General Chat

Just a thought to add to the post, According to "Eric Pickles" many councils have Millions in a reserve funds for emergencies etc. What? is to stop them using this extra money now when it is needed,?,perhaps a swift kick up the rear might help them.**M**.

Hampshire County Council has £3million in 'reserve'. But has cut jobs, pay for the plebs, social care for the elderly, children's centres and schools...but it IS building private care homes, as it slowly closes and sells off council ones.... It has also made a 'profit' on last years cuts. Well done them!! They (Winchester & Hampshire) have managed, over the past 5 years to build, on average 50 social houses a year in the city - instead of the 150 they were meant to.

There are 4 areas on the outskirts of the city that are ripe for the development of social housing. Winchester City council has applied for planning permission and been refused by Hampshire county council on all 4 plots.

Buckingham palace has 240 bedrooms and is funned by tax
i wonder if lizzy

will have to down size to a one bedroomed flat :-D :-D

In 2010 David Cameron promised his government will be the most family friendly government in history.

I applaud any politician who says that family life is important, but it really infuriates me when they make promises like that and then bring in polices that make a total mockery of their promises :-\

Well wherever you live forget about making plans to come and stay with any of your relations for a few days, as this so called Bedroom Tax will totally screw up your plans as your relations will no longer be able to put you up :-(

Parties in opposition always seem to make promises they can’t keep. That might be because they aren’t privy to the true financial budget and implications at that time.

Add to that circumstances out of their control such as changes in the International Economic situation – something has to ‘give’!

Heard on the radio this morning, they're talking about changing Article 8 of the human rights act:

"1. Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence.

2. There shall be no interference by a public authority with the exercise of this right except such as is in accordance with the law and is necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security, public safety or the economic well-being of the country, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others."

To stop terrorists using it to stay in this country.

.....I wonder if it can be used against the bedroom tax - or perhaps that's the real reason they want to change the wording....

By insisting that married couples SHOULD sleep in the same bedroom, even if they never have in the past, isn't that against number 1?
There was a case of a woman with emphysemia, who's husband slept in the second bedroom, because, as the woman said, when she slept, it sounded like a steam train!!

http://www.liberty-human-rights.org.uk/human-rights/human-rights/the-human-rights-act/what-the-rights-mean/article-8-right-to-a-private-and-family-life.php

not sure how this bedroom tax thing is going to work. Its all very well if its just a bedroom, but what about kitchen and bathroom facilities. That is a real intrusion on a family imo. Also how are overheads, such as heating etc., going to be shared.
Alot more thought will have to go into this, to make it effective.

Sue

There's also a small loophole - what if you use a spare bedroom as a study? Can it be insisted it's a bedroom if you don't use it as one?
If that's the case, then anyone in accommodation, with a seperate dining room could soon find themselves paying bedroom tax on the dining room, as it COULD be used as a bedroom!

Hi all
not been on the threads for a few week's but as I put this up I thought I'd better show my miserable face.
This whole thing has really got to me and I'm not coping well at all,

If your HA / Landlord has deemed your property as 2/3 or 4 bedroom that is what it is whether or not you use the extra room as something else, if it says 2 bedroom on your rent agreement that is what it is even if you use it as a study/ dining room/ craft room or something else, the only way to get round this is if your HA / Landlord were to reclassify your property.

If you want to learn more about different loopholes that are being looked into and you are on Facebook there is a group called = Bedroom Tax...think its unfair..join the fight here, if you put that into the search bar in should take you to the group.

take care all

Diane ( Liverpool Lass ) x

I know one housing association in Scotland has reclassified it's property. Problems may occur on those who were getting HB for a 2 bedroom, when it's been re-calssified as a 1 bedroom - will they have to pay the extra back?

Having said that, around here, the difference in rent between a 1 bedroom council flat & a 3 bedroom council house is £5!!
Cheaper to pay the overpayment back than the £14 per room.

my wife works for qa local housing ass.
there chief exec thinks that the bedroom tax combined with the universal benefit will result in aprox 1 million pounds in rent arears
the only way you can get a property from them at the moment is to come out of prison or a hostel
all the housing officers are having to visit all effected tennents to explain the situation to them
if you are a couple with a child under 10 you are classed as only needing 1 bedroom
more information here
http://www.channel4.com/news/the-bedroom-tax-the-key-questions
in private accomadation you do not get housing benefit you ge local housing allowance where they pay the decread local rate which is usually lower than what you will be paying
under 30 and single you are only entitled in bham to£50 week for a room in a shared house
under 25 you are entitled to nothing so if you left home due to abuse or family breakdown too bad

Putting people into private accommodation will result in MORE housing benefit than leaving them where they are.

Don't the plonkers in government realise that buying a house is now out of most people's pockets, and selling off council houses is only going to lead to less houses for those on an average income to live in, and what is needed is MORE 2 and 3 bedroomed social housing houses to be built.

Unlike the government (all parties) the majority of the population don't have 'mummies & daddies' with a spare mansion or two that the children can move in to.

The government seem to think that those on low incomes are there by their own fault, ie, if you'd worked hard enough in your youth, (not that they did - they worked for 'daddy' or 'uncle' on a fast track) you too could have become a millionaire.
But where would they be without their underpaid cleaners and nannies?.......not forgetting police, nurses and care workers - someone's got to wipe granny's bottom, and care workers in private homes, are, as a rule paid less than those in council run homes.

Today is the day when the chancellor and a small team of senior civil servants and political advisers gather at his country retreat Dorneywood House which has "21 rooms" to discuss what to do in the Budget on 20 March.

I wonder if he will be discussing ways to avoid the Bedroom Tax and Mansion Tax ;-)

Interesting ....

http://www.guardian.co.uk/housing-network/2013/feb/26/tenants-exempted-bedroom-tax-reclassify

another sting in the tail as i understand it
if you do not qualify for full housing benefit and have extra bedrooms
your benefit is cut by the percentage of the full rent not of the benefit you recieve

Terry I'm not sure of that one as I don't know if it is 14%/25% of full rent or 14%/25% of the benefits you recieve, I'll go and ask my group on FB and see if they know.

"It is important to add that:

• The 14% or 25% reduction is based on the rent eligible to be paid by Housing Benefit, not the amount of Housing Benefit actually paid. This means that if you receive partial Housing Benefit you will have exactly the same reduction for under-occupancy in cash terms as someone receiving full Housing Benefit."

http://www.twocastles.org.uk/your-money/benefits-and-welfare-reform/bedroom-tax/will-i-be-affected

a bedroom under 70sq ft is classed as a box room so doesnt count :-D

That's interesting, Joy.

I had an awful thought the other night.
When I was a single parent, my brother stayed with me for a while (essentially a non-paying lodger). Now, I'm a divorcee, and still use my married name.
The council noticed my brother was here, because, being honest, I started paying full council tax.
Although I was working, I still received benefits.
They tried to stop my benefits, because, I was apparently co-habiting!!
It took forever to get them to realise his surname was the same as my maiden name - even then, they tried to say it was coincidence.
There are just over 450 people in Britain with the same surname - an amazing coincidence!

So, what happens when a single parent takes in a real lodger?
How will the benefits agency determine whether it is a real lodger, or they are co-habiting?
Very difficult now the government has considered it acceptable for older children of the opposite sex to share the same bedroom.

Re minimum bedroom size:

"Standards are also set to ensure that dwellings are not overcrowded. For example, the minimum bedroom size for a child under 10 is 50sq feet (4.65m2), and for an adult it is 70 sq feet (6.51m2). The number of occupants is measured against the total number of habitable rooms in the dwelling (i.e. bedroom and living room) and account is taken of the size of these rooms."

"The Housing (overcrowding) Act 2003 Bill - states that a room can not be classed as a bedroom if it is less than 50 square feet [4.65m2].

If it is over 50 square feet but less than 70 square feet than it is suitable for a child under ten years old. It is over 70 square feet then it is deemed acceptable for anyone over 10 years of age."