Some pensioners will be affected by the 'bedroom tax'

gingergee

C_Mababejive wrote: »

Its very simple. The state has decided that it is no longer prepared to fund under occupancy of properties upon which they contribute to in the form of housing benefit.

I am surprised it has taken them so long to catch on.

I dont know how Phil and Liz will manage in a one bedroomed flat. They may have to decamp to Sandringham.

There are plenty of under occupied "council" properties up and down the land where families have grown up and left home. I know of a single adult now of pensionable age who is occupying a three bedroomed home.


[COLOR="rgb(255, 0, 255)"][/COLOR]I do worry though that in certain cases,it may encourage baby breeders to open their legs to fill the empty rooms rather than be forced to suffer a reduction/downsize.)

The other thing the authorities need to look at is the Giro drop generation. This is prevalent especially in flats whereby someone takes the tenancy of a flat but lives elsewhere,often with their girlfriend. They do it to retain their independence/ensure benefits etc and the flat is largely unoccupied.

This is exactly what I think will happen!!!! Loads of miraculous conceptions!! Especially in previous young mums where the elder child/ren have gone on to uni or moved out. Shame we have to think like it really. Loopholes will be found!!!

Viberduo

princessdon wrote: »

That's parenting for you! Many families are in very cramped and poor conditions in private rental. They'd give their eye teeth for secure tenancy, garden and 14% "tax".

Spare a thought to families on the waiting list for years when looking at this subject.

My parents were on the waiting list for 10 years actually and were told when they were offered this one that take it or wait another 10 years.

There is actually many empty houses in my town as they are in very rough areas, I know someone who pays £50 for a 2 bedroom flat as no one wants to live there!

I am still unclear on if the tax is on the paid LHA or just the maximum as it would be stupid to do otherwise.

Are you going to sell your house when your kids grow up and move to a smaller property? Its unfair to punish hard working people as they claim benefits.

SandraScarlett

Morlock wrote: »

No it doesn't, there is no reduction in housing benefit for private tenants who have a 'spare' room if the LHA covers the rental cost of a larger property than is deemed necessary.

Hi Morlock, yes you are quite right, I didn't explain that clearly enough.

xx

princessdon

Viberduo wrote: »

My dad used to moan at me to do the garden as a chore as I got pocket money

Most likely true as parents wont make the kids do the chores(lol the amount of people I know at uni who cant even cook and some asked me how to turn on a oven! or use a washing machine!)

Wait were you hinting my dad was lazy for taking a few hours? More like he couldnt afford a good mower, a few times when he borrowed a good one it took a hour or two at very max but you fail to understand the size of this garden! It really is about double the size of the house and has loads of bumps.

And I see messy gardens in owner occupier areas as well as council estates, in fact its about equal

No I was hinting at parents with fit children or they are fit have no excuse. A few hours mowing for a teenager shouldn't be an issue.

Dunroamin

Viberduo wrote: »

Are you going to sell your house when your kids grow up and move to a smaller property? Its unfair to punish hard working people as they claim benefits.

Yes, that's what many owner occupiers do. Why does this seem so strange to you?

princessdon

Viberduo wrote: »

My parents were on the waiting list for 10 years actually and were told when they were offered this one that take it or wait another 10 years.

There is actually many empty houses in my town as they are in very rough areas, I know someone who pays £50 for a 2 bedroom flat as no one wants to live there!

I am still unclear on if the tax is on the paid LHA or just the maximum as it would be stupid to do otherwise.

Are you going to sell your house when your kids grow up and move to a smaller property? Its unfair to punish hard working people as they claim benefits.

Of course I'd downsize! I have huge gardens x 3, 4/5 bedrooms (use one as a walk in). I'm counting years to downsize. No fun in cleaning 3 bathrooms daily if no need!

Lhr pay the tax now. Lhr rates are based on lowest 30% of rents and only allocated per room needed.
With unsecured tenancy too.

Viberduo

Dunroamin wrote: »

Yes, that's what many owner occupiers do. Why does this seem so strange to you?

Why does my opinion seem strange to you?

And FYI my grandparents have lived in the same house for almost 70 years where my mother and aunts grew up and will be passed on when they die, and my aunt raised 4 kids in a flat now then when she had more money after they left home moved into a house!!

People are different it just seems that people claiming benefits are the easy targets as usual and I do see a difference with my parents situation with them living in a tiny village in a house they spent years working on as the council never wanted to do repairs(has severe damp which has partly been fixed) and small compared to many other houses even in same village and my current 1 bedroom flat is bigger than their house than someone living in a city with double the rent costs and massive rooms claiming benefits.

evenasus

Viberduo wrote: »

the size of this garden! It really is about double the size of the house and has loads of bumps.

Lots of gardens are bigger than the house built on them.

My house measures approx 30ft x 30ft but my back garden is more than twice that size.

Viberduo wrote: »

I am still unclear on if the tax is on the paid LHA or just the maximum as it would be stupid to do otherwise.

It's NOT a tax!

mazza111

Been a while since I checked, but there are 5 one bedroom properties (think there was 9 the last time) to rent in my immediate area. The council has very limited stock of one bedroom properties. Although I know of one that's empty at the moment Of the 5, 3 are upstairs, so wouldn't be suitable for anyone with mobility problems.

So until there are enough properties to suit people, I don't think this Bedroom tax is fair. They are asking people to give up secure tenancies to take on short term tenancies.

I do think there needs to be exceptions, like people on waiting lists for smaller properties who are willing to move. People with disabilities who've had to move into bigger properties because their old properties weren't suitable because of their disabilities etc. (they are planning a discretionary payment in this case)

Again, I'll say I do think people should downsize. I did it myself. Perhaps if more people did they wouldn't need to bring this sort of thing in. I also believe that pensioners should downsize through choice and the councils should encourage this.

nannytone_2

i checked our councils 1 beds too.
our council cobers a vast area of rural villages and towns, and in the whole area there were 3. one was a bedsit and the other 2 were sheltered housing
spoilt for choice