Bedroom Tax Begins To Bite On Council House Tenants

Seven months after the introduction of the so-called ‘bedroom tax’ two thirds of council house tenants affected are behind with rent, a Freedom of Information request has found. Of 2,920 Bristol council households affected, 1,990 are behind with rent, and 250 have received a Notice of Seeking Possession. Most given a notice had some level of arrears when the legislation came into force, but 14 owed nothing. Thirteen of these have continued to slide further into debt, and one has already been referred to court – as have an unspecified number of others who already owed money to the council. Just over 100 tenants have managed to transfer or exchange into a smaller social home. Read more on Bristol 24/7.

Council Tenants in Arrears 'May Be Evicted'

Council tenants in Bristol who have fallen into arrears due to housing benefit changes may have to be evicted, the city's mayor has admitted. In March, George Ferguson said those adversely affected by the "spare room subsidy" would not be moved. But a cross-party report saying a no evictions policy was "unsustainable" has been supported by the mayor.  Mr Ferguson promised to make a final decision on the issue at the next meeting of his cabinet. About 3,500 city council tenants are affected by the benefit changes.  Read more on the BBC website.

Council Slammed By Ombudsman after Failing Homeless People

Bristol City Council has been failing in its legal duty to provide homeless people with the chance to appeal against its decisions not to house them, the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) has ruled.  The problem was uncovered after a woman complained to the LGO that the council had not found her accommodation, five months after she contacted them for help. The woman first approached the council in August 2012 but she was not offered temporary accommodation as the council did not consider her eligible. On no occasion did the local authority write to tell her it would not house her, something it has a legal duty to perform.  This meant that, without a written decision, the woman never knew for certain whether the council would house her and was denied the chance to appeal against the decision, either via an internal review within the council, or through the courts.  Read more on 24dash.

36 Councils Call On Government to Abolish Bedroom Tax

Councillors representing 36 local authorities have urged the government to abolish its controversial bedroom tax policy. At a special summit held at Manchester Town Hall, Labour councillors representing Bradford, Bristol, Cambridge, Birmingham, Nottingham and 31 other cities outlined the damage they believe is being caused by the under-occupancy policy.  The participating councils also agreed to work with housing organisations on a set of interventions to support residents who get into financial difficulty as a result of the government's changes to housing benefit.  A detailed report on the meeting's findings will be sent to the government in the coming weeks. Read more on 24dash.

Bedroom Tax: 'No Resident to Be Evicted' Until Help Agreed

No residents in Bristol affected by the bedroom tax will be evicted from their homes until the council has decided on the best way to help those at risk, the city's mayor has announced. The mayor has called for an urgent review into the impact of the tax on Bristol residents and says no enforcement action will be taken until there is cross-party agreement on how to find a "sustainable way forward" in helping those hardest hit by the benefit changes.  He did, however, make it clear that no extra money had been made available to achieve this and that "creative solutions" would have to be found. Read more on 24dash.