The bedroom tax is a United Kingdom welfare policy whereby tenants living in public housing (also called council or social housing) with rooms deemed "spare" experience a reduction in Housing Benefit, resulting in them being obliged to fund this reduction from their incomes, move home, or face rent arrears and potential eviction by their landlord (be that the local authority or a housing association). The policy was introduced as part of the Welfare Reform Act 2012 passed during the Premiership of David Cameron. Bedroom tax is the most commonly used term for the policy, especially by critics of the changes who argue that they amount to a tax because of the lack of social housing (or in some areas, any rented accommodation) for affected tenants to downsize to (and the refusal to accept the risk of taking in lodgers). The bedroom tax is also referred to as the under-occupancy penalty, under occupation penalty, under-occupancy charge,under-occupation charge or size criteria.[1]
In 2016 it was announced that the penalty would be extended to pensioners. Caroline Abrahams of Age UK said: "Imposing the cap on older tenants will not only cause them anxiety and distress, it is also pointless given the lack of affordable housing options available to them".[2][3] It has not been applied to pensioners.[4]
Supporters of the changes have referred to the unreformed system as a "spare room subsidy"[5] whereby tax-payers are said to have been subsidising social-housing tenants living in houses larger than they needed. The stated intention of the under-occupancy penalty policy was to reduce these costs and to ease housing shortages and overcrowding.
A similar policy was enacted by the preceding New Labour government during the decade beforehand in private-sector housing, as the Local Housing Allowance, without attracting controversy. The 2012 legislation essentially represented an equalisation of treatment of benefit claimants, regardless of whether they live in private tenancies or social housing. The reforms formed one part of the 2010–2015 Coalition Government's wide-ranging welfare-reform agenda – sometimes known as the United Kingdom government austerity programme – which included the introduction of Universal Credit, the introduction of a welfare cap to limit the total size of the welfare bill, reform of the Council Tax and the introduction of Personal Independence Payments to reform of disability benefits.
^"Bedroom Tax". National Housing Federation. Archived from the original on 17 July 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
^Poorest pensioners to lose hundreds of pounds a year in 'new bedroom tax' Archived 2 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine BBC
^Poorest pensioners to lose hundreds of pounds a year in 'new bedroom tax' BBC - "And Caroline Abrahams, charity director of Age UK, said: 'Imposing the cap on older tenants will not only cause them anxiety and distress, it is also pointless given the lack of affordable housing options available to them. [...] It will create hardship without any significant financial gains for the Government.'"
^"How to deal with the bedroom tax". Shelter. 18 July 2022. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
^
"Local authorities and advisers: removal of the spare room subsidy". gov.uk.
The bedroomtax is a United Kingdom welfare policy whereby tenants living in public housing (also called council or social housing) with rooms deemed...
introduce any new direct taxes, this penalty has been characterised by the Labour Party and some in the media as the "BedroomTax", attempting to link it...
in Europe from the 1600s to avoid taxes. Bedroomtax Brick tax Glass tax Hearth tax Wallpaper tax "Scottish window tax costs revealed". bbc.co.uk. 18 July...
Welfare Reform Act 2012 (often referred to as the "BedroomTax") saying his own children share a bedroom. That September, Shapps complained to the Secretary-General...
BedroomTax now. Councils should write off all bedroomtax-related arrears, withdraw all court proceedings and eviction orders where the bedroomtax has...
Retrieved 15 September 2016. Riddell, Mary (21 February 2015). "I'll end the bedroomtax then have a new baby, says Rachel Reeves". Daily Telegraph. Archived...
Muslim Awards. In 2013, Sarwar took a strong line in attacking both the "bedroomtax" and accused the Scottish Government of failure to mitigate its worst...
March 2013, a number of Yes Scotland activists promoted the movement at bedroomtax protests throughout Scotland. Yes Scotland first disclosed its finances...
the National Minimum Wage, closure of local police stations and the Bedroomtax. Nash was narrowly reselected by the Airdrie and Shotts CLP to contest...
2014 In 2014, she tried to introduce an exemption from the so-called 'bedroomtax' so that victims of domestic violence with a "panic room" installed were...
Northern Ireland Equality Commission. Following the introduction of the BedroomTax (officially the Under-occupancy penalty) in the Welfare Reform Act 2012...
the one-bedroom rate that had previously been available) The under-occupancy penalty, introduced in 2013 and commonly known as the "bedroomtax", affected...
Bedroomtax only works if the policy fails!'". YouTube. Archived from the original on 13 December 2021. "SNP slammed over MPS no-show at bedroomtax vote"...
Secretary, Smith attacked the government's welfare reforms, calling the bedroomtax "unlawful and discriminatory". He followed the party whip by abstaining...
rights groups for disproportionately affecting disabled people. The "bedroomtax" is an austerity measure that has attracted particular criticism, with...
wanted to apply the "bedroomtax" to his housing association property. Lall argued that the room in question had never been a bedroom meaning he should not...
As an MP her parliamentary voting record has included opposing the 'bedroomtax' and increasing welfare support for those unable to work due to illness...
Court of the United Kingdom. The case concerns the application of the "bedroomtax" to a family who care for their disabled grandson who suffers from Potocki-Shaffer...
also said there was "no such thing as a bedroomtax", disagreeing that restricting benefits was equivalent to a tax, and claimed there was no hard evidence...
clarity in the modern Conservative Party, and called for an end to the "BedroomTax". In May 2015, with polls pointing to a hung Parliament in the run up...
stance on the NHS and announced if elected Labour would abolish the bedroomtax. The conference included several 'signature' policies, such as strengthening...
to benefit caused 16%. Welfare changes like Universal Credit and the Bedroomtax caused increased food bank use. The Trussell Trust urged politicians...
she became interested in politics in 2013 due to the effects of the "Bedroomtax" and austerity on her local community. She worked in the constituency...
called by many other terms: "bedroom community" (Canada and northeastern US),[citation needed] "bedroom town", "bedroom suburb" (US). In Japan, a commuter...
under some pressure from political opponents over her support for the bedroomtax. A protest outside her Cardiff office about the issue led to her not...
problem. The Cameron government addressed this shortage by imposing a bedroomtax to encourage movement. Social policy economists, such as Culyer and Barr...
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