Nearly one in four tenants across the North East and Cumbria are now in bedroom tax debt

date: 19 September 2013

embargo: For immediate release

Almost one in four council house tenants affected by the bedroom tax have fallen behind on their rent since its introduction, according to new figures released today (Thursday) by False Economy.

Figures provided by six local authorities across the North East and Cumbria in response to Freedom of Information (FOI) requests by False Economy show that since the bedroom tax was introduced this April, 3,600 council housing tenants - 24 per cent of all tenants affected by the tax in these areas - have been pushed into arrears.

However, across some areas the situation is much worse, with a staggering three in four tenants in Barrow-in-Furness (Cumbria) being pushed into arrears - the highest proportion in Britain.

Across Britain over 50,000 council housing tenants have fallen behind on their rent since April - nearly a third (31 per cent) of all tenants affected by the tax in the 114 local authorities that provided data in response to FOI requests.

Across the region:

• 76 per cent of affected council housing tenants in Barrow have fallen behind on their rent since the bedroom tax came into effect.
• Two in five (40 per cent) affected council housing tenants in Northumberland have fallen into arrears since April, with 23 per cent of affected tenants racking up arrears of at least £50 since the bedroom tax kicked in.
• Nearly one in three (32 per cent) affected council tenants in Newcastle had been pushed into arrears during the first three months of the bedroom tax.

The data measures the impact of the bedroom tax over the first four months of its operation. But with emergency funding from councils rapidly drying up, the situation is likely to get far worse over the coming months, warns False Economy.

The bedroom tax, introduced under the Welfare Reform Act 2012, penalises council housing and housing association tenants if they have a 'spare' bedroom by reducing their housing benefit by 14 per cent or 25 per cent, depending on the number of spare bedrooms.

Those affected have included disabled people who currently use 'spare' rooms for their carers to sleep in or to store their equipment. Other affected tenants have offered to move but are unable to be re-housed as smaller properties are not available for them to move into.

The bedroom tax, combined with other social security changes as cuts in tax credits, falling real wages and high unemployment, is forcing many already hard-pressed families even deeper into debt, says False Economy.

False Economy is concerned that as only one in ten local authorities across Britain who responded to the FOI request have any form of 'no eviction' policy, many thousands of families risk losing their homes as a result of the bedroom tax.

Campaign Manager for False Economy Clifford Singer said: 'These figures show once again the predictable chaos that has resulted from the hated bedroom tax. Together with the raft of other benefits cuts the government has forced through both this year and previously, the bedroom tax is driving tenants and families who were just making ends meet into arrears, and pushing those who were already struggling with the cost of living into a full-blown crisis.

'At a time when the government is actively trying to stoke a new housing bubble for purely political ends, we have people being punished for the lack of affordable housing and the decades-long failure to invest in social and council housing. The worst part is that these figures have been collated while councils' emergency Discretionary Housing Payments are still available; they are being used up at record speed and when they run out, these figures will only get worse.'

TUC Regional Secretary Beth Farhat said: 'These figures are beyond lamentable. The sheer volume of people being forced into a spiral of debt through an arbitrary and frankly draconian mandate from is indefensible. Three quarters of tenants in some areas are paying dearly for simply living in their family home - something most of us take for granted.

'The Bedroom Tax is another product of a government hell-bent on austerity, regardless of the effectiveness or consequences of their policies. The scale of debt clearly illustrates that this is not a money-saving exercise and has magnified the social housing crisis we have as there is not enough 'suitable' alternative accommodation for tenants who are affected.'

NOTES TO EDITORS:

Council house tenants pushed into arrears since 1 April 2013 in local authorities across the North East

- Darlington Council also provided partial data on the number of tenants affected by the bedroom tax. The figures do not include tenants who were already in arrears prior to the bedroom tax coming into effect.

- More information about False Economy is available at www.falseeconomy.org.uk

- The TUC's campaign plan can be downloaded from www.tuc.org.uk/campaignplan

- All TUC press releases can be found at www.tuc.org.uk

- Follow the TUC on Twitter: @tucnews

Contacts:

Media enquiries:
Beth Farhat T: 0191 227 5565 M: 07747636408 E: bfarhat@tuc.org.uk
Neil Foster T: 0191 227 5553 M: 07786717972 E: nfoster@tuc.org.uk