When was bedroom tax introduced

Bedroom Tax - The Facts. What is Bedroom Tax? This new tax started affecting customers with spare bedrooms in April Who will 'Bedroom Tax' affect? You may not be affected if you have a spare room for the use of an overnight carer What are the bedroom tax rules?

There are a number of different rules about what counts as a taxable spare bedroom: Children of both sexes under 10 would be expected to share a bedroom. Children of the same gender under 16 would be expected to share a bedroom. Couples and adults are entitled to have bedrooms of their own.

What can I do? Each person or couple that makes up part of the household will be eligible for one bedroom with the following exceptions:. Government impact assessments suggest that 80, households in London will be affected by these changes: equal to approximately 22 per cent of the total housing benefit claimants in London. In March the Government subsequently announced exemptions for disabled children and parents whose children were studying at university, or had been deployed on missions whilst acting for the armed forces.

If someone is an approved foster carer, there is provision for one extra bedroom for a foster child. This provision continues providing it has not been over a year since the previous placement.

The bedroom tax only applies to those of working age. Those who have reached the pension age are not liable for the bedroom tax. The housing benefit or universal credit calculation of those living with a disabled child allows them a separate bedroom, providing the child is receiving the Disability Care Component at the middle or highest rate, and that the housing benefit office accepts that their disability prevents them from sharing a bedroom.

This definition follows the argument most frequently made for the bedroom tax, that prior to its introduction, taxpayers were subsidising social housing tenants to live in accommodation far larger than was considered necessary. This involved funding the provision of a separate bedroom which was unoccupied. The reform intended to address this imbalance and to allow a better correlation between the number of occupants and the number of rooms in a house.

Through his time in office, Prime Minister David Cameron reiterated that the proposals were an alteration to a benefit, and not an increased tax. Critics view the bedroom tax as placing additional financial strains on the most vulnerable members of society. Clearly, the bedroom tax is having an extreme impact on those who are already struggling, forcing them to scale back on the essentials.

Such a situation is simply unacceptable and confirms the fears many raised when the policy was first introduced. In addition, many have also criticised the bedroom tax for discriminating against vulnerable people.

The other case involved a single mother living in a three-bedroom council house fitted with a secure panic room to protect her from a violent ex-partner. In both cases, judges ruled that the bedroom tax amounted to unlawful discrimination.