The Bedroom Tax was introduced in 2013. Its aim was to share out the available social housing more evenly, to avoid overcrowding.
Its proper name is ‘removal of a spare room subsidy’ and means that people who are considered to have too many bedrooms can receive less money, or ‘eligible rent’, in benefits to pay their rent.
They then need to top up that money to pay the rent themselves, or downsize to a smaller home.
The bedroom tax affects people who:
Under the subsidy, you can have a bedroom for each of the following (provided it is their main home):
Any other bedrooms will be considered spare.
If a member of your household goes to university or into the armed forces, their room is not considered spare as long as they intend to return regularly.
If you are assessed as having spare bedrooms, you will receive 14% less in your eligible rent for one spare bedroom than if the bedroom was occupied, and 25% less if you have two or more spare bedrooms.
You may be eligible for Discretionary House Payment to cover the shortfall. You can apply for this through your local authority who will assess your eligibility based on your individual circumstances.
There are exemptions from the Bedroom Tax for disabled people. These include:
If you are the latter, and need an extra room for a carer, you will need to prove that you need overnight care. Proof can include medical documents
The carer does not have to be a professional, they could be a friend or relative who provides overnight support, but they must be able to provide evidence of this.
Your tenancy contract should state how many bedrooms your property has. Even if you use the room for something else, it could still be considered a spare bedroom. It is up to your landlord to decide how many bedrooms the property has.
Disabilities cannot always be predictable and you may not know exactly when you’re going to need overnight care. As long as you need it on a fairly regular basis and need that room for your carer to sleep in, you may be assessed as not having a spare bedroom and be unaffected by the Bedroom Tax.
Your local authority will look at your individual situation and assess whether or not you need the room.
For example, if you only need overnight care on rare occasions and the rest of the time that bedroom is used for storage, it would likely be considered spare. But, if you need overnight care a couple of times a week and your carer uses that bedroom, it would be considered necessary.
Paying for care at home
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The Bedroom Tax means that people who have more bedrooms than they need receive less money in benefits to pay their rent and must either move or top up the rent themselves. It is properly called the ‘removal of spare bedroom subsidy’ and was introduced in 2013.
Disabled people can be exempt from the Bedroom Tax if their spare room meets certain criteria. If the room is needed for a carer (who does not live at the property) or for a household member who cannot share a bedroom because of their disability, you may be exempt.
There is no set frequency that your carer must stay overnight with you for you to be exempt from Bedroom Tax. The council will look at your needs as an individual and make a decision on whether you really need a bedroom set aside for your carer.
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