A Worry.

With the Bedroom Tax starting in just a couple of Weeks, it will make everyday life for a lot of people a real worry and in some cases just too hard.
What's going to happen to the Pets who may suffer because their owners no longer have the money to look after them. We may see many abandoned or handed over to Pet Shelters that are already full....or worse.

Re: A Worry.

I hope it doesn't affect them, Roxy! It is a ridiculous tax - nearly every bit as bad as the Poll tax.

I heard of a single chap, who lives down the drive from me, who is living in a one bedroom flat already and he was lettered to say he would be charged bedroom tax - that he could just as easily living in a bedsit style house - now bedsits here are very few - 3 in total and they are occupied! How crazy is that!

It's a ridiculous tax and I am sure that there are other ways for councils to claw back money. The Government should stop those extra payments of £200 to alcoholics! At least the Scottish government should! There are loads of things they could do - such as check up on all the "singles" who are getting houses, housing allowances etc but don't live in them, as they live with their partners elsewhere! An example is a young woman who is living in a private leg up the close I live in - but she lives with her boyfriend round the corner in a council house!!

Thanks, Roxy, interesting post.

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Animals are already suffering as a result of the ecomnomy shelters and rescue places bursting at the seams...I have taken on a foster dog because he was 10 and on the list to be put down... I cant afford the 200e fee to buy him so he hides in the guise of a foster dog from the person who checks over crowding in french dog homes as do many others better than being put to sleep... Im going to have a book sale in the summer for tourist in the hope to raise the money ...As I think of him as my dog now...

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What is a bedroom tax? Not something we have this side of the pond.

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Not something I've heard much about and I live a lot closer. I think it'll be something to do with having bedrooms that aren't used so trying to get people to move into smaller properties maybe? Or it could be like the old window tax where if you had glass windows you paid tax - so people knocked out the glass rather than pay tax.

Re: A Worry.

Bedroom tax is the latest crazy from the Government. It is for people in social housing, meaning council houses or Housing association ones. If you are say two people but you have a three bed house you are taxed on the spare bedroom. This is to get you to downgrade your house. The problem being there are not enough one bed or two bed flats to go into so you have to pay about £20 a week for the spare bedroom you have or if you have two bedrooms spare £40 Thats out of your benefits or low wage you have. One couple had lived in their house for 26 years, brought three children up there and have two beds spare. He worked but is on benefits as he has done his knee in and needs a op. They get £100 a week benefits and he has to pay £40 out of that for the spare bedrooms. Crazy as mentioned and very demeaning if you cant help yourselves money wise.
The rich have many bedrooms in their houses, how many does the Queen have in her 5 Castles and Palaces

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Total Bloody Shambles. But what else can you expect from this bunch of uncaring B******s.


http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news...medium=twitter

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It's not actually a Tax!

Welfare reforms will cut the amount of Benefit that people can get from their Council if they are deemed to have a spare bedroom in their Council or Housing Association home. This measure will apply from April 2013 to tenants of working age.

The power to do this is contained in the Welfare Reform Act 2012 and is commonly referred to as the bedroom tax, size criteria or under-occupation penalty.

I don't like it either but, at least, let's get it right on here!

People are saying it won't save money but it will in the long run BUT it isn't being brought in for that reason alone.

Where it all falls down is that Councils have very few properties to downsize people into and secondly, disabled people fall under this too, which is very unfair.

There's also the moral aspect of more or less forcing people to move from homes and neighbourhoods they've known for many years; that alone can cause many problems because I've known two elderly people moved into smaller accommodation to free under-used 3-bed houses and both died within months of the move.

It may be a coincidence but it happens too often for my liking!

Moving home is a very stressful business and it's not something I'm looking forward to but I know we must for financial reasons - we're just the two of us in our early sixties in a 3-bed house. stevmk2

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It seems very cruel at the moment but in the future it may make sense, here in SA ,(all states differ) housing trust properties used to mean a home for life, not any more, all tenants are now means tested regularly and if you're deemed to be able to pay private rent on your income then you will lose your HT home , there are lots of older folk whose families have grown up and left home living in 3/4 bedroom homes while hundreds of single parents and young families are on the waiting list, some even living in motels, so in a lot of cases it makes sense to downsize as sad as it may be for some people but it is public housing after all.

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Maybe I missed the thread - dont recall reading on here about this 'bedroom tax'. For me - it has to be the worst idea by any Government. How callous and thoughtless.... It resembles the 'window tax' of many moons ago.....
Am I right ......