to question the cut in housing benefits for under occupying council tenants?

[Liketochat1]

In April next year the government are cutting housing benefits to working age council tenants who have more bedrooms than they need. They will be offered alternative accommodation of an appropriate size with no reduction in housing benefit as an alternative.
Is it fair to change the current system like this? To ask people to leave their homes and possibly the area in which they live? To expect siblings of the same gender to share a room?
Do you think it will be extended to include oaps who occupy properties which are too big for them. Should it?

The largest percentage of under-occupiers are pensioners. But they're exempt from this.

Bollocks those who are under-occupying will be offered alternative housing! LOL.

the biggest problem is that it will impact on people who do need the additional room and have legit reasons to need it.

people who rent privatly are exempt so 2 families with exactly the same needs who both recive hb 1 in private will have no deductions the other in la/ha will have hb deducted.

but the 3 biggest groups who are legit under occupiers are exempt from the rules.

Agree with expat.
I live in the SE and our local council have more 2 bed properties than any other size, put together.
Apart from pensioners, virtually all of the underoccupying is a single adult/adult couple living in a 2 bed property.
There is not enough 1 bed properties to rehouse these people in. There is already a significant shortage of 1 bed properties, and that's even before the underoccupying rules were even talked of.
Where are all of the people who are underoccupying going to find a smaller home if they are not available?
Sounds like another way to make some of the poorest people suffer even more than they already do. Many of them will have nowhere they can downsize to, and will just have to find the extra money from somewhere. It's going to be very tough for many poor people.

The daft thing about our area is that the majority of older 2 bed council properties are, per sq ft, the same size. They have just been split into two bedroomed houses, not 3. My friend has 3 kids in a 2 bed, she actually has a bigger house than me. If the council were to slap a wall in the middle of the master room she would have 3 decent sized bedrooms. Problemo solved.

'I appreciate that old people may not want to leave the home they have lived in for a long time and I do sympathise, but the rooms are needed.'

They don't have to! Pensioners are exempted.

correct expat as are the 2nd highest group of underoccupiers and the third highest.

Totally fair.

1. It is a council home, not the tenants home and they could have bought it through Right to buy (at a large discount from market rate) if they wanted to and will have been paying a very low rent in comparison to the private rental market, so should count themselves lucky.
2. If they don't need the other bedrooms then they should downsize so that overcrowded families who do need more bedrooms can live there.
3. Owner occupiers and those renting privately (with no help from benefits) have to choose how much they can afford in terms of a mortgage/market rent. There are plenty of people who would love to have more rooms but have to suffice with what they can afford. Why should those in subsidised housing who already have far more tenancy rights than those in private rentals, be protected from the normal economic choices that every other tenure has to make?
4. Nobody is being forced out. But council tenants claiming housing benefit cannot have their cake and eat it. If they want a nice, large home with lots of spare bedrooms, they shouldn't expect the taxpayer to fund it through housing benefit, they should pay for the extra rooms themselves.

orwellian have you not grasped that most of the tenants who do have lots (or even any) spare rooms are EXEMPT from the rule change

what happens if a family are hard working and are trying to get a better life for their family pay full rent with no help and are trying to move to a better area in a like for like swap 3 bedrooms? i am currently trying to do this and the kids just got accepted into the school if we get moved, but the housing association are looking to see if this is under occupation but both my boys have separate rooms as the youngest is disruptive during the night keeping the elder boy awake. we have looked into private rental and buying and are just priced out of the market as we dont earn a lot of money. we are workers and trying to do the right thing but it seems to be the workers who get penalised

Unless you have proven medical need for the children of the same gender to have separate rooms, emma, you are under-occupying and subject to the rules which apply to that.

And yes, the majority of the under-occupiers are exempt from this rule.

I agree with you Orwellian.

emma. the housing benefit rules are only relivant to hb claiments. as i said upthread your housing officer should be able to sort out your issue however it wont be instantly fixed.

Your rent will reflect that you do not require 3 bedrooms.

And, for those to whom this applies, it's cheaper just to pay up the extra rent than go private rental.

expat, emma is not a hb claiment her rent will not change.

my doctor has written a letter explaining that the younger child is disruptive to the elder child and for that reason require a 3 bed as we have now. we dont receive any benefits and no housing assistance. we cannot afford to private rent or buy as i have said before

he is up and down during the night and when in shared rooms would wake the eldest child so for that reason they are in separate rooms

emma, you're not on HB so sock is right. Also, you've been hijacking nearly every thread about council housing with your own personal story of house swap.

please start your own thread.

expat i did start a thread and i am new here so sorry. i am only trying to get as much information as i can on this as the swappers landlord is thinking of refusing the swap on the grounds of under occupation. i was only asking to see if anyone could help me

If you need the landlord to approve it, then a letter from your doctor should be the answer, but your rent will be your rent no matter what.

we dont mind paying the rent expat its the fact that the housing association landlord is trying to say it will be under occupied and thinking of refusing the swap.

Again, present the letter and hopefully the HA will agree :).

emma, i have tried to help you by telling you to get your housing officer to advocate on your behalf that is pretty much all you can do if you are really concerned cab can explain more with personal advice.

thanks expat and sock im just worried thats all :)

So what about those who are overcrowded??? Do they get a discount then?? I mean if you have a 2 bed house with a dinning room how many people living there would be classed as over crowding??!