Social housing tenants live in fear due to bedroom tax
- 28 May
New research reveals that housing association tenants who have been affected by the government's bedroom tax have had to cut back on essentials such as food and heating.
An Ipsos MORI survey carried out for the National Housing Federation found that almost a third of people affected by the bedroom tax have said they have to cut back on food and
more than a quarter have cut back on heating as a result of this tax, reports 24dash.Almost half of people affected have had to borrow money to help them pay their rent since the spare room subsidiary was introduced in April 2013.
The research also found that:
• More than three quarters (76%) of those affected are concerned about falling behind on rent.
• Nearly nine in 10 (89%) of those affected are concerned about meeting their living costs.
• Seven in 10 (70%) of those affected are concerned about eviction.National Housing Federation chief executive David Orr said: "People stung by the bedroom tax are being forced to make difficult choices on which bills to pay and which essentials to go without. They are living in fear that they will lose their homes and have resorted to borrowing from friends and family to try and get by. Housing associations have spent millions of pounds working more closely with their tenants, introducing projects to tackle fuel poverty and working with food banks to help alleviate food poverty. But these services have costs, which leaves less money for building new homes. The results of our latest survey are depressing. As we feared and warned, the bedroom tax is having a disastrous impact. The only solution is to abolish this policy which fails on every level."
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