Exeter residents no longer exempt from Bedroom Tax

Thirty-one people in Exeter will no longer be exempt from the "Bedroom Tax" after changes to government legislation, announced by Exeter City Council earlier today.

The "tax" sees people in social housing lose up to a quarter of their housing benefit if they are considered to be under-occupying the property by the Government.

However, it was discovered before last Christmas, that 31 people in Exeter had been paying the tax unnecessarily due to piece of legislation overlooked by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP).

While this saw some Exeter residents receive refunds the Government has now changed the legislation meaning from 3 March they are once again liable to pay the "tax".

Cllr Rob Hannaford, Lead Councillor for Housing and Customer Access, said: "Although we were good to our word and paid out the refunds, the error has now been rectified by the DWP and the appropriate legislation laid before Parliament.

“If anyone in Exeter has problems with debt as a result of this and any other issues I would urge them to come and talk to one of our customer advisors."

The now defunct legislation exempted anybody who had continuously claimed housing benefit while living in the same property since 1996 from paying the tax.

The DWP estimates that around 5,000 nationwide were affected by this error all of whom will now have to pay again.

The "Bedroom Tax" itself has proven controversial with the National Housing Federation (NHF) claiming the tax is "heaping misery and hardship" on families in incredibly tough situations.

A survey by the NHF, the housing association advocacy group, found that two-thirds of those affected by the ‘Bedroom Tax’ had been left unable to fully pay rent meaning many could face eviction from their social housing.

National Housing Federation chief executive David Orr said: “You can argue over what to call the policy, but there is no disputing the impact that the bedroom tax is having across the country. It is heaping misery and hardship on already struggling families, pushing them into arrears. Now many are at risk of being evicted because they simply can’t find the extra money to pay their rent.

“These people have done nothing wrong. The Government has suddenly changed the rules and given them a false choice: move to a smaller home or pay. Yet we know there aren’t enough smaller homes in England for these families to move into.  
       
“Housing associations are doing all they can to avoid evicting residents, but as not-for-profit organisations they can’t simply write-off unpaid rent.  From day one we have said the bedroom tax is unfair, unworkable and just bad policy. It’s putting severe pressure on thousands of the nation’s poorest people and must be repealed.”