Bedroom tax

going.for.gold

Can someone tell me if the bedroom tax is still payable for these circumstances.

Originally a 3 bed property which has been reduced to 2 beds to facilitate a through floor lift, work done by local council.

Secondly, one of the tenants is 63 and the other is 65 in August. Full bedroom tax is being applied at the moment so wondering if this can now be cancelled.

Thanks.

glentoran99

is there is still a spare bedroom then there will still be a deduction

baza52

call your council or Housing association and explain, They may need to re classify the property as a 2 baedroom property if the 3rd bedroom is no longer usable as a bedroom.

Silvertabby

There's no such thing as 'bedroom tax'.

If one person - or a couple - are claiming housing benefits, then they are entitled to the rent for a property suitable for their needs.

If they want the luxury of extra bedrooms then they have to pay for them themselves.

going.for.gold

Silvertabby wrote: »

There's no such thing as 'bedroom tax'.

If one person - or a couple - are claiming housing benefits, then they are entitled to the rent for a property suitable for their needs.

If they want the luxury of extra bedrooms then they have to pay for them themselves.

I appreciate that, but it doesn't actually answer my question about the age of the tenants, or the fact that there is one bedroom less now.

going.for.gold

glentoran99 wrote: »

is there is still a spare bedroom then there will still be a deduction

Does the age of the tenants not have a baring on it now?

marliepanda

going.for.gold wrote: »

Does the age of the tenants not have a baring on it now?

Neither of them look to be of pension age so doubtful. Pensioners are the only protected class from the removal of the spare room subsidy.

Are they a couple or do they qualify for the2 bed rate? I’m assuming that when they changed the layout they didn’t reduce the rent, so if they were currently getting £400 for a £500 rent, they’ll still be paid £400 for a £500 rent.

xylophone

https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/housing_benefit/bedroom_tax_are_you_affected

If you or your partner are of pension credit age and claiming housing benefit you won't be affected by the bedroom tax.

Use the Gov.uk calculator to check when you reach pension credit age



https://www.ageuk.org.uk/globalassets/age-uk/documents/factsheets/fs48_pension_credit_fcs.pdf

Page 6 above.

baza52

Silvertabby wrote: »

There's no such thing as 'bedroom tax'.

If one person - or a couple - are claiming housing benefits, then they are entitled to the rent for a property suitable for their needs.

If they want the luxury of extra bedrooms then they have to pay for them themselves.

They are asking if it should still be classed as a 3 bed property if the 3rd bedroom is now not usable as a bedroom due to a lift coming up through the floor.
Im sure they would have been paying towards the extra room before the lift rendered it unusable.

Mojisola

going.for.gold wrote: »

Can someone tell me if the bedroom tax is still payable for these circumstances.

Originally a 3 bed property which has been reduced to 2 beds to facilitate a through floor lift, work done by local council.

Secondly, one of the tenants is 63 and the other is 65 in August. Full bedroom tax is being applied at the moment so wondering if this can now be cancelled.

Do either of these apply?

https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/housing_benefit/bedroom_tax_are_you_affected
You can get housing benefit for 1 bedroom for each:
member of a couple who can't share a bedroom because of a disability

If you or your partner are of pension credit age and claiming housing benefit you won't be affected by the bedroom tax.

GlasweJen

Have they applied to the council to have the house re-evaluated for council tax purposes? Assuming the lift was installed for a disabled person and said disabled person still lives at the property the room should be disregarded and the council should reduce the council tax bill down onto a lower band. If the property was band A there will be a discount applied.

If this has not been done the application should go in ASAP with a request to back date to the day the work was completed.