More than 50,000 people affected by the so-called bedroom tax have fallen behind on rent and face eviction, figures given to The Independent show.
The bedroom tax penalises tenants if they have a “spare” bedroom by reducing their housing benefit by up to 25 per cent.
Sounds like one of the dumbest taxes ever
Just to clarify.. it is not a tax per say, but a reduction of benefits if you have a spare room. Calling it a bedroom tax is the media doing so, and it is catchy and frankly deserves to be called that.. because it is stupid.
So say you are a family on benefits, and have a room to spare.. instead of getting 100 dollars in housing help, you only get 75 dollars and have to make up the difference by .. basically eating less.
The idea I think was to force people into smaller and less expensive homes or force people to rent out the spare room to strangers, but the problem here is that most of these people are in homes provided to them by the local government and there is a massive shortage of affordable homes in the UK, so the idea wont work in forcing people to downgrade, and the idea of renting out a room with no private bathroom or access in most cases is... brain dead.
Trying to force people into smaller places makes no sense.
I think I can safely assume that a small 1 bedroom flat in London will cost more than something larger in say on the outskirts of Blackpool.
The extra room could also provide a means to get off of assistance. A place to try and start a small business, office to write the next Harry Potter, place to store the equipment your child needs as they are in training to join the National Olympic team. etc. etc.
I do not live there but being cynical I would guess this has more to do with the govt trying to save a few bucks than them trying to get people to live in smaller places (after all who gives a f*** what size a place you live in?)
Exclusive: 50,000 people are now facing eviction after bedroom tax - UK Politics - UK - The Independent
Basically if you have a family, with mother, father and 1 child, and have 3 bedrooms, then you get part of your housing benefit taken... taxed as punishment for having a room too many.
But on the flip side, the money went to give tax breaks to the uber wealthy! So what if people are being pushed into homelessness in the run up to winter. They will just die in the cold weather and become less of a burden for their rich benefactors!
The coalition government are idiots..
Housing benefit goes to paying rent for a place for a poor person to live. Te individual doesn't "benefit" other than having a roof over their head, the cash goes to the landlord. The housing shortage (despite the crash) has meant that landlords are screwing ever more money from their properties. The tory response to the profiteering is to punish the poor.
For some it does.. smaller place costs less money, which means less in housing benefit is needed. Problem it does not take into account availability, price and cost of moving.
Some people a smaller place makes more sense but I see no sense it trying to force people into a smaller place. Let people spend their cash as they see fit if they want a larger place either they spend more or move to a cheaper location. If they would rather keep their space and location then have extra cash to spend on entertainment or whatever so be it. To force people into smaller places makes no sense. To treat people equally and let them decide makes sense
Problem is they are not spending their own money they are spending my money. I have no problem with anyone living in a nice big house as long as they can afford it. I don't see why my tax money should go to the family down the street in the nice 4 bedroom house but only have one kid.
Exclusive: 50,000 people are now facing eviction after bedroom tax - UK Politics - UK - The Independent
Basically if you have a family, with mother, father and 1 child, and have 3 bedrooms, then you get part of your housing benefit taken... taxed as punishment for having a room too many.
But on the flip side, the money went to give tax breaks to the uber wealthy! So what if people are being pushed into homelessness in the run up to winter. They will just die in the cold weather and become less of a burden for their rich benefactors!
The coalition government are idiots..
I'm rather surprised they didn't grandfather those already under lease. I get why they're doing it, and it makes sense, but unless a tenant knew that going in, I don't think it's right to penalize them in this way.
If the assistance is too much then it should be lowered for everyone but to say I think you are living in too large a space well take away some of your benefits makes no sense to me.
An impeccable 2 bedroom place will often rent out more than a 3 bedroom dump. Should the person in the nice place get assistance cut because they could rent a crappier place for less $$.
I make no judgment on whether the assistance is too generous or not generous enough, I don't know your system.
However regardless of the system the removal of some benefits because the govt decides your housing is too large makes no sense to me.
Some people a smaller place makes more sense but I see no sense it trying to force people into a smaller place. Let people spend their cash as they see fit if they want a larger place either they spend more or move to a cheaper location. If they would rather keep their space and location then have extra cash to spend on entertainment or whatever so be it. To force people into smaller places makes no sense. To treat people equally and let them decide makes sense
Problem is they are not spending their own money they are spending my money. I have no problem with anyone living in a nice big house as long as they can afford it. I don't see why my tax money should go to the family down the street in the nice 4 bedroom house but only have one kid.
Like I said before Camerons heart was in the right place but he has gone about it the wrong way. This "tax" was always going to be unpopular because its unpractical and leaves a lot of elderly people vulnerable. However what needs to happen is a complete overhaul of our benefits system because right now its a joke and the system is being manipulated by those who really dont need it/ don't want to work. We went from one extreme with Thatcher to the other extreme with new labour and what we have now are millions of people who are draining the government and the tax payer of much needed public funds.
Since when is the reduction of a benefit a taks? Talk about entitlement philosophy!
Ask the media about that... it is called the bedroom tax.
Not sure if you understand, but these are people who are living off the state in some form or another and often in homes on state run estates, rented from.. the state or state owned corporation. The tax only applies to people receiving housing benefit.
Like I said before Camerons heart was in the right place but he has gone about it the wrong way. This "tax" was always going to be unpopular because its unpractical and leaves a lot of elderly people vulnerable. However what needs to happen is a complete overhaul of our benefits system because right now its a joke and the system is being manipulated by those who really dont need it/ don't want to work. We went from one extreme with Thatcher to the other extreme with new labour and what we have now are millions of people who are draining the government and the tax payer of much needed public funds.
Exclusive: 50,000 people are now facing eviction after bedroom tax - UK Politics - UK - The Independent
Basically if you have a family, with mother, father and 1 child, and have 3 bedrooms, then you get part of your housing benefit taken... taxed as punishment for having a room too many.
But on the flip side, the money went to give tax breaks to the uber wealthy! So what if people are being pushed into homelessness in the run up to winter. They will just die in the cold weather and become less of a burden for their rich benefactors!
The coalition government are idiots..
I freely admit I don't know your system. Are they all living in govt housing and does all govt housing have the same rent for same sized places? Or does it vary from place to place depending on location/quality etc?
Regardless of whether there are variances or not this doesn't seem to make sense. Reform the system in an intelligent way if it needs it, this just seems like it's punishing certain people based on 1 factor and ignores other more important ones.
Some people a smaller place makes more sense but I see no sense it trying to force people into a smaller place. Let people spend their cash as they see fit if they want a larger place either they spend more or move to a cheaper location. If they would rather keep their space and location then have extra cash to spend on entertainment or whatever so be it. To force people into smaller places makes no sense. To treat people equally and let them decide makes sense
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