To think that if your answer to complaining about Bedroom Tax is "get a smaller house", you are a bit thick?

[MarmaladeTwatkins]

Where IS this glut of smaller properties, just waiting to be filled by people being stung by the bedroom tax?

TWICE today I have heard supposedly intelligent people say "Well if they don't want to pay the bedroom tax, they need to move to a smaller house."

Fucking depressing. I think it earmarks you as being a bit hard of thinking if that is your solution. :(

Our own tenancy agreement specifically prohibits taking in lodgers. A lot of them do so you need to look at your agreement.

The rules for tenancies are very different to the benefit rules the benefit rules only apply to the actual benefit where as the tenancy rules apply to the actual tenancy.

If you breach tenancy rules your evicted plain and simple.

Many tenancies will prohibit you doing things that the benefit section will allow.

I've checked my tenancy agreement and it says that I can take in a lodger but I must notify the council. So it's allowed by the tenancy, although it would affect my benefits at the moment, but after October it wouldn't be.

Well, ours is HA and it is very specific about lodgers. Many are. And many councils have now transferred their stock to HAs, so check if you want to do this because, HB recipient or no, if you violate your tenancy agreement you may find yourself in very serious trouble, particularly if you are evicted due to agreement violation.

It's a bit unfair that HA tenants are treated differently from council, our tenancy is council and the majority of social housing here is still council, not HA, thankfully. It is definitely a good idea to check with the landlord first, but I would do that anyway to make sure. No point risking a secure tenancy.

I am with a HA and they were very specific about what I could and could not do with regards to my tenancy. I am not allowed to take in lodgers or sublet in any way. No room for me to do so anyway though. This house can also not be bought from them as it is strictly a social housing property although they do build for shared ownership locally too.

No right to buy here, either, and it is to be outlawed entirely in Scotland in 2017.

And don't count on HB actually letting you do it after October that part of the rules still haven't been finalised.

We swapped with HomeSwapper 5 years ago, trading our 2 bedroom bungalow (actually 1 bedroom, 1 teeeeeeny boxroom) for a 3 bedroom semidetached. We swapped with an older couple that wanted a smaller property as all their children had grown up and moved out. I am very aware of how lucky we were to get that swap. Just was right combination of people/property at the right time, really. Luck.

But the concern with homeswapping - we were told by both councils (as we were located in two different areas) that the properties were swapped "as is" and if we found things that were in poor repair, we'd have to fix them ourselves. And that either party could pull out of the swap at any time up until the paperwork was signed, with no recourse, so they could have pulled out the day of the move and left us high and dry with movers to pay and everything. Some people are not willing to take that chance (or can't afford the risk).

Triggles, I have known people who were left high and dry by people who pulled out of swaps like that. And one whose swapper left the entire home FULL of crap. They couldn't even more in. Had to get a hotel and hire a skip.

Exactly, expat. I think they need to tighten things up in that regard - perhaps have a walk through two weeks prior to move and sign paperwork then, and hold both parties responsible somehow.

Home swopper are just a data base for mutual exchange

This means that every single swop is done on a mutual exchange basis.

The LA only has to resolve health and safety issues because they are all swopped as is.

I've seen some shocking ones kitchen units mouldy and hanging off the walls one that had been set fire to. A bath full of human shit one even had a cows dead body on the living room floor.

Our town has a Facebook Home Swap group, people DO exchange via it but there are a lot who mess around too.