To think this is a cruel policy, and not an actual 'tax'?

[katykuns]

www.guardian.co.uk/society/2013/jan/25/spare-bedroom-tax-contradiction-impossibility?CMP=NECNETTXT766

I just think its unrealistic, and completely ignores reality that it is not just easy to drop everything and move. It is also very unfair to the disabled.

Why can they not target the damn landlords charging extortionate rents?

It is not directly affecting me, but I do claim housing benefit and I work, and life is hard. I just feel like it makes it impossible to live with a 14-25% cut of your benefit.

Its not a tax, its a benefit cut. Say it as it is ... just another attempt to make people struggling to get by struggle even more!

This could be the straw that breaks the camel's back. It seems so unfair and yet they trumpet it as being "fair". It looks like they are all on board, I saw a LibDem on TV supporting it.

They probably think it will only affect mainly Labour voters and that teh rest of the country won't care. But I think they may have made a huge mistake on this. For forty years this was not tried and now they want to do it to save money.

Did they cut the salaries of the 'light touch regulators'? Did they fire any of them?

This seems like it is picking on poor people. It was never done before, but now they say it is "fair". To me it looks loke they don't care and I think the public may eventually think the same and kick them out next time over this issue.

Sorry Choc l know you've already explained the non resident parent didnt get housing benefit for their childs room as other parent gets it, but what l mean is do they now lose any more for having this spare room - are they any worse off at all under new system.

?

They are also bringing in a policy where the landlord has the right to legally evict you within 24 hours if your rent is not paid

I saw it on the news today and they had a housing association talking about it.

Not sure if I understand it fully, but it made me think that the private housing associations would make more money out of this as rents effectively rise for those with spare rooms.

Eventually we will see the injustices on our TV scrrens and this spells diasater for the "we're all in it together" message. The public might say "enough is enough".

TWENTY-FOUR HOURS???!!!

Good grief.

Garlic they have sent several letters out to people who are exempt from the rule mostly pensioners who are petrified about it and clogging up support services needing (quite understandably ) reassurance.

Is your houses one of those that the LA sourced and allocated you? Can't remember what its called when the LA rent a house from a private landlord usually for temp accommodation and the tenants pays the LA not the private LL.

If so then yes you will get the 14% but if not and your in normal private renr then you shouldn't have the reduction but you will only get the LHA for the size house that HB say you need( the hb decided need is the important bit as as things stand at the mo actual housing allocation rules and the new HB rules could in some circumstances be contradictory)

As to the 2015 changes there are so many to do with discharge of duties it would be very hard to explain them all but I shall go and have a looksie now and see if I can find anything that explains it clearly.

jakebullet "I think this is going to be their "poll tax"."

They have that covered with the withdrawal of council tax benefit. The new council tax support is as close to poll tax as it comes.
Oh, I wonder when all of these changes are taking place...are they staggered to help people to attempt to adjust...Nooooo, they all take effect from April 2013.

April is the start of a new level of poverty amongst the poor in this country.

Reforming social housing

1. The Government recognises that it is time to change the social housing system. We need to ensure that the system is more obviously fair; that good, affordable housing is available for those who genuinely need it; and that we get the best value from our 4 million social rented homes.
2. We are making radical changes, removing counter-productive rules and allowing local authorities and landlords to take more sensible decisions about how to manage their housing.

10. We are also empowering tenants to take a more active role in the management of their homes, supporting them in tackling anti-social behaviour in their neighbourhood and helping people into home ownership. 11. We have introduced a programme of reform through the Localism Act, which will make changes to the way people access social housing, the types of tenancies that are provided and the way the homelessness duty is discharged. 12. While existing tenants will see no changes to their rights to lifetime tenancy and social rents, for new tenants we will give social landlords the flexibility they need to make the best use of their housing, in a way that best meets the needs of their local area. 13. Local authorities and landlords need to be able to better manage their waiting lists and allocate homes. New provisions in the Localism Act will remove the requirement that councils keep ?open? waiting lists. 14. Protection for the vulnerable will still be provided by the unchanged statutory ?reasonable preference? criteria, ensuring that households in greatest need because of medical conditions, hardship or the lack of suitable alternative housing should receive priority. 15. Councils and housing associations will be able to offer lifetime security of tenure where it is needed, but to set shorter tenancy terms where that makes more sense. The Localism Act creates a new flexible tenancy for local authorities. This is in addition to, not replacing, secure and introductory tenancies. 16. Through changes to regulation, we propose to provide significantly increased freedom to all social landlords on the tenancies they can grant, subject to appropriate parameters and protections. The normal minimum length of tenancy will be five years, though tenancies of between two and five years will be allowed in exceptional circumstances. 17. Households who are capable of meeting their own housing needs should not be allocated social housing when so many other families are left on waiting lists. Guidance to local authorities will make it clear that we do not expect social homes to be allocated to people who don?t need them (for example those who already own a home that would be suitable for them to use), while at the same time those who are in genuine need should be prioritised (for example the families of armed service personnel ? see chapter 6). 18. We are making it easier for people to move ? whether to look for work, or because of any other changes in their circumstances. A new programme ? HomeSwap Direct ? has been introduced, to enable social housing tenants to take greater control and to manage their own moves. Through HomeSwap Direct, tenants will have access to good web-based services that allow them to identify suitable properties anywhere in the UK for the very first time. We intend to link HomeSwap Direct with the Department for Work and Pensions? online information for people looking for work on Directgov. This will allow people looking for work to easily register for a home swap and search for suitable properties in the area where they have identified employment opportunities. 19. We need a sustained effort to increase opportunities for mobility. Changes we are making through the Localism Act will make it easier for councils to arrange transfers for existing tenants. The introduction of flexible tenure will, over time, increase mobility and encourage tenants and

landlords to consider what is the most appropriate housing at the different life stages of tenants and their households.
20. The Government has supported work by
the Chartered Institute of Housing to share good practice among landlords about how to make best use of their housing stock, especially by supporting tenants who wish to move. And we are supporting a new programme of mobility ?vanguards?: 12 local areas which will invest £1 million to investigate new methods of helping to support mobility.
21. Changes to the homelessness duty will allow greater flexibility and more sensible decision- making when helping homeless families. Currently, families who are accepted as homeless get priority access to social housing whether or not that is
the best solution to their housing need. We will allow councils to bring their homelessness duty
to an end with offers of suitable private sector accommodation, without requiring the agreement of the person owed the duty. Local authorities will continue to be able to end the homelessness duty with an offer of social housing if they decide that is the most appropriate outcome.
22. Local authorities will be free to use social housing more creatively to help people achieve stability and make progress in their lives.
Some authorities have already adapted their allocations policies to provide extra priority for households who are in work, or who make active contributions to their community. We want to
see this become more widespread, and will be encouraging councils to make sure that social housing supports work, rather than locking people into dependence.
Investment in affordable housing
23. With 4.5 million people on social housing waiting lists and first time buyers struggling to get a foot on the housing ladder, we also need to deliver more new affordable housing, both for rent and affordable home ownership. We are developing a programme of initiatives to increase the supply of affordable homes.
24. Government investment in affordable housing is an important part of our strategy for meeting the needs and aspirations of a large section of
the population. We support a range of different
affordable housing options ? from affordable rented housing to affordable home ownership options, such as shared ownership and shared equity schemes.
25. To deliver this, we are working with a wide range of partners in both the public and private sectors.
26. We now have a framework in place that facilitates entry into the social housing sector
by a wider range of potential providers. Local authorities own 1.7 million homes while housing associations own and manage 2.4 million social rented homes in England; their assets, resources and knowledge of communities and local economies will continue to play a vital role in meeting the country?s housing needs.
27. We have committed nearly £4.5 billion investment in new affordable housing over the Spending Review period that ends in 2015. But the current fiscal environment and the need to address the public deficit means that the former model of funding affordable housing, with its heavy dependence on public grant, is no longer sustainable.

meanwhile the propaganda machine is in full swing. I just posted this on the Feminism board but i think it should be here too.

DarkesteyesWed 30-Jan-13 22:21:21

JESUS i have just been to my fb home page and the hateful comments i have seen.
Apparently This Morning had a couple on there today who said it wasnt worth working blah blah.
And the comments coming to my fb page are nasty sexist and mysogynistic to say the least.
An example...."Lazy sluts who see popping out sprogs as a moneymaker do not deserve child benefit" That is just one of the comments. Im so bloody fed up with this We have programmes like TM who are aimed at the same idiots who read things like Closer Heat and the Daily Mail. In fact one person on the thread linked to the Mail to prove their point.
Im so pissed off with fbs attitude to sexism and mysogyny i want to disable my account.
I did it once before 2 yrs ago but changed my mind several days later. I dont think i will change my mind this time.
Think this is my final straw. Why cant people see it FFS. Im so pissed off with the hateful mysogyny i see on fb from some users. I found this extremely upsetting tonight. End of the rope.

That was taken directly from the gov's laying the foundations housing strategy paper.

Sorry for the long post but I didnt want to link to 88 pages of utter crap whilst only 2 are relevant to social housing.

But basicly they won't have to find you a social tenancy in your needed area they can send you elsewhere with a copy of the private rent ads for any where and there duty is discharged.

Sock thats bloody shocking. And 24 hrs notice to evict someone? MY GOD.

You wait till you stumble apon the universal credit/ reform attempts they tried to get through about if you lost your job whilst on HB they would automaticity reduce you HB by 10% to punish you for being feckless.

Or the only being able to get HB for 2 years of you were in receipt of UC

Newsnight NOW council tax benefit cuts.

Only being able to get HB for 2 years if you are on UC???
WTF??
The majority of HB claimants are working. What are we gonna do? The rents are not going to go down are they?(Although reducing rent was, allegedly, the reason for cutting HB. Hasn't worked, has it?)

The council tax cuts are another reason we have to move house.
It is amazing how few people who are not being affected are actually aware of all these cuts, and how severe they are.

I am personally poorer by about £50 a month since 2010. After the council tax cuts kick in It will be more like £80.
My wages have not risen, and food and heat and bus fares have gone up massively, so in real terms I reckon I am more than £100 a month worse off.
I will have to skimp on either heat, or food. Nothing else can go-I pay £15 a month for the internet and that is the only "non-essential" (although actually it is).

If I was not a lone parent I would happily try and get a bar job a few nights a week, or an after school cleaning job, to supplement my income, but I don't have the childcare.
Actually, though, where I live ANY part time job is like gold dust.

If I was unemployed I would have to find an extra £30 a month after the council tax cut. I don't know how that would be possible, since I already pay a substantial chunk of my child tax credit to cover the rent that the HB doesn't.
I really, really need to move before June, because if any of my circs change after June I will be moved over to UC, and I am shitting myself.

The thing is I am an intelligent, hard working, resourceful person. and yet this attack (and it does feel like an attack) is breaking me. I am on fucking anti depressants due to the stress and worry, and the uncertainty, not to mention the feeling of utter powerlessness.
I am so far from being a "poor me" person, and have always risen above adversity, but every day I get less and less optimistic.

I saw the This Morning propaganda too, and had to switch it off in rage.
I am just so fucking angry. This government has turned me from a moderate lefty, to a rampant militant Socialist.
Surely not the intention of the Tories, to create a whole new demographic of Socialist activists?

(In answer to your earlier question sockreturning, the 3 bed would be cheaper than the lha for a two bed.)

Then you will be able to claim the LHA for a two bed and as its cheaper than the LHA you will be fine. as long as the house is not allocated in any way by the LA, if your still worried you can ask for a pre tenancy determination.

You would be surprised at the volume of people who are impacted by UC who have no clue what going to happen to them in October this year,working people who have always worked who think they a safe.

You would be surprised at the volume of people who are impacted by UC who have no clue what going to happen to them in October this year,working people who have always worked who think they a safe.

Sock some of them were making nasty comments last night and it was coming through my fb feed. And then in the next breath (after the slut shaming) one of them mentioned the fact that she is on working tax credit. She obviously spends her time reading Closer/Daily Mail/Woman delete as appropriate and watching Philip "sssh dont tell" Schofield and Holly Handmaiden on TM. Therefore im guessing she and others like her have no idea whats coming.
And when it hits you can bet they will expect support from the very people they are now vilifying!

Quite.

There going to be gobsmacked when they learn that they can be sent on workfare at 48 hours notice and if they refuse then sanction of HB WTC for 3 months first time and up to 3 years second time,even if they are due in paid work that day.

Perhaps you should tell them.all in the sprit of fore warning of course

"Surely not the intention of the Tories, to create a whole new demographic of Socialist activists?"

The only positive I can glean from all this is that at least the changes are coming in, with enough time for them to start to bite before the general election.

I'm hoping it'll politicise the young and previously indifferent so we can get them out of power.

(Although it does make you wonder, what do they have planned for after the next election, should they get in again?! I really hope we never have the chance to find out.)

Sockreturningpixie are you saying that working people who claim HB / WTC can be sent on workfare too?

Are you saying that working people are going to be made to do workfare?
I sure hope not, that would be wrong on many levels

From what I understand, yes, if they are deemed not to be working enough/enough hours.

I think not workfare, but plans at present do include sanctions if the DWP thinks you're not earning enough - and harassment encouragement to work more hours.

The DWP documents I read last autumn did say that all UC recipients who were not earning a full week's worth of minimum wage would be expected to get their earnings up to that level. If the DWP thinks it's found you a better-paid job (ie, full time on NMW) it would be empowered to make you do it even if the job was temporary. It could demand that you spend 35 hours a week looking for work on its shite new website, which will track your visits and activity. The jobcentre could call you in for meetings at any time, to find out what you're doing about getting your earnings up and you would have to attend, even if you were due in at work.

Some of this will be revised. Universal Credit is still being made up as they go along. You might find these Telegraph articles interesting:
textual harassment
2 million will better off refusing work - interesting, as Cameron says 1 million will be better off working! Numpties.

This is a good article: How UC will destroy part-time work.

The government still doesn't seem to have noticed that there aren't enough jobs for people who are actively looking. If I were dead cynical, I might think this is just to get all the low-paid vacancies filled, then they can herd all the remaining unemployed into some micro-managed workfare pool.

However, I'm trying to sort out my own benefits farrago atm and the anxiety's making me very ill. So I'll look on the positive side and suggest that maybe the govt's going to force employers to hire more people, possibly by flooding them with texts and phone calls

I knew about that bit - I think many part-time workers will indeed be very surprised when they find themselves treated like "dole scum".

It also applies to the self-employed. IIRC if you're not earning the equivalent of minimum wage after the first year of your new business, and are getting tax credits / HB, then you'll be required to prove what you're doing to find work.

That's totally at odds with any advice on new businesses. If you're breaking even after the first year that's meant to be good isn't it? No wonder they've axed the "Business Link" website (really good - for once! - government website giving advice on setting up your own business). It would have been dishing out totally contradictory advice to UC guidance.