The bedroom tax

[jonicomelately]

How can anyone support a Government who inflict this on people? There are no words...

www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/brutality-bedroom-tax-exposed-disgraceful-9911421

Yes it's just fabulous that more disabled people and children are living in poverty.

I didn't say the tories didn't win fair and square. The left aren't really in melt down, people love the tories? Umm no they don't in any other election their win would have been called marginal not hailed a great success.

And yes life will be good under the tories, for the upper middle classes and the elite whose wealth and privilege will be consilidated by them. For any one normal, young, trying to improve themselves with their own merit, it will be terrible.

Sorry but it's just not true that life will be terrible for anyone 'normal' under the Tories. What is 'normal' in your definition? I didn't vote for them, specifically because of what's been happening to disabled people, because I would have done otherwise, but I'm a pretty average person and nothing terrible has affected my life just because of who's in government.

I think when you look at what is happening, especially with the changes to things that matter to young people, life is going to get harder for people under the tories.

In work benefits will be cut, services for children to be cut.

Real terms cuts in education funding for students aged 11-16 ( Cameron said it wouldn't change, but confirmed it wouldn't rise with inlfation either). At the same time as these budget cuts GCSEs and A level changes are coming in designed to make things more "rigourous" which actually don't and are just changes to grade boundaries more than anything else.

The removal of the grants to poorer students, the fact that those under 25 won't be able to claim HB and will get a lower level of JSA or have it removed completely.

Life is going to get harder for the majority, and the fools that vote them in will clap them all the way despite life getting harder. All because the people who got everything for nothing are taking away meager benefits from those who have very little.

Well, I'm with you on the changes to education, but I don't see having to go through the new system making my child's normal life 'terrible'. That's just scaremongering.

A lot of 'normal' people didn't get student grants under labour either.

Not all normal, average people are reliant on benefits you know.

If there are any cuts that are going to affect the majority, then it's the cuts to the NHS. But again, my family received properly shit NHS care under labour as well, so I don't think Ill see much difference.

When I went to university only 15% could go! Now about half do so I'm not sure it's worse now.

In fact the main thing young people will like under the Tories (and a better economy) is more jobs. There really is starting to be a turn around in the South East in terms of more jobs being available after a really dreadful period with hardly any so I suspect that more than anything else will help young people.

I keep seeing suggestions that DLA should be used to pay for rent heating etc DLA is for costs associated with disability The title is Disability Living Allowance Bit of a giveaway really.

Midnite re. your comment how ppl will eventually get used to moving a lot during their lifetime. I take it you mean ppl in social housing. What about the disruption to ppls jobs and education. Well thats ok innit More fodder for workfare. If ppl keep moving the state will be picking up more of the tab to care for elderly and disabled ppl. You cant expect their families to keep doing it if they have been forced to move miles away.

Do you really think social housing tenants are going to spend what little money they have on decorating if they keep having to move house!

Helena- you know the bedroom tax applies to private tenants too (and has done for decades) don't you?

None of the problems you've listed are specific to social housing tenants. Most of the population has to make their housing choices based on what they can afford rather than what they'd like, and all private tenants are funded only for what they need. Social housing tenants in receipt of HB are now in the same situation as everyone else. They've had an advantage removed- not a disadvantage applied.

My old neighbour lost her very much loved home of 20 years because she was deemed to be underoccupying, with her son grown up and left home. She had only recently gone on Housing ben - spent most of her time as a single mum working hard as a self employed tradeswoman but her business went under due to no fault of her own in the recession. So she had paid the rent herself, from her wages, for most of that 20 years.

Guess what the council did?

A £10,000 refurb then.... moved in an unemployed family with 2 toddlers, also underoccupying, also (according to the new tenant herself) paying bedroom tax! It beggars belief. Of course, mummy and daddy or someone is helping them out so they have the money to suck it up but the previous tenant - who was a nice woman - didn't. Worse still, they got the house despite having been kicked out of a neighbouring area's social housing. For Antisocial Behaviour.

Now they have an incentive to have a third child on the State. If they did they wouldn't have to pay Bedroom Tax.

Superb, tories. Well done.

I have seen quite a few reports online in forums about nuisance neighbours reporting the same thing. Bedroom Tax has got rid of old, established tenants who were just ordinary people and now those who take over the houses cos they have the most points are all druggies, alcoholics, people with other issues. So it is devastating whole areas.

My MP doesnt want to know as he voted for the Bedroom Tax and even acknoledging what has happened here, would be like admitting he was wrong.

But don't fool yourselves, those who support the Bedroom tax, that it is used to clear the way for lovely young families to get much needed homes. The government could perfectly well put money into building cheap rental homes if it had the will. It is being used to discredit social housing even further by chucking out the ordinary people and replacing them with ASB tenants who have a bit of money to spare because the real agenda is to end social housing and it is easier to demonise those in 'social housing' by filling it with utter twunts.

Saucy so basically "ive been mugged so my neighbour should be mugged too"

The rights of private tenants should have been INcreased instead of the rights of social housing tenants being DEcreased.

Another example of the race to the bottom.

Helena homeowners have to move when financial circumstances change. We sold much-loved house we could no longer afford some time after I went on maternity leave.

That's your opinion Helena. I personally think one must have led a very charmed existence to think only being funded for the size accomodation that you need- rather than what you want- constitutes being mugged.

There have been unfair applications of it (such as the man in the OP's article) but I can't honestly say I find it outrageous that those who actively want to continue to live in a much bigger property than they need should be expected to contribute towards the rent.

Joffrey are you really blaming the Tories for your feckless new neighbours? Please tell me you can see what an idiotic statement you made?

Its called an analogy Saucy.

How is Joffreys statement idiotic. The ppl she mentions are living there because the previous tenant had to leave.

Bottlecap that is part of being a homeowner. You also get to own your house at the end of paying the mortgage.

Joffreys ex neighbour payed a full mortgages worth of rent and then had to leave.

And before anyone says renting is a choice so is having children.

Because she is blaming a political party for someone's actions.

Ffs, take some responsibility for our lives! Sure it's sad when you have to leave the family home. My nana was very upset at having to sell and move but she couldn't maintain her house anymore.

Under occupying a house that is needed by others? Why shouldn't people have to move if they are? They don't own the house, it's not theirs.

Regardless of how long they've lived there.

It often seems that those on benefits don't realise ordinary workers who have no benefits get to stay near their support networks, never have to move, have homes for life etc whereas the reality is people like I am had to move hundreds of miles for work, had to move regularly when the children were small and never have to downsize when they get made redundant or are too old to pay the upkeep on their house. it is not some gilded existence for the middle classes who buy a home and earn £40k a year. it's quite tough at times. One reason the Tories got in is many people decided enough was enough and the fact those in work might have to share houses, have lots of children sharing bed rooms etc whereas those not in work or in work but on benefits seem to have a higher entitlement protected by law than middle class workers.

The self employed lady who was helped out by the state when her businses went under is lucky - lucky there is a welfare state at all and that her fellow voters are prepared to work very hard to help her out in times of need.

Stoned the house Joffreys new neighbours are living in is still under occupied. Says so in her post.

Janet she was "helped" out of her home. And im betting she was paying National Insurance while she was working so "helped out by the state" is a disingenuous statement

Yes but you can under occupy, if you can afford it.

Saucy no bedroom tax does not apply to private tenants. The Lha applies to the average cost of the size of property deemed necessary. If tenants can find a cheap three bed and have two young dc for example their HB is not reduced.

Do you have a partner Janet?

Why wouldn't I blame the tories? My (tory) MP was in favour of it. He refused to act even when he found out that a tenant was made homeless due to the bedroom tax only to be replaced (after an expensive refurb) by... another tenant paying bedroom tax. If he puts his head in the sand when confronted with his failure, then he is at fault. Worse still when it was later exposed that the new tenants had already been kicked out of another area's social housing for ASB - still no-one acted to get them evicted and give the house up to someone who needed it.

When the new tenant came to look at the house, she said she was living in a nice private rental - detached house in the nearby city. But only put a bid in on tis "because of the French windows". ie: not homeless. But someone else was made homeless to clear the way for ASB tenants.

If this is going on all over the place - and it appears that it is - then the bedroom tax is being used by politicians who are anti social housing, to gain an objective.

No-one will care about the death of social housing if council houses are filled with antisocial, and problematic tenants.

that a tenant was made homeless due to the bedroom tax only to be replaced (after an expensive refurb) by... another tenant paying bedroom tax.
so the second tenant (albeit antisocial) was making up the HB shortfall (that you refer to as the bedroom tax) - that is how it works (not always the way we would want it to - that less deserving people can move in)

Really, ollie? Couldn't a homeless or overcrowded family make up the shortfall and leave the ASB folk in their private detached rental? I can't believe my council even need to be housing non-homeless unemployed people from a different council district, when there MUST be lots of really needy families already right here...

The reason they didn't pick up the ASB was they only asked for a reference from the last landlord and they'd had no problem presumably as it was detached so no-one to complain.

They were not homeless. They were not about to be evicted. The woman herself told me she bid for the house because she liked the French windows.

And to clarify: I only mention they are unemployed as the reason the council opened up our housing to people from neighbouring districts, was the excuse that people might need to move for work.

Well 2 years on and no work has yet happened. Meanwhile I am sure the council's own waiting lists are chock full of people actually from here, who need a home and do need to be here for work reasons.