Last week the Government rolled out its wide-ranging benefit reforms.
Controversially, the cornerstone of this has been the “Under Occupation Penalty”
(dubbed the “Bedroom Tax” by its opponents), which targets the 660,000 tenants
of under-occupied council properties and social housing who are in receipt of
housing benefit.
Bedroom Tax
Under the new rules, housing benefit will be reduced by 14% if residents have
a spare bedroom, or by 25% if they have two or more extra rooms.
Critics say this unfairly puts financial stress on vulnerable families, and
in particular on disabled residents who have lived in their homes all of their
lives. They will now face a £15–£25 reduction a week in benefits and risk
falling into arrears or facing eviction if they cannot make up the
shortfall.
The government says the policy is designed to encourage people to move into
accommodation appropriate to their needs, to free up larger properties for many
families who need the extra space.
However, many housing charities have highlighted the fact that there are
limited smaller properties available to move into. So, even if households did
want to downsize, they may not be able to do so due to the lack of supply; plus
they could face additional costs of over £100 a month in reduced benefits – a
significant amount for low earners.
A solution
If you have a spare room that is currently filled with items that you are storing for yourself or perhaps other family members then why not tell your friends and family that they need to take these back. Your items could then go in to storage. With storage at Merthyr Self Storage starting from just £5.00 (T&C’s apply) you could then rent your under occupied room out and in the long term – make yourself some money!
