The Bedroom Tax - The big lie

[Ifwecouldjust.......]

What I can't understand is why it's the tennant's fault that their house is now suddenly too big for them?

Surely, it would make sense to ask all those with rooms to spare to apply for smaller properties, if the local housing association don't have these smaller properties available, then they stay where they are until such a property comes available and without being penalised for it?

How can you penalise people if there's nowhere for them to go?

It's a shocking policy.

Its all part of their big plan though. The Nazti party want to free up housing in London thats why they are attacking on two fronts

1. The bedroom tax. this will force people to downsize properties and in some cases leave the areas where they have lived all their lives.

2. Cap on housing benefit. So even if you don't have too many bedrooms you will be unable to afford the rent and end up having to leave the area.



Gideon has no belief in older industrialised areas such as Manchester / Birmingham / Sheffield will be sustainable in the long term as their original purpose (reason for being built) no longer exists.

 

[johnny on the spot]

What I can't understand is why it's the tennant's fault that their house is now suddenly too big for them?

Surely, it would make sense to ask all those with rooms to spare to apply for smaller properties, if the local housing association don't have these smaller properties available, then they stay where they are until such a property comes available and without being penalised for it?

How can you penalise people if there's nowhere for them to go?

It's a shocking policy.

Exactly. My sister's off to uni in a couple of weeks. According to IDS it's time for both she and my mum to pack their shit. And where's mum supposed to go in the middle of chronic housing shortages? Apparently she should swap with someone else so that there are at least two permanent occupants of her house. So that's at least four people moving in this once instance.

Now, there must be thousands of lone kids leaving socially housed families for uni this month (social mobility and all that), leaving the above situation to be repeated many, many times. Thousands of tenants swapping houses en masse, every September? It's apparently the ideal situation. The housing associations are sure to love it. Hey, we could make a fun annual event out of it. 'Pack Your Shit Week' - council estates streets lined with poor people carrying boxes (which they're saving to live in one day), smiling removal men planning Christmas on the back of it. Everyone's a winner.

The reluctant alternative is that the tenants, some of the poorest people in the country but who have raised their kids so they're deemed good enough to enter higher education, immediately have to fork out money they can't afford, on top of council tax and spiraling rents.

It's not only evil, it's just fucking stupid.

 

[denislawsbackheel]

...

 

[denislawsbackheel]

i would guess that there is a lot more 1/2 bedroom properties available privately than council, if the figures quoted in the article are correct the main problem does seem to be lack of smaller houses

Have a look on Right Move for 1 bedroom flats and see how many are available. There's aren't many. It's also next to impossible to get a council property since the Tories sold them all. So a huge proportion of single unemployed people are privately renting the cheapest property they can, which is usually a two bed terrace. They've been paying the bedroom tax for years but no one seemed to give a shit then.

Fair do's but as we don't have the actual data we cannot say which sector has the most availability, the question is who can build these properties, who pays for it, and where would they be located

Just checked on right move for 1 bed properties in manchester and therer are a thousand and that's only right move

Of which how many are students only or over 55 retirement homes only?

 

[Dirty Harry]

My Daughter's been caught up in all this now, she stayed with me for almost 2 years waiting to get a one bedroom flat, she finally got one and has been there for a couple of years now, lo and behold, her flats (and the surrounding ones) have been marked to get knocked down within the next 6-12 months, because of the lack of one bed flats around she's having to consider two beds at the extra costs, odd thing is, she's actually working for a housing association and the problems still exist.

 

[foxy]

Ironically it was Thatcher that caused this mess in the first place. Allowing people to buy their council houses reduced the amount of property available.

 

[Mike D]

Ironically it was Thatcher that caused this mess in the first place. Allowing people to buy their council houses reduced the amount of property available.

And it's Thatchers children finishing off the job she started.

 

[-dabz-]

To be perfectly honest, this is an appalling piece of legislation, but for the love of God why aren't the national newspapers making more of the disgrace that is ATOS......free press my fucking arse.

Our press are the national disgrace not the government, as it's their job to make sure that people are appraised of what is going on, and the most important part of all this is to hold the sitting government to account - they care more about putting money into sports reporting than investigative journalism. They should collectively hang their fucking heads in shame.

I must be getting old as I think I'm moving left of centre!

No mate, you're not getting old or drifting left of centre.
You're slowly coming to the realisation that the people at the top in the press, the TV, the gov, the opposition, royalty, the military, the police, big business, all piss in the same pot. Different cheeks on the same arse. A well oiled machine, honed over the centuries to fuck us all up the arse.
There is no right and left, it's an illusion of choice. I was watching a labour mp railing against this the other day. He was asked if his party would repeal it if they get to power- He wouldn't answer it. That should tell you all you need to know....He couldn't even be bothered to lie.

As long as we are all distracted by the tat and shite of modern life, these bastards will keep getting away with shit like this.

"it's a big fucking club, and you ain't in it"- George Carlin
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5dBZDSSky0[/youtube]
Not sure why the link isn't working.

 

[Dave Ewing's Back 'eader]

I'm not particularly left-wing but this is a sickening piece of legislation and, besides Osborne's general cluelessness, one of the main reasons I've come to loathe this government.

I loathed this government long before Osborne was born

 

[adrianr]

if shitting on disabled people and punishing people financially without giving them an alternative doesn't get the public up in arms you have to wonder what will?

Sadly as Malg pointed out, the right wing press support the attacks on the poor and the disabled and dont report it fairly. They just sensationilise the debate by reporting about a family with 15 kids who have a camel and live on welfare.

The demonisation of the poorest people in our society is to me nothing short of a national disgrace. How the fuck will taking £14 a week off a person with a spare bedroom ever going to pay off a deficit causd by the greed of wealthy bankers.

Our country has come a long way since th begining of the last century. We established a welfare state, an NHS, Pensions, workers rights and so much more and no they are all being eradicated on the altar of austerity. An austerity that has not affected the richest as they have just become richer.

The good people of this country need to make their voice heard and it shames me that the Labour party are so fucking useless at it. We are i believe a compassionate people, we have never in my lifetime allowed an attack on the poor and disabled like we are seeing now. We as a people always looked after our own and believed in our system. But this Govt and its friends in the press are turning us against each other. The people who back this Govt make millions whilst people with a spare room have their welfare cut by £14 per week. Disabled people who need a spare room for medical equipment have their benefits cuts by £14 per week.

£14 dosent sound much and im in the fortunate place where it does not affect me, but £14 a week is a tenth of my income.

Stunning post that.