Challenging the Bedroom Tax

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Members of the Leicestershire Anti- Bedroom Tax Federation and the UNITE Community trade union who went to Leicester City Council’s Housing Scrutiny Commission last night felt that they had some success. Andy Connolly, Assistant City Mayor responsible for Housing, and a number of councillors on the commission said that they would be prepared to consider a non-eviction policy for those hit by the Bedroom Tax. This was a result of the questions and points put to them by us, and the fact that the public gallery was packed with people listening to their answers.

It is clear from the answers and the reports given to the meeting on the impact of the Bedroom Tax, that many of the poorest people in Leicester are suffering badly as a result. The proportion of tenants affected by the Bedroom Tax who were in arrears of rent doubled in the first three months of it coming in. In cash terms it was an increase of about £100,000.

The main solution offered to people is to downsize to a smaller property. Yet it is also clear from the figures that there are not enough suitable homes to make that possible. There are currently around 2,400 Leicester City Council tenants and families affected. Yet in the first three months of it coming in, only 73 were moved, all but four of those were to one bedroom properties. All of those that went to a house with more than one bedroom were through mutual exchange. Not one single affected family waiting on the Housing Register to downsize to a two bedroom house was able to get one through it!

Many people hit by the Bedroom Tax do not in fact have a “spare bedroom”, including people who are affected by illness and disability and those who care for their children part of the week because they are parents who don’t live together. In many cases it is not possible to move. But even if they do want to, the lack of suitable housing will make it impossible.

The Council say they have not yet evicted anyone directly as a result of the Bedroom Tax.  However 910 letters of “Notice of Seeking Possession” for people’s houses have been issued by the council from April to June. Some tenants who were already in arrears before their situation was compounded by being hit by the Bedroom Tax are further down the road for eviction and have been given court dates.

The council therefore has to look at the issue urgently.

There are other issues that we need to take up, for example a small number of tenants may get temporary help through Discretionary Housing Payments. However disabled tenants who get the Disability Living Allowance (or now PIP) have that money treated as income when their entitlement to DHP is assessed. This is wrong and we will demand the council change that policy.

The next step is to meet Councillor Connolly, with our worked our demands. It is good that they said they would “consider” a non eviction policy however some, like Councillor Kitterick, were already suggesting caveats to that. We need to build up the pressure now to try to make it happen, and we need to discuss the detail to make sure we get a policy that doesn’t penalise people who through no fault of their own find themselves in the desperate position of potentially losing their home.