Reblogged from Kate Belgrave:
I’m
posting this on behalf of campaigners at Leeds Hands off Our Homes, who have
produced this
excellent report on the effects of the bedroom tax on people in
Leeds.
The report draws on evidence from 60 case studies of affected tenants and
Leeds City Council statistics (acquired through Freedom of Information requests)
to provide a detailed picture of the impact on the bedroom tax. The report
demonstrates the awful effects that the tax has had on people’s lives – and the
pressure that officials have put on people to pay it.
Winter and fuel poverty will only make this situation worse.
As
campaigners say:
“The report shows how the bedroom tax infringes the right to adequate housing
in multiple ways. Particular concerns include the way that the bedroom tax
constitutes an unaffordable rent increase, targets disabled people and infringes
the rights of the child and the right to family life. We also found many
incidences of bullying and harassment by landlords and landlords agents
(including Leeds City Council) that are causing distress for affected tenants,
and evidence that a huge number of tenants are not being informed about their
eligibility to Discretionary Housing Payments.”
The report authors observe that the financial hardship caused by the bedroom
tax means that the “majority of the tenants in our sample reported cutting back
on essentials such as food, clothing and heating. Many tenants suffer from
serious medical conditions which make them particularly vulnerable to the cold,
and with rising energy prices, we fear their lives may be at risk. The health of
tenants is also at risk from poor nutrition. Some tenants have increased debts
in other areas or turned to an illegal ‘loan shark’ to pay the bedroom tax.”
The impact on people with disabilities and illnesses has been devastating:
“Almost 75% of our sample have one or more significant illnesses or
disabilities. The vast majority of mental and physical issues reported were
likely to be triggered or exacerbated by stress, and in most cases, the tenant
would not have been able to cope with a house move.”
The report also details the impact of the bedroom tax on families and
children: “As of August 2013, 3347 children lived in households affected by the
bedroom tax in Leeds. Eleven of the households in our sample contained
schoolaged children. Many parents reported distress about the impact of
financial hardship on their ability to provide for the child’s wellbeing and
education, or were sacrificing essentials to do so. Several cited anxieties
about the effects on the child’s schooling or social/emotional development if
they had to change schools due to a house move.”
It just warms the heart to think of all that money that Iain Duncan Smith has
pissed away on Universal Credit. Oh
– here’s a video of the amazingly flash house he hangs out in. Just the
place to relax while you’re devising policies to make other people homeless.
Read
the full report here.
