Bedroom Tax

[Biddy_ALUK]

Good afternoon Everyone,

From 1st April 2013 there will be changes to housing benefit. The bedroom tax will be introduced, which means there will be size criteria when calculating housing benefit. It will replicate the current Local Housing Allowance (LHA), which is currently in place for tenants of private landlords. This will apply to any tenants of Registered Social Landlords (RSL) i.e. Housing Associations, council tenants. The tax will not apply to tenants who are over Pension Credit age.

To simplify, this means that you can claim HB based on the number of people in your home. The rooms you can claim for are as follows....

One bedroom is allowed for:

An adult

A couple

A child, or other adult of the household aged 16 or over.

Any 2 children of the same sex, up to the age of 16.

Any 2 children, regardless of sex, up to age 10.

Any other child (other than a foster child or child whose main home is elsewhere). In this case any extra rent would be expected to be paid out of fostering allowance

Or a non-resident carer, who regularly provides overnight care for a disabled claimant.

HB for any rooms in excess of those deemed 'needed' will be reduced by:

14% if you have 1 extra bedroom

25% if you have 2 or more extra bedrooms

Who will be affected?

All claimants who are deemed to have at least one extra bedroom will be affected.

This includes:

Separated parents who share the care of their children and who may have been allocated an extra bedroom to reflect this.

Couples who use their ‘spare’ bedroom when recovering from an illness or operation.

Foster carers, because foster children are not counted as part of the household for benefit purposes

Families with disabled children.

Disabled people including people living in adapted or specially designed properties.

If you are under 35 and single you will get HB for one bedroom in shared accommodation.

For more detailed information see:

disabilityrightsuk.org/f55.htm

See the 'Housing costs element', this will also link to 'housing benefit'.

Oh, and Happy New Year!

Biddy.

[mogli712]

We are all in it together

[vittorio in reply to mogli712]

- only if you are , like 97% of this Government - a Millionaire ! I notice more and more that Cameron's name is INCREASINGLY BEING SPELT ON THE INTERNET AND "LETTER'S PAGES IN THE PRESS WITH AN "O" AFTER THE " M" ! - are people trying to tell him something ? !!!.....

[buny993]

WELL some one has to pay for mps allowences and don't have to show to public exspeses they will not be sattified until the soup kitches are open p-awn brokers have all of any value and work houses are the norm for the poor created by them.soon local athorites

be looking after care in the comunites so you can b et moor cuts e need a revolution but aint got the guts or like me to ill nuklier deterant y they want it so they can sit at world meetings

if it starts we can all say goodbye.while they will be in fallout shelters.

[Daxiemad]

I know I will probably get my bum kicked for this, but I think that in some situations those living in accommodation that succeeds their needs do need to either downsize or pay the extra costs. Everyone should be assessed on an individual basis, I feel that it is grossly unfair that those over pension credit age are not affected. I see many social housing homes in my area lived in by the elderly that are far bigger than they require, when so many others are living in overcrowded homes or B and B accommodation. I am not saying that these elderly people should be chucked out on their ear, that is not fair. It should be tenancy for life and not a particular property for life. The disabled and vulnerable are not being treated well under these forthcoming changes, but with the increased pressure on the welfare system some things do need to change, just think the state has gone about it the wrong way.

[Hidden]

When will the rest of the country catch up, we have a government that only slave for the rich, they let an mp go on holiday, when she should have been working for the country, It seems that Nero is back and is content with playing..!.

Now that this bedroom tax is in, can i ask if anybody remembers seeing old houses with bricked up windows, they where done around the time of the 1700's, for the nearly the very same reason, it just goes to show history will always repeat it's self while the tories are in charge.

Happy new year.

[Gordon57]

I'm now thinking of my Dad. He moved to a sheltered housing council flat with Mum many years ago. It is classed as 2 bedroom, despite the smaller room being too small to fit a normal single bed in!

Due to cutbacks the warden has been finished and the call system no longer works, so it's not what we would really want for him now, but he does not want to move at his age. Mum passed last year and he's now on his own. He knows a few of his neighbours and does not go out very much because he can't on his own.

Because he is rather fragile, my sisters and nieces sometimes stay over, but do not actually live there as residents. That 'spare bedroom' may only be used for a 10th of a year, but without it he would probably not cope.

The council are trying to get him to move as the flat is considered too big for him, but he's digging his heels in and I don't blame him. At least these new rules are not going to see his housing benefit cut as he's well above the pension credit age. I know that I would be creating hell if it had affected him.

[thatcham1939]

my sons wife mother, whes husband died in july, his wife had a phone call from the council to say she was to get out off her house because they needed 3bd houses, the distessing thing was that her husband was to be cemated in 6dys time. which i thought was very insenitive

jan

[libby7827 in reply to thatcham1939]

That is diabolical and I would not let that rest there Jan. I didn't think they're allowed to do that now? My next door neighbour lives alone in a 3 bed house since I came here 13 years ago and has never been told he has to leave. Maybe they can find her a nice 1 - 2 bed bungalow, oh, on second thoughts, they're probably none available. So, she will have to privately rent and if she is receiving housing benefit this will cost them more in hb than they are paying now as the rents are much higher. What ultimately happened Jan? Libby x

[thatcham1939 in reply to libby7827]

my sons mother-in-law is still in the house,so my and his wife have started to clear it a bit.

not only the house problem this man went to see his doctor who dianosed pneumia and was sent to hospital they gave him some antibiotics and sent him home.

he was so bad that admitted him to another hospital,he had a decayed gall, bladder so they took it out and then he went downagain to to remove a clot in his stomach, i have never come across bad treatment, they should never have operated, raj died 6hrs later.

i was anurse and worked on wards and on the district i think it is dispicable the way some nursed treat thier patients, i will tell you one funny incident i had to go to a 92yr old lady, one day she hit me round the face, i said why did you do that, her answer i would not argue with her. i must admit i was give the difficult patients, but also had good ones

love jan xx

[libby7827 in reply to thatcham1939]

Hi Jan, a terrible experience for you all, in a way it's easier to lose a loved one after a long illness, I know I was so relieved for my mum when she finally went, even though I still miss her like hell 18 years later, but to lose someone quite suddenly like your father in law must be horrendous for your mother in law. I really don't know how people cope, especially when they're old and in ill health themselves. Makes me half glad I'm on my own and no husband to lose! Had to laugh at the old lady who clobbered you - I feel like clobbering my community matron sometimes, a bit of bedside manner would come in handy occasionally. She comes in and will not deviate from HER set plan of what she is going to do, it's like I'm not allowed to mention anything else. Worse than a doctor! At 60 though, I don't think I'm old enough to freak out with her and get away with it! Ha ha ha, Libby x

[thatcham1939 in reply to libby7827]

hi libby

i can tell some extremly funny things from nursing.

luckly having a lovely family and surrounded by love makes a lot of difference.

i am horridfied at what goes on the nursing proffesion, most of there nursing work is done in universiy so where is the practicle side the istnt any. i still think as i did many years ago that they go for the glamour. theres always chance that they will find a nice doctor to romance for

love jan xxxxxx