Leeds council tackles bedroom tax with semantic solution

[dipsydoodle]

Leeds council has come up with a novel way of sidestepping the controversial bedroom tax: reclassifying more than 800 "spare" rooms in its social homes as "non-specific rooms".

The creative wordplay means tenants in affected properties are not classed as underoccupying their homes and do not have to pay a surcharge as a result.

The government's housing welfare reform, which came into effect in April, reduced housing benefit to council or housing association tenants, who ministers claim have more bedrooms than they need. The measure is estimated to have affected around 660,000 people, who are losing an average of £14 a week.

But in what appears to be a legitimate loophole, Leeds council is to reclassify around 837 spare bedrooms. Those who have already been subject to the bedroom tax and have lost out on housing benefit in the last two months are set to be refunded.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/may/29/leeds-council-bedroom-tax-solution

[LeftishBrit]

1. Good for Leeds

Wish more councils would do the same. This measure is almost pure mean-spiritedness toward poor people, and cannot even be justified in terms of saving money, as there aren't enough smaller council homes, and people will be forced to move into more expensive private accommodation, which will cost the taxpayer more for housing benefit. Also, people will depend more on social services, as it becomes more difficult for family members to come to stay and assist them. It is just a way of harming and terrifying poorer people. I hate Iain Duncan Smith with the intensity of a thousand burning suns, and resent those, moderate Tories and LibDems and to some extent some in the Labour party, who are not so personally vicious but are prepared to go along with Duncan Smith's crimes.