This so called Bedroom Tax

lighting_up_the_chalice

clemmatis wrote: »

To an underresourced region with too few doctors and far higher unemployment; where councils are selling what they can and cutting services and raising tax.

In that case, I'm sure they will welcome what is, effectively, a redistribution of wealth in their favour with open arms!

nannytone_2

Dunroamin wrote: »

But many people have posted about how normal it is to spend lots of money on on their council house putting in bathrooms, kitchens and conservatories - that's alright but basic repairs aren't?

on internal decoration.
i had fitted wardrobes and kitchen put in ( my father was a chippie).
i got a new bath etc.
things to make the jome comfortable for my family.
the rent i paid wasnt meant for these things.
i paid rent for the heating.hot water to be maintained and for the buildings fabric to be maintained.

if you paid a maintenance company an amount every week to carry out ESSENTIAL repairs to your home, and they told you that you needed to wait 8 months ... would you then take it upon yourself to do the repair and just wabe goodbye to the money youd already paid?

Dunroamin

nannytone wrote: »

on internal decoration.
i had fitted wardrobes and kitchen put in ( my father was a chippie).
i got a new bath etc.
things to make the jome comfortable for my family.
the rent i paid wasnt meant for these things.
i paid rent for the heating.hot water to be maintained and for the buildings fabric to be maintained.
if you paid a maintenance company an amount every week to carry out ESSENTIAL repairs to your home, and they told you that you needed to wait 8 months ... would you then take it upon yourself to do the repair and just wabe goodbye to the money youd already paid?

Not a lot over for actual rent then.

clemmatis

365days wrote: »

No I don't

I assumed not. And I assume you have no idea how many Londoners have been unemployed for five years.

I realised you were talking about the £26000 cap.

But I do know that working people will not be affected by the benefit cap.

Workers eligible for WTC, anyway. Those who work fewer hours will be affected.

The days of unemployed people living in the countries most expensive accomodation is coming to an end.

They live on The Bishops Avenue?

I agree Housing Benefit has, given housing policy more generally, lined the pockets of private landlords. Nothing has been done to ameliorate the country's housing shortage.

Therefore empty properties in cheaper areas will, I suggest, not stay empty for long.

That may well be the case. (I've read that some London councils are pushing some tenants to move North -- of course, the Northern councils are less than happy about it.) I am opposed to the greater social and regional polarization that will ensue.

nannytone_2

Dunroamin wrote: »

Not a lot over for actual rent then.

the cost is irrelevant. it is what the contract you sign states.
would you be willing to pay for the same thing twice?

Dunroamin

nannytone wrote: »

the cost is irrelevant. it is what the contract you sign states.
would you be willing to pay for the same thing twice?

Yes.

Private medicine or education when I've paid for state education or the NHS through taxation - many people do.

catkins

sulkisu wrote: »

He may have worked for Family Mosaic, but they categorically do not routinely provide white good and new carpets in all of their properties - sorry they just don't. Nor do they decorate all of there properties.

And as for expecting blown lightbulbs being replaced...there might be the odd tenant who expects this (and is no doubt soon put straight if/when they ask for it, like the tenant who expected us to come and weed his path ), but do you really think that the average social housing tenant feels that way, or expects this? Seriously? Speaking as someone who was a social housing tenant once upon a time (and not a million years ago either), who has family and friends who are/were also social housing tenants - the thought would never have crossed my mind and before you say it, 'no' I was not the exception to the rule. I had a nice flat, paid a low rent and was very grateful.

Well when he worked for them they did provide new white goods and carpets.

I used to sometimes go with him to places and have seen him change lightbulbs for perfectly fit able people.

Of course not all tenants are the same but an awful lot are. My parents living in a council house for years and they decorated it themselves, did some repairs, put in some new kitchen units etc. A lot of their neighbours would do nothing in the house at all and just keep on at the council that they needed work doing.

nannytone_2

Dunroamin wrote: »

Yes.

Private medicine or education when I've paid for state education or the NHS through taxation - many people do.

well good for you if you van afforf it. many people cant. you pay for the NHS through taxation and you accept that there will be a waiting time. you are not paying for the sevice when going privately, you are paying to be seen faster or to have services not available on the NHS. by paying for education privately you are doing the same. every child gets a free school place, and if that place is not acceptable you can choose to pay a premium to get exactly what you want.

would you pay twice to get your car repaired?
you will say anything you need to rather than admit you are wrong.
im sure that if you had a binding contract for a service, you WOULD NOT pay for that service out of your own pocket

Dunroamin

nannytone wrote: »

well good for you if you van afforf it. many people cant. you pay for the NHS through taxation and you accept that there will be a waiting time. you are not paying for the sevice when going privately, you are paying to be seen faster or to have services not available on the NHS. by paying for education privately you are doing the same. every child gets a free school place, and if that place is not acceptable you can choose to pay a premium to get exactly what you want.

would you pay twice to get your car repaired?
you will say anything you need to rather than admit you are wrong.
im sure that if you had a binding contract for a service, you WOULD NOT pay for that service out of your own pocket

I've given you examples of how many people (including myself at times) pay for services twice and you still won't accept it. (And, by the way, you certainly are paying for a service with private medicine, not just to jump a queue.)

To take your example of cars, everybody pays car insurance but many people choose to pay for a repair themselves rather than claim on the insurance, so there's another case of paying for a contract and then paying separately for the service that's already covered.

You're just arguing in an attempt to to defend the indefensible.

Pippin12

I'm paying the bedroom tax. I have to say though that despite this I feel enormously fortunate to have a council property at all. For years I used to rent privately and always assumed that the same rules regarding 'under occupancy' applied to social housing too so expected that I would have to pay extra on top of my HB. Consequently the bedroom tax didn't come as a shock. I have security of tenure here and that is enormously valuable to me. I feel like I can put down roots after years of being shunted from pillar to post in the private sector. Well worth £10 a week extra if you ask me.