housing benefit reduction. a solution but the council is blocking it!

wozearly

lighting_up_the_chalice wrote: »

Perhaps providers will slacken the qualifying criteria enough so that those unaffected by the bedroom tax may be allocated those larger properties.

Its not really the qualifying criteria that cause the problems.

Most people coming into social housing are in receipt of housing benefit. Its relatively unlikely many would be able to afford to pay the bedroom tax shortfall. Which leaves the over 61s - they don't make up a particularly large number of incoming social housing tenants, except to social housing that was designed with older people in mind (and normally has age-restricting criteria attached).

You could seek out people in the small number of specific exemption cases (e.g. people with serious disabilities who need a permanent room for a carer, foster parents, armed forces families), but if they're not already in social housing then there's not much point in trying to attract them unless the property they vacate is a 1 bed with rent within the LHA rent cap, as otherwise it doesn't help solve the problem.

What you'd really talking about here is offering mutual exchanges for people already in social housing, but based on ability to pay (or not, if they're over 61) rather than housing need.

Interesting concept.

Morlock

thorsoak wrote: »

Paying one-fifth of your income on rent is not unreasonable: people who do not qualify for h/b pay more like half!

That is not comparable, the equivalent is paying half towards rent, then having to pay another one-fifth of the remaining income towards rent too.

lighting_up_the_chalice

wozearly wrote: »

Its not really the qualifying criteria that cause the problems.

Most people coming into social housing are in receipt of housing benefit. Its relatively unlikely many would be able to afford to pay the bedroom tax shortfall. Which leaves the over 61s - they don't make up a particularly large number of incoming social housing tenants, except to social housing that was designed with older people in mind (and normally has age-restricting criteria attached).

You could seek out people in the small number of specific exemption cases (e.g. people with serious disabilities who need a permanent room for a carer, foster parents, armed forces families), but if they're not already in social housing then there's not much point in trying to attract them unless the property they vacate is a 1 bed with rent within the LHA rent cap, as otherwise it doesn't help solve the problem.

What you'd really talking about here is offering mutual exchanges for people already in social housing, but based on ability to pay (or not, if they're over 61) rather than housing need.

Interesting concept.

Interesting, many providers are already offering priority to those in employment. Many also have local letting policies on individual properties which restrict them to existing tenants.... see where I'm going?

mazza111

lighting_up_the_chalice wrote: »

If there is a surplus of 2 beds, why not live with your dd?

I live in a 2 bedroom property with my ds. I downsized from a 3 bedroom to a 2 bedroom when the dd moved out. Hence why I couldn't take her back when she became disabled. So doing the right thing doesn't always pay.

Which now means my dd had to give up her 1 bedroom flat cos it couldn't be adapted for her needs. She's now left having to pay BT cos she's in a 2 bedroom which was the only property available for her needs.

lighting_up_the_chalice

clemmatis wrote: »

Yup. It's a one bed flat all right. If you'd clicked to find out more/apply you'd have found only people aged 60 or over may inquire.

Still, there is 1 one bedroom difficult to let flat in Cardiff (it is not a new listing and there have been no more recent ones), and perhaps despite what they say, anybody may apply. And now the bedroom tax is here, perhaps someone will.

By the way: "a (relative) shortage" (attested to by the DWP) =/= zero availability. To put it another way: one hard to let flat. Some glut.

Nice flat though. Lift, concierge, mature neighbours etc etc etc. Might encourage someone not effected by the bedroom tax to free up the general needs unit they currently occupy. One flat may not provide the entire solution, but it was just one example.

lighting_up_the_chalice

mazza111 wrote: »

I live in a 2 bedroom property with my ds. I downsized from a 3 bedroom to a 2 bedroom when the dd moved out. Hence why I couldn't take her back when she became disabled. So doing the right thing doesn't always pay.

Which now means my dd had to give up her 1 bedroom flat cos it couldn't be adapted for her needs. She's now left having to pay BT cos she's in a 2 bedroom which was the only property available for her needs.

So, the bedroom tax is applied as a result of her disability. Isn't that an extra living cost associated with her care/mobility needs... ie the whole point of DLA?

Morlock

Dunroamin wrote: »

As pensioners don't have to pay the "bedroom tax"...

...yet,

Depending on the next election.

clemmatis

Confuseddot wrote: »

If we have a surplus of 3 bed houses then surely these could be converted to house shares ... Ideally everyone wants their own flat but sometimes want and needs don't match

More flexible housing would make sense. A house near me's been converted -- by a private landlord -- into a really good set of rooms that share a kitchen, utility room, and garden. (Young professionals only.) It works better than a share, perhaps. And it could easily be converted back.

lighting_up_the_chalice

Morlock wrote: »

...yet,

Depending on the next election.

Or unless they pay their own rent, in which case they've been paying a bedroom tax for years..... Don't remember anyone marching on their town hall about that!

lighting_up_the_chalice

clemmatis wrote: »

Confuseddot wrote: »

If we have a surplus of 3 bed houses then surely these could be converted to house shares ... Ideally everyone wants their own flat but sometimes want and needs don't match[/QUOTE

More flexible housing would make sense. A house near me's been converted -- by a private landlord -- into a really good set of rooms that share a kitchen, utility room, and garden. (Young professionals only.) It works better than a share, perhaps. And it could easily be converted back.

As the current housing crisis deepens, we will see much more of this from private landlords who are prepared for the management involved in return for the extra income.