General Chat

Joy that does not apply with BT, if your HA has put what you call a box room down on your tennacy agreement as a bedroom then the only way you can avoid the BT is if you ask your HA to re-classify it as not being a bedroom.
Also by the law your refer to you would not be allowed to rent the room to a lodger, so it's one rule for lodgers were size is concerned but another for tennants were BT is concerned. You can check this out with the Bedroom Tax group on FB were they will give you link's to website's saying what I have said.

Also their are some people with a parlour house and their HA have classed their property as having an extra bedroom ( the parlour ) but if the room has a serving hatch they can't :-S all so confusing isn't it. The sooner it is got rid of the better.

Do you think there maybe a baby boom just to fill those extra bedrooms :-D :-D

twice ive seen lads of facebook offering to be doners
to fill them empty rooms no strings attached

i hope they are joking ;-)

Well they've left a loophole!

The Department for Work and Pensions has not capped how much they can earn from a lodger or boarder before it affects their benefits claim. So while they would be an average £11 a week worse off because of benefit cuts on spare bedrooms they could net up to an average £100 a week in rent by becoming landlords and still claim welfare.

The loophole emerged as the Commons Public Accounts Committee investigated the impact of housing benefit reform. Under current rules a housing benefit claimant can charge rent on a spare room only up to a certain limit before it affects their benefits. Under the new Universal Credit system, however, all income from lodgers will be ignored.

But, as I said earlier, how can it be proved they're a lodger and not a co-habitee?
It's yet another loophole.
'He/she's not my partner, they're my lodger'.
So not only can they still claim housing benefit, they can (illegally) still claim child benefits.

Well loophole or not I would never take in a stranger into my home as a lodger, I could come home and find my flat empty of all my belongings.
I would maybe consider a relative but only out of desperation, my flat is small and I like my own space.

Joy i won't be adding to that baby boom lol.

MaggieW I think you'd have to do the References & Rent Book route as my OH has poined out someone on their own would lose the single occupancy off their Council Tax so it's not a great loophole.

Diane-I'd feel like that
:-|

Eeyore just to say the 25% single occupancy is being done away with in April :-(

Diane-I didn't know that & I expect a lot of people are unaware, makes you wonder how bad things are going to get :-(

Diane - I can find information that council tax benefit ends beginning of April, but can't find anything about single occupancy discount being ended at the same time. Can you point me in the right direction?

I found this:

"Will the Single Person discount change?

No. The 25% single person's discount will not change. A full list of the current Council Tax discounts and exemptions is available online at www.mynottingham.gov.uk/counciltax"

http://www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=19593

Phew!

Kucinta yes according to a goverment link it says you will still get it, so my benefits office have misinformed me. Sorry if I worried anyone :-(

Thanks for clarifying, Diane. At least it's not more bad news!

Shocking that the benefits office mislead you though.

Seems folks affected by the bedroom tax have enough on their plate already, without the benefit office adding to their angst with misinformation.

It was my HA that said it first and then when I queried it with the Council benefits they agreed :-(
I don't think half of them know what's what themselves with all the different changes.
On that link you put up for Nottingham Council it said their percentage was to be 10%, our's is going to be 20%, this is because each Council is working it at what they can afford I'v even heard one Council will be charging 30% and their are other not charging people on benefits anything, its like a bl...y lottery :-(

wife was at a conference this week on asb and towards the end of the conference someone from bham city council spoke about the bedroom tax and asb and stated they expected an increase in petty crime shop lifting etc and an increase in the handling of stolen goods as deperate people look to survive

don't forget on top of the bedroom tax people on benefit are going to have to pay part of their council tax which in bham is expected to be 8%
if you are in private rented you get lha instead of hb and that is more draconian
under 30 and single you are entitled to £50 a week for a room in a shared house

From The Daily Mirror today - Even Tory MP's tell David Cameron to scrap the bedroom tax

Rattled David Cameron came under more pressure yesterday as his own MP's joined protests against the hated bedroom tax.

Government figures show it will leave people £14 a week worse off on average, and it also admitted it could deter up to 5,000 potential foster parents as fostered children would not be counted as occupants.

Bosses of 11 charities, including Fostering Network, Barnados and Action for Children, have warned of the dire consequences, saying “These new rules will make it even more difficult for people in social housing to become foster carers at a time when we urgently need more to come forward.”

Also, parents of soldiers who live at home but are away serving their country will also be hit.

Can I just say

Some house rent contracts say the person renting the house cant sub let .....so therefore spare rooms cant be let by the renter only the landlord!!!

Hi Kemp,
having a lodger is what the goverment have suggested ( not sub letting ) Lodger is not classed as sub letting,

Lodgers

A lodger is somebody that is not part of your family but lives in your home (usually in return for a payment). They may have their own room, but will share at least one meal a day with the family, and probably share the living room as well.

Sub-letting

Sub-letting is where a tenant lets part (or all) of their home to somebody else. They will have a part of the house or flat for their exclusive use (usually a bedroom), will take all their meals independently and will not share any living areas except the bathroom, kitchen and access areas like the hall, stairs and landings.

This will be so hard to implement , with the shortage of one bedded accommodation, that by the time several people get offered a smaller home those under 10's will be over 10 & others will have had their 65th Birthday.

The idea of selling off council housing, was that the money from these sales would be spent on building more, but this did not happen.

Another law not thought through properly.