has anyone else heard about the bedroom tax?on sky news theres a link.htpp;//news.sky.com/story/1193394/bed... a loophole been found in

[bluebell10]

legistration drafted by dwp loophole means working age tenants in social housing who have occupied same house since 1996 are exempt,loophole exists because h/b legislations dating from 1996 were not updated when the coalition drafted the law on spare room subsides,i copied this from a text someone sent me on my phone i don't know how to send links properly so i copied it. then some one said no its only if you been recieving h/b since 1996,i hope it's only since you been in same house,i think il fone council tomoro to see what they say as this is the 1st ive heard of it.has anyone else heard anything?

[Hidden]

It seems that if you have lived in the same house for more than 17 yrs and your claim has not changed since 1996 then yes you are entitled to a discount. Hope I have read this right

[bluebell10 in reply to Hidden]

o ok yes ive lived here 30yrs but have only been claiming for 9yrs continuous

[Hidden]

I've heard that was true, however as far as I know the DWP are trying to over turn that loop hole

[bluebell10 in reply to Hidden]

they would wouldn't they!

[Hidden]

It is not so much a loop hole just a entitlement for people who have lived in their homes since 1996 . I have read that soon it will be made more difficult to use this entitlement but how true that is I have no idea. With issues like this it is a matter of get it whilst you can before they take it away has they seem to be taking most things away. I also read they are trying to over turn this 'bedroom tax' again who knows. If you remember they had to over turn the ' poll tax ' back to council tax because of the uproar it made so we can only live in hope I guess.

Kind regards

Katheryn x

[bluebell10 in reply to Hidden]

hi katheryn,yes they always find a way out of things don't they,maybe thats why ive been given dhp til april x

[michaelb62]

I know my reply may come across as a bit controversial however it is not meant to upset anyone i am just going to be stating a fact. I got divorced in 2008 and had my daughter live with me in private rented accommodation I had two bedrooms costing me £750 pcm however when she moved out i was only entitled to one bedroom and as i couldn't get a council property this meant my housing benefit was £442 meaning i had to find the other £300 I couldn't afford to do that for obvious reasons and moved to a one bed place which still costs me £600 and i am still only entitled to £442 so it is still a very hard struggle every month to find the extra rent needed. I can't afford my heating to be on and some weeks like this week i cannot afford food as i have to make sure my rent money is in the bank ready to be paid on the 18th but my next lot of money doesn't go in until 23rd so from no until the 23rd i cannot afford anything. My argument to the bedroom tax is that the rent is so much cheaper than private housing I am now on the housing list and banded gold because i desperately need a ground floor property because i have fallen down the stairs here 3 times in 8 months because of my knees giving way. If i had a council house and it had two bedrooms i wouldn't mind paying the bedroom tax as it would still be cheaper than living in the private rental accommodation i currently have. I think it is wrong that there should be one rule for some (social housing tenants) and another for private rental tenants. I do understand that some people have lived in their houses and aided families in them etc. but as i said even with the bedroom tax it is still cheaper than non social housing. Again i haven't written this to upset anyone that is in social housing but just pointing out that it should be a fair system when it comes to the housing benefit. I know that some of the properties that i am bidding on are only £68 a week i am paying over double that a week. I think it is unfair that people who have carers living with them even if it is there partners should possibly be rebooked into if the partner is sleeping in the second bedroom but then how do you prove that and as much as i need a carer I am only allowed to apply for a one bedroom property. Obviously these are just my thoughts on the issue and i know a lot of people will disagree with my opinion but social housing was introduced for people who couldn't afford their own housing it has always only been rented accommodation my landlord could tell me tomorrow i need to leave the property as the owners want to sell so i guess equally the housing people have that right too.

[bluebell10 in reply to michaelb62]

oh michael,you must be finding that so hard! & yes i can see where you're coming from & if i was in yr position i would think the same.it is so unfair that you should have to pay all this amount,i don't understand why you have to pay so much if yr only in a 1 bed i thought that people in a 1 bed or whatever to meet their needs got full housing benefit, if youre not working. i really do hope that you get a council place soon, as it goes i could not ever afford private rent even when my husband & myself where both working,& i do still need to stay where i am due to personal reasons but i wish you good luck

[michaelb62 in reply to bluebell10]

The problem i am finding is that I have to bid each week on properties that are available but last week for instance there wasn't one property that was ground floor so i have to wait until this week and hope there is something on there. My other gripe with the council is that the bungalows they have you have to be 60+ which means i can't apply for those and other properties are 55 and over so i don't qualify for those then there is supported housing which again cannot apply for. so i have to rely on a ground floor 1 bed flat becoming vacant. I queried the age thing with the housing people this week and the reason they have given is that they have kept the bungalows at the over 60s so that they cannot be sold off. Well I would never be able to get a mortgage anyway and have no interest in buying a property again ever. I feel it is ageist that they specify an age for these properties and my consultant and OT felt it was completely wrong. They have said if there were extenuating circumstances they would consider me for a bungalow but my insomnia doesn't count as one even though i am normally awake until the early hours of the day and fall asleep at around 6 in the morning all i can hope is that if and when i get somewhere the soundproofing is good because i really can't stand to be anywhere that is noisy. I have a falling i will be waiting for a long time yet even though i have sent them a letter from my consultant who is concerned about my health here because of the stairs and the instability of my knees. I am terrified of falling and being stuck for days as sometimes i don't see anyone for days. I really can't afford to keep on paying this amount of rent. I have stayed in bed today where it is warmer and has meant i don't have to go up and down the stairs for the bathroom.

[bluebell10 in reply to michaelb62]

i no that bidding things a pain!luckily i didin't have to do that,it wasn't in place when i got my house but my my daughter in law has had to bid & they waited ages,but no the council won't take yr insomnia into account,have you been to citizens advice? i don't no if maybe they'l be able to help you,

[michaelb62 in reply to bluebell10]

Hi Bluebell i have tried everything now have to be patient just hoping there is something for me to bid on this week as it is disheartening if there is nothing to bid on as you know you aren't getting anywhere.

[bluebell10 in reply to michaelb62]

i no & i do sympathise with you& just hope theres something for you this week x

[claredevon1]

I have Fibromyalgia.CPS/CFS associated depression.

I often have my father to stay with me and he cares for me by stocking up on meals shopping etc. He stays several times a month. I explained this to my doctor,housing department and council.They have not charged me for the spare bedroom.Maybe this would help.

[bluebell10 in reply to claredevon1]

hi claredevon,yes im sure yr exempt if you have carer x

[Shazzzy]

Hi bluebell 10

This rule only applies to people eho have lived in the property and claimed housing benefit since 1996. I also agree with Michael it should not be 2 different sets of rules, i totally understand the difficulties involved in renting privately and not being able to afford food, heat, tv etc, not to mention the uncertainty inherent in the tenancy. Hope the situation improves very soon.

[bluebell10 in reply to Shazzzy]

hi shazzy,yes i too agree that it shouldn't be 2 different rules & it's disgusting the way ppl are being treated...no one should have to go without food & heat & i hope michael is given a council place soon x

[Hidden]

What gets me angry over the bed room tax is bring called a benefit scrounger when I have paid full council rent for almost 40 yrs. I could have bought the blooming house twice over. I still have to pay full rent because our son lives with us and was only entitled to 4 pound a week benefit before the tax.

[bluebell10 in reply to Hidden]

hi mayrose,we also had to pay full rent for 32 yrs

i also could of brought house by now but didn't earn enough to get a mortgage as i had to pay rent & feed 5 kids i had to leave my job 3 yrs ago due to health & then only got some benefit as i still had 2 kids left here but now they have their own places,but i dont see why i should have to move when ive paid money to get it how i want & me & my husband both have health probs so have our own rooms & my son stay wk ends to do stuff for us that we can't do ourselves & heavy shopping etc.

[Hidden in reply to bluebell10]

Our problems with getting a mortgage was health.Hubby with arthritis and me having intercranial hypertension witch had already caused a brain hemerage.there was no way we could get a mortgage. bad risk