Bedroom Tax - The Facts

In April 2013 the Government introduced a tax on spare bedrooms for people living in housing association houses / property - will you be affected? Find out below...

What is Bedroom Tax?

Bedroom Tax (also known as under occupancy charge or spare room subsidy) means that you will receive less in Housing Benefit or Housing Costs Element in a Universal Credit claim if you live in a Housing Association or Council property and you are deemed to have one or more spare bedrooms.

Having one spare bedroom will mean that you will lose 14% of your entitled Housing Benefit or Housing Costs Element.

Having two or more spare bedrooms will mean that you will lose 25% of your entitled Housing Benefit or Housing Costs element.

This new tax started affecting customers with spare bedrooms in April 2013.

Who will 'Bedroom Tax' affect?

You WILL be affected by the tax if you receive Housing Benefit or Housing Costs element in Universal Credit, you are of working age and none of the below stated exemptions apply to you.

Who will Bedroom Tax NOT affect?

Bedroom Tax will not affect you if you receive a state pension or rent a shared ownership property.

You may not be affected if you have a severely disabled child who requires their own room. In some circumstances, a severely disabled child is to be allowed their own bedroom - usually if they would seriously disrupt the sleep of another child in the property at night if they were to share a room.

You may not be affected if you are a foster carer, as long as you have fostered a child or have become an approved foster carer in the last 12 months - if so you will be allocated an extra spare room.

You may not be affected if you have an adult child who is serving in the armed forces who is away on duty. They will be deemed as still living at home and therefore allocated a bedroom whilst away on operations. If you have an adult child who is living in barracks as part of pre-deployment training, they may not be affected.

You may not be affected if you have a spare room for the use of an overnight carer

What are the bedroom tax rules?

There are a number of different rules about what counts as a taxable spare bedroom:

Children of both sexes under 10 would be expected to share a bedroom. If they currently do not share and they remain in separate rooms, one of their rooms will be considered as a spare bedroom.

Children of the same gender under 16 would be expected to share a bedroom.

Couples and adults are entitled to have bedrooms of their own.

If a bedroom (with or without furniture) is kept free for when a child comes to stay with a parent that they do not normally live with, this room will be considered as a spare bedroom.

Bedroom Tax allowance for a child can only be claimed by one parent, even where they share access to the child.

What can I do?

Increase your payments - If you have the money available you can use it to cover the cost of any changes and stay in your current home. The best thing you can do is pay a little extra in order to get in advance on your rent account and build up some savings for other bills. Even small amounts will mount up over the weeks.

Take a lodger - You may be able to earn additional income from a lodger, but remember to check with us first to ensure your tenancy agreement allows it.

Bromford Homeswap - We have created a Facebook page for our customers looking to swap the property they rent. Simply post the type of property you have and the property you are looking for. Make sure you read the guidance notes on how to use the page.

Choice Based Lettings - If you are looking for a new home, rather than a waiting list, properties are now advertised online through a local council or authority. This makes the allocation of properties simpler and more transparent, allowing you to make a choice about where you live.

Find a job – If you need help getting back into work, getting a better job, training, education, or work experience please contact your DWP Work Coach if you have one or if not contact your local JobCentre Plus. There are also some useful websites available to support you:

Gov.uk - Finding a job
LinkedIn - Jobs
LinkedIn - Preparing for interviews
LinkedIn - Skills for in-demand jobs

To access any of the above services please contact us.