someone coming to do assesment on house for bedro...

[kirstycobie]

hi,

got some one from housing coming on friday to do an assessment of the house as app am under occupiing the house - got 3 bedroom, 2 kids, one of each sex one 7 and one 3, this is rediculous!!!!!!!

can someone explain does this mean they will swap me for a 2 bedroom or do i have to pay the tax on the other bedroom?

because if they swap me, in less than 2 year i will be over crowding a 2 bedroom as my oldest will be 9 so then i would need a 3 bed??????

thanks

[SuziQ]

I think you have answered your own question as to why this is happening. The current ages of your children do not require them to have separate bedrooms, they will therefore only give you the amount to cover 2 bedrooms in housing benefit,so I believe they would ask you to cover the short fall in rent, which may also be backdated.They seem to be clamping down on everything at the moment, trying to cut the cost to the public purse.

[rogerblack]

In most areas, there is not an excess of properties people can be moved into in order to get them setup with no overcrowding, and no 'bedroom tax'.
This means that the tenant will be forced to pay the excess themselves, or move into the private rented sector.

[mynameistallulah]

Originally Posted by kirstycobie

hi,

got some one from housing coming on friday to do an assessment of the house as app am under occupiing the house - got 3 bedroom, 2 kids, one of each sex one 7 and one 3, this is rediculous!!!!!!!

can someone explain does this mean they will swap me for a 2 bedroom or do i have to pay the tax on the other bedroom?

because if they swap me, in less than 2 year i will be over crowding a 2 bedroom as my oldest will be 9 so then i would need a 3 bed??????

thanks

What is ridiculous is that you were given a three bed house when you did not need one.

[recoverydust]

Originally Posted by mynameistallulah

What is ridiculous is that you were given a three bed house when you did not need one.

It may be ridiculous, but that's the way the allocations process works for social housing. In our case we HAD to bid for 2 bed properties whilst a homeless couple and got this one in Nov. 2011. We did bid for 1 bed properties, but were unsuccessful.

It's hard to see how this bedroom tax will work out, and scary for those who will have to pay more put of limited incomes

[rogerblack]

Originally Posted by mynameistallulah

What is ridiculous is that you were given a three bed house when you did not need one.

This kind of assumes that there are lots of every size of property.
In the past, councils concentrated on building larger properties, as those were more appropriate for the time.
Then the 1-beds in some areas got 'right to buy'd at an even higher rate than normal, and no new ones were built.

[nannytone]

i received a letter and a leaflet from my housing association about this last week..
what suprised me is that it stated that a ' couple with medical conditions that mean they need to sleep in seperate rooms' are not exempt.

it says 1 bedroom should be occupied by ....

each adult couple
any other person aged 16 or above
2 children of the same sex aged under 16
2 children of different sexes under the age of 10
any other child
a carer that doesnt live in the property but has to stay overnightto care for an adult.

it goes on to say that it DOES NOT matter if.....

you and your partner need to sleep apart for medical reasons
.

on the back page it goes on to say that it may also change your entitlement to council tax benefit, but that this is up to each individual authority.

so it looks like sime people will lose out twice!

[mynameistallulah]

Originally Posted by rogerblack

This kind of assumes that there are lots of every size of property.
In the past, councils concentrated on building larger properties, as those were more appropriate for the time.
Then the 1-beds in some areas got 'right to buy'd at an even higher rate than normal, and no new ones were built.

No, it doesn't, the fact is the OP has a property larger than they need - they have little to moan about! They could of course have rented privately ...

[nannytone]

Originally Posted by mynameistallulah

No, it doesn't, the fact is the OP has a property larger than they need - they have little to moan about! They could of course have rented privately ...

thats really harsh. so they should move now and then have to move again in 3 years when they need 3 bedrooms?

which means the associated costs of moveing as well as having to buy new florring * chances are the flooring they have now wont fit.

and what about people that need 1 bed properties that arent available?

oh yes ... rent pribately and cos even more in LHA, along side having NO real security.... great idea!

[Mojisola]

Originally Posted by kirstycobie

can someone explain does this mean they will swap me for a 2 bedroom or do i have to pay the tax on the other bedroom?

There is no "tax" on the other bedroom. There probably will be a difference between the HB you will get for a two-bedroomed house - which is what you need - and your current house.

I haven't heard of any plans to forcibly move anyone.

If you can cover the difference until the eldest is 10, you will then get HB for a three-bedroomed house with no need to move.

[nannytone]

it's the difference in the rent, not in the housing benefit.

theyre not cutting the housing benefit by 14% for an unused bedroom ... theyre deducting 15% of the cost of the rent from their calculations.

thats ok if you get full housing benefit because it will work out the same, but if youre on a low income , you stabnd to lose a greater proprtion of your housing benefit.

someone who gets £10 a week in housibng benefit now, wont lose 14% of that £10 ... they will lose it all if their rent is £100 a week

[AnxiousMum]

Originally Posted by nannytone

thats really harsh. so they should move now and then have to move again in 3 years when they need 3 bedrooms?

which means the associated costs of moveing as well as having to buy new florring * chances are the flooring they have now wont fit.

and what about people that need 1 bed properties that arent available?

oh yes ... rent pribately and cos even more in LHA, along side having NO real security.... great idea!

You mean like people who are privately renting and paying all of their own rent would need to do when circumstances change?

[kirstycobie]

hiya,

thanks for the helpfull replies and thanks for the critisisim for the not so helpful ones!

if i could afford to put my little one in full time childcare so i could work full time and afford a mortgage i would NOT be in a council house!!! hence why i am in a council house!!!

all i wanted to know was would the council move me into a 2 bed or just ask me to pay the extra.

anyway, thanks again for the helpful replies.

[nannytone]

they wont move you inless you request a move .... if they would even do that!

[kirstycobie]

tbh i would move, so hopefully they may move me to the area i would like to live,
anyway, thanks for the quick reply.

[lighting up the chalice]

Originally Posted by nannytone

it's the difference in the rent, not in the housing benefit.

theyre not cutting the housing benefit by 14% for an unused bedroom ... theyre deducting 15% of the cost of the rent from their calculations.

thats ok if you get full housing benefit because it will work out the same, but if youre on a low income , you stabnd to lose a greater proprtion of your housing benefit.

someone who gets £10 a week in housibng benefit now, wont lose 14% of that £10 ... they will lose it all if their rent is £100 a week

No. The rent remains unchanged. The HB payable is reduced. It works out at about £11 a week for 1 under-occupied bedroom and £25 a week for 2.

[lighting up the chalice]

Originally Posted by mynameistallulah

What is ridiculous is that you were given a three bed house when you did not need one.

They were entitled to a 3 bed or a 2 bed. They chose a 3 bed so that each of their children can have a bedroom. It would also mean that they can stay their for many happy years until the children fly the nest, creating consistency and sustainable communities.

[nannytone]

the point i am making is that the housing benefit isnt reduced by 14 % ( if it was, with an entitlement of £10 cureently, you would lose 14% of £10)

[lighting up the chalice]

Originally Posted by recoverydust

It may be ridiculous, but that's the way the allocations process works for social housing. In our case we HAD to bid for 2 bed properties whilst a homeless couple and got this one in Nov. 2011. We did bid for 1 bed properties, but were unsuccessful.

You didn't HAVE to bid on 2 beds, you CHOSE to. That's the whole point of CHOICE based lettings.

Originally Posted by recoverydust

It's hard to see how this bedroom tax will work out, and scary for those who will have to pay more put of limited incomes

This policy isn't coming into force until April next year, and has been talked about for over a year already. So plenty of time for people to decide on the most appropriate course of action. Unlike those on a mortgage who could see their re-payments sky-rocket overnight when interests rates rise again.

[lighting up the chalice]

Originally Posted by nannytone

the point i am making is that the housing benefit isnt reduced by 14 % ( if it was, with an entitlement of £10 cureently, you would lose 14% of £10)

The housing benefit entitlement, before any earnings/income is considered, is reduced.