Riverside is stepping up its campaign urging the
government to scrap plans to cut housing benefit
for housing association and council tenants with spare
bedrooms.
Under the proposed Welfare Reform Bill,
working age tenants who under-occupy their homes, could see benefit
cuts averaging £14 per week unless they move to a smaller property.
This includes tenants with older children of the same sex, younger
children of the opposite sex with separate bedrooms and separated
parents with regular access to children who stay overnight.
Riverside estimates that around 7,000 of its tenants could be
affected.
Following lobbying by the housing sector -
supported by Riverside’s social media campaign which included
presenting our case direct to Lords via Twitter, a dedicated
Facebook page and a downloadable letter template to enable tenants
to write to their MPs - the House of Lords voted against the
government’s proposals in December.
An amendment to exempt from the bedroom tax
families with just one spare bedroom who are unable to move to a
smaller property was supported by 258 to 190 votes. However, the
proposal will return to the House of Commons in February.
Hugh Owen, Riverside’s Director of Policy and
Communication, said: “While we welcome the amendment, we don’t want
the decision to be reversed in the House of Commons. We have had a
fantastic response to our Room Without Benefit campaign
and would like to thank all those that have used the facility on
our website to email the House of Lords representatives involved in
the debate, written personal letters or been involved in the
twitter campaign. But the fight is not over, we need to keep up the
momentum and continue to pressure MPs to abandon the bedroom tax,
or at least modify it in line with the Lords’ amendment.”
Warren Smith, Chair of the Riverside Tenants'
and Residents' Federation, added: “Even if people who are affected
wanted to move there are simply not enough smaller housing
association and council properties to go round. Many people who
find themselves with spare rooms because their circumstances have
changed will face a big drop in their incomes at a time when fuel
costs and food prices are rising steeply. Some will fall behind
with their rent and could face eviction.
“Those who can’t afford to stay in their own
homes will have to move to a smaller property, often in a different
area because of the shortage of properties. This will disrupt
families who support each other by helping with things like
childcare and assisting ill or disabled relatives. A lack of space
will also mean that grandparents won’t be able to help looking
after grandchildren so that their own children can work, divorced
fathers won’t be able to have their own children to stay over, and
couples will find it difficult to foster vulnerable children.
Important family support networks will be badly damaged.”