1,400 will be hit by bedroom tax

MORE than 1,400 tenants of Golden Gates Housing Trust will be hit by the Government’s new “bedroom tax” according to Warrington North MP Helen Jones.
From April 1 people of working age who live in a house deemed to be larger than they need are to have the amount of Housing Benefit they can receive cut by up to 25 per cent.
People with one spare room will lose 14 per cent of their benefit and those with two will lose 25 per cent.
In Warrington 1,426 trust tenants are expected to be affected – with 873 of these in Warrington North.
Helen Jones said: “The Tory-led Government’s plans for a bedroom tax will hurt families that can least afford it. Many of those who will be affected are doing the right thing and working hard to provide for their families but this Government is once again targeting the working poor for cuts.”
She said that Warrington Borough Council estimate that more than 2,100 people living in social housing will be affected by the changes.
“What the Government is ignoring is that there aren’t enough one and two bedroom properties for people to move into. What will happen is that people will be penalised for ‘under-occupying’ their home but they will have nowhere else to go.”
She advises people who may be affected to contact their housing provider to seek advice.
The changes will affect all claimants except people living in shared ownership, those of pension age, people in non-mainstream accommodation, those in temporary accommodation and those in supported exempt homes.