Hundreds more in arrears as ‘bedroom tax’ starts to bite

According to the latest figures, around 8,400 tenants are behind with their rent, a 28 per cent rise since last April. Around 45 per cent of tenants, who haven’t been in arrears previously, have been hit by the removal of what the Government prefers to call the “spare room subsidy.” Tenants “underoccupying” houses are having to find an extra £9.80 or £18 a week and council workers say many are “struggling to find the additional funds and to prioritise their expenditure”. Coun Colin Inglis, who represents Myton, one of the most socially disadvantaged wards in the city, said the “tax” was distorting social housing, with huge demand for one-to-two bedroomed properties which they could not meet. “It has been brought in virtually overnight without a long enough lead time for people to adjust their housing circumstances. “It can take a year or two years, it is not a quick process because we don’t have lots of spare stock hanging around. “A lot of the time you are waiting for dead man’s shoes. We just haven’t got enough two-bedroomed houses to meet the demand and we haven’t got the funds to build any more.” It comes as police say “ordinary” people in Hull are buying stolen food as they are having to tighten their belts. Food theft rose 40 per cent in April, with officers reporting that a black market has been created for stolen food, with some licensed premises being used as a marketplace. Sgt Robin Danby said the people buying the food “would never consider themselves as thieves or dishonest people, but when someone offers them a jar of coffee, that would normally be £5 for £2, they say yes. “We have intelligence which suggests stolen foodstuffs are being sold in licensed premises and other places. “Commonly this will be high-value products such as meat, cheese and coffee, which people normally would pay a lot for in the supermarket.” Meanwhile, calls to try and relieve the burden on tenants having to pay “bedroom tax” by reclassifying homes are being resisted. Nearby Leeds Council is considering reclassifying more than 800 low-demand flats and houses with more than two bedrooms to stimulate demand. But officers at Hull Council say treating one sector differently from another “would be inequitable, open to challenge and place significant pressure on budgets”. A report to the cabinet next Monday says reclassifying homes could expose them to challenges from people affected by other benefit reforms as well as workers on low incomes or stagnant wages. They estimate reclassifying 100 council properties as having one less bedroom would equate to a loss of income of between £1.5m and £1.9m over the next 30 years. However they accept that some properties could be reclassified – including those where a bedroom has been lost as a result of adapting a house for the disabled, or where a bedroom is listed, but a bed and furniture can’t actually be squeezed into it. Officers also point out that while 2,600 are under-occupying properties, there are 3,000 tenants living in overcrowded council homes. The council has a number of initiatives to try and help people, including allowing tenants to swap homes, and setting up a dedicated benefits advice phone line. Council leader Steve Brady said the council had a duty to collect what it was owed: “As soon as people go into arrears they are getting visits from officers to give them advice. The Citizens Advice Bureau is moving into the Wilson Centre very shortly, so all our expert advice will be in one building.”