/welfare_reform/bedroom_tax.aspx

If yo can afford to have a child surely it is up to you to take responsibility to proved housing for that child and not the rest of us. Take personal responsibility. It's not too much to ask is it!!

So y is it called bedroom tax then? Cause it's not really a tax is it ? And y are people saying that this is the start if the end of tenancies for life ?

How r u paying for it tho? I dnt claim jack off no one oh wait or do u want my CB off me

There are boarded up three bed HA houses allaround me (Liverpool), that people do not want, most are now under occupied and the estate has got better, as it has broken up the big 'deprived' families.

The only two bed houses are mainly private and the rent is higher, so in some areas there won't be any money saved, infact it will cost more as the family will still get full HB, but pay more for a smaller house.

Most GP's are childminding for family, which will now have to stop.

The ability to have in a sick relative stay, or stay with a them will disappear, in parts of the country, this will cost more than the present system.

We should not have national housing stategies (which i also state on housing threads), as needs and availability/cost varies so much from region to region.

Unstable, unsuitable has such a negative effect on family life that no one will come out the winner in this, car cost will over shadow any saving.

What is this doing to raise the standard of living in the UK? We are once again going backwards.

If this came after a periodd of housing investment, with two bed properties and bungalows being built, then fair enough,but in my region, a three bed is the norm.

Criteria is also changing that stops many disabled people from being easily identified as having additional needs, so many will fall through the net and lose out.

The good news on that is that Doctors and HCP's are getting involved in tackling the government on this. I was speaking to a Consultant in LD's and Delayed Development who is playing a big part in a present campaign.

I will b responsible for housing it but not simple is it ! If u have bought u can sell up and move I know that's not easy either but it's hard wait g for years and years aswell to b offered somewhere decorate it all then give that up an do it all again. When my children have grown I'd happily downsize I don't want to be knocking around in a family home I'd like a little flat somewhere that's easy to maintain.

If yo can afford to have a child surely it is up to you to take responsibility to proved housing for that child and not the rest of us

You may not realise but housing was once part of the welfare state until the Thatcher years, which ate into housing stock and promoted the renting of houses as a business.

Housing is fundamental to everything else and we need regional long term housing policies that dont punish people, but improve the quality of lif and outcomesfor children.

Providing policies that work in the favour of society (the people) and not business is the government responsibilty.

Hey birds it's not really going to help then in Liverpool I'd like to see what they suggest if it will cost more to house them in a smaller house then a larger one ? They will find it hard to have different rules for different areas. There is different demand everywhere downhere we have loads of 1 and 2 bed properties but not enough 3/4 so everyone is on exchange websites wanting to swap 2's to 3's intact I would say all swaps are like that no one looking to downsize unless it has a garden is a bungalow or a groundflooor there aren't many on those in tower blocks!