UK Bedroom Tax?

Let's not get confused about this - it is simply another tax on those who can least afford it.

Being on housing benefit does not equate to being unemployed - anyone on minimum wage would qualify as would disabled people or those only able to work part-time. This is a tax on the poor.

As for downsizing, where are all of these smaller properties? We all know that very little social housing has been built since Thatcher sold them off in the eighties and we have had a massive influx of imigrants since then.

Please don't fall for the trap of ordinary people turning on each other whilst the bankers that got us all into this mess laugh their bonuses all the way into an offshore account.

reply to post by spilly911

it's a load of crap tbh with you but yes OP it's disgraceful, don't you think?

I apologize, but as an American that lives in the United States I will choose not to comment on my opinion of this situation as I do not feel it is my place to do so. My interest is to understand it and how it effects my fellow Human Brothers and Sisters on another land. If this can be instituted there it can very well be instituted here or anywhere else and I am wishing to be informed in case it does.

Originally posted by Ezappa
they have been told to find new accommodation as they will not pay the rent on the house at its current rate for just one person and one child in a 3 bedroom house.

I do wonder how they plan to roll this out... clearly they cannot expect thousands to move instantly come April. Are people being informed now? Even so, April is just around the corner, and in some places to find a private rental "suitable" for the amount of people might be few and far between. Clearly the cannot start penalising people if they haven't found anything suitable in just a few months time... or can they?

So basically, this "tax" takes effect in April which, if I am seeing this correctly is being seen as a tax on the poor and at the same time in April the rich get a tax cut of 3%? how does this save the tax payers money in the long run. Is this simply a case of shifting the tax responsibility and or robbing Peter to pay Paul or am I seeing it all wrong?

reply to post by aspiechick


Yes people have been told early of the changes but only recently within the last 6 months.

A lot of myth and misconception in this Thread! All MSM driven!

Here is a link to the probably the most authoritative blog on the subject. I have linked today's blog but the writer has produced a number of research blogs on the subject and I would recommend anyone who will be affected by the changes to read all of the related posts in the blog.

Bedroom Tax – Cameron’s bogus argument over fairness at PMQs

speye.wordpress.com...

Cameron clearly was uneasy and most definitely doesn’t understand or have any level of knowledge of the bedroom tax including saying his government has set aside £50m to pay for this when in fact it is £30m.

For all the 'scrounger v striver' rhetoric the MSM are happy to NLP the population with, about 60% of those who will be affected by the bedroom tax are those working part time or on NMW.

Fact is, the British taxpayer pays an additional £2,174,660,514 per year more to private tenants in housing benefit than we pay to social tenants.

Fact is that under the Tories, HB is already rising by £37.85 per second

You will also see Cameron repeating that Housing Benefit is now £23bn per year. This is the same Mr Cameron who in January 2012 said the Housing Benefit bill had reduced. Yes the same Mr Cameron who admitted in December 2012 (inadvertantly) that he had lied to parliament over this in January 2012. The same Mr Cameron that heads up the same coalition which said it would reduce the then £20.8bn Housing Benefit bill it ‘inherited’ from Laboutr by nearly £2bn. And yes the same Housing Benefit bill that stands at the latest figures (shamefully for August 2012) at £23.567bn some £4.8bn per year OVER and above his own target.

Under this same Mr Cameron the Housing Benefit bill has risen by £37.85 PER SECOND since he took office (and yes that means every second of every minute of every hour and 24 hours per day)

Not only is the cost of housing the underpaid and unwaged rising, the bedroom tax will cause it to rise further.

This tax is a nasty pernicious attack on some of the most vulnerable people in the UK and the government have lied to the electorate to get their support.


And another thing, where are all these 1 bedroom properties people will be expected to move to? Their is a shortage, even in the private sector. Unless all those unsold 'executive flats' (you know, the ones without a proper kitchen) have been earmarked, perhaps for private landlords to access? Like Grainger perhaps, the largest private landlord in the land and though I have been looking and have to find a link supporting this, I did read somewhere that Grainger is a company that our lovelly PM holds plenty of shares in!

The bedroom tax is designed to shift public money from public purses to the coffers of private landlords, of whom I am sure, Cameron is not the only millionaire property portfolio MP with a vested interest in further developing market share for the private sector.

Is the UK expecting an influx of Romanian/Bulgarian immigrants next year? and if so how is this going to effect this whole situation? or is it possible this "Rearrangement" is due to the current population and the knowledge of adding to it?

reply to post by Agarta

My goodness, yes we are!

Who knows how it will pan out - I really don't think our government has the collective intellect to have thought any of this through.

The trouble with UK politics today is that every decision seems to be made with only the short-term in mind - we have no visionaries, no true servants of the public; do a brief term in office, claim the wildly extravagant perks due to all MPs, make the relevant contacts for post-term board jobs and voila - set for life.

Call me an old cynic but I can't see any of this leading anywhere good.

reply to post by Agarta


The majority of the Bulgarian population live below the poverty line, so they would be stupid if they hadn't packed their bags already. We are about to see a huge influx and we are at breaking point. That and Bulgaria is run by the mafia, so that institution will most likely make its way over here too.

To answer the question of housing. No, there is simply not enough for this influx we are about to face.

I apologize if I am putting too many puzzle pieces into this puzzle or asking too many questions. Like I said I am just trying to see the whole picture.

reply to post by Agarta


They will affect the situation the sames as the Poles did by going straight to the front of the housing list.
It used to perplex me when waiting years for a council house how people could come from foreign nations and be housed almost instantly yet Brits have to wait.
Where my mum stays she is one of the few Scottish tenants left,it's like the United Nations.Needless to say the building is now a dump,people reguarly urinate and worse in the lift,dump their rubbish in the lobbies,fight and carry on in the lobbies.
She has been there since the flat was new,over thirty years and wont go out at night or answer her door at night.

Originally posted by glen200376
Where my mum stays she is one of the few Scottish tenants left,it's like the United Nations.Needless to say the building is now a dump,people reguarly urinate and worse in the lift,dump their rubbish in the lobbies

Are you implying you and your mum is snobbish by objecting to people dumping rubbish where they shouldn't? Or is it different now when you're not talking about my neighborhood? Sorry to hear your mother's not feeling safe where she lives anymore.

Anyway, I never understood how the system works here... many places in Europe, if you immigrate to the country, then you will not receive any help from the state, unless you've been living there for 3 years. So basically, to enter the country (not talking asylum seekers here, just immigrants) you either need to have enough to survive on for three years, or make sure you will be able to survive without any help from the state for the first three years. It just seems so ridiculous to give benefits to someone who's not contributed to the country!

Originally posted by Agarta
I apologize if I am putting too many puzzle pieces into this puzzle or asking too many questions. Like I said I am just trying to see the whole picture.

You're quite right, these pieces well may fit together.

The government is beginning to comprehend the situation of Europe and free movement of the population. They know of the impending influx of the two new states, and are panicking. Why? Because our infrastructure is at breaking point already, and we can't house the population.

So, what's the next best thing to do? Well It's to organize the current system as best as we can, so we can see why things like bedroom tax will be enforced, and this is to get as many people into social housing as best fitted as possible.

Okay sorry another set but here goes. as I have heard the UK is over populated in may cities. They are attempting to rearrange the population to better accommodate for the population. Then In January they are expecting more immigrants further pushing the limits which essentially forces the council to buy back the properties that Thatcher sold in the 80s or pay higher dividends to the property owners. Due to this, the supply and demand for products from petrol to food is going up and thus the prices are as well. Those that can purchase their own homes are running out of room to have them built. Add to this, HRH Prince Charles is backing steps in birth control (which makes sense except the accepting of more immigrants into the population). I do not see a feasible out of this situation and it appears that it will only get worse from here in the aspect of population and costs of living vrs. taxation(not forgetting the pole tax riots in London 1990).

Where do we, the People of Earth, go from here? How do We face this growing problem? Is this all a lead up to Agenda 21? ETA: Is there anyway anyone can see of avoiding Victorian and Edwardian levels of poverty in the next few years?

ETA: I have always had a love for jolly ol' England as I called it home for 3 years growing up (in fact I learned to speak English there, my first sentence was "Ahrigh' I'll 'ave a go at it" lol) and it saddens me to see it in this state and the state of its possible future. I feel for all of you in the UK.(not that things are much better here)

reply to post by aspiechick


I agree.The trick that they use i to say they are self employed then they qualify instantly for benefits,NHS etc.
I also heard from a friend who recently started a business that immigrants dont pay tax if they start a new business for up to seven years.Not sure if its true but if it is then that really annoys me.

The truth is britain is finished. Broken. Theres no great in britain anymore. Its a free for all for anyone who wants to come here and bleed us dry. Im sure cameron and his posh boys want a civil war, So they can sit back in there mansions and watch......Baz turds!

reply to post by glen200376


I think for the first two years for immigrants starting a business its tax free, but then they just pretend to sell the business to a family member usually a brother when its really just the same person. Its not like all immigrants have birth certificates.

reply to post by Agarta


Agenda 21 is already underway here, seems to me like Eco friendly solutions to life though. I know the conspiracy behind it but at the moment it seems harmless.

Poverty isn't far off of the Victorian era now. The MSM keep telling us the gap is getting bigger and that class wars are back. If that isn't truth enough, then just imagine people in Victorian dress and to be honest you'd realise that we are already there. Now we just have to bring back those workhouses and viola...

whoever said that this is yet another way to tax the poor and advance the rich was right.

i'm a middle aged woman, with 2 grown up kids, i rent a 3 bedroomed house privately. as i have no special need i can't get social housing anyway. besides, both my children are in new fresh relationships and, as we all know, the likelihood of them staying with their current partners is very low .. in which case i need the room available for them to move back into when/if their relationships fail. i'm LUCKY i'm not in social housing under these circumstances, i can barely afford my rent as it is, but to be penalised for being unwilling to move when the chances of my children returning are high, would be an insult.

another thing to ponder... some of these families have been in their homes for years, their children grew up there and they have roots and memories where they are, not to mention the fact that they'll probably end up using the rooms for multiple visiting kids and grandkids... why should they be forced to move or pay extra just because they have a little spare room? and, as another poster said, where IS this smaller housing for them to move into? there isn't exactly a glut of 1 bedroomed properties.

i can see this new tax just causing more misery for those who least need it. as usual with this corrupt uk government.

I don't mind the concept in principle where it doesn't cause hardship and is fair.....but I am very angry about the fact there is no provision for very genuine reason's for needing an extra bedroom set outside the standard rules.....

To elaborate.....I have an 11 year old daughter who has a disability. She as just been assessed by my local authority as needing her own bedroom because of her disability. They are looking at the option's of either converting my home to make more space to create the extra bedroom, or moving my family to a four bedroom house to acquire the extra bedroom she need's that way........

Either way....I will be a victim of the "bedroom tax" because she has a sibling she can share with.....there is NO provision for the fact that she has a very genuine need for her own bedroom that as been clearly identified and accepted!

My mum and dad are in exactly the same position.....my mum has been disabled for many many year's and need's her own bedroom and was assessed as having this need a long time ago......with the new rules in place they will also have to pay this new "bedroom tax"

I am very annoyed that the medical professionals who work on behalf of my local authority can assess my daughter as having the need for her own bedroom on one hand......then I will get this recognition taken away on the other.

I'm sure there are many scenario's where the new system will be unfair....but it seem's a big blow to the disabled community who very often may require their own bedroom....I'm sure it will affect many disabled people and their families alone!