Tenant discovers ‘bedroom tax’ loophole

Published by 24publishing for 24dash.com in Housing and also in Central Government, Communities, Local Government

With the focus for housing providers quite rightly on communicating welfare changes to tenants, it was ironic and somewhat comforting to learn this week that a tenant who had pored through the regulations had discovered a loophole in the ‘bedroom tax’ regulations and duly informed their landlord.

The loophole – which has now been closed by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) - would have exempted tenants on housing association regulated tenancies which date from before 15 January 1989.

The official Government line is that it had been left in an early version of the regulations which had found its way on to the internet. It’s now been replaced.

The loophole close was a blow for the 100 pre-dated transfer tenants of Macclesfield-based Peaks and Plains Housing Trust who had been relying on it to soften the blow of welfare reform.

The 100 or so residents represented a quarter of the trust’s tenants who will be affected by the under-occupation rules – coming in next April – which will see housing association tenants lose on average £14 a week.

Chief executive Tim Pinder said: “It was actually one of our tenants that told me about the loophole. The individual concerned is someone who, by their own admission, loves going through the minutiae of this stuff.”

Pinder – who informs me the trust is six years old this week – says his organisation has some tenants with “complex needs” and says that for those tenants with mental health issues “stability is fundamental to maintain independent living”.

As such, he believes the trust’s best course of action on communicating welfare changes is through face-to-face contact. “Our strategy has to be face-to-face,” he says.

He has admiration for the new forms of communication some providers are using to inform tenants – via the internet and social media – but believes that it’s not a widespread way for the trust’s tenants to get their information.

That’s why the trust has taken on two new full-time members of staff to communicate welfare reform face-to-face. “Talking about individual circumstances is the best option,” says Pinder. “They’ll be encouraging people to get bank accounts, talking about options, about Universal Credit and where we can assist.”

Interestingly, Pinder says the trust has seen a pick-up in sheltered accommodation lettings amongst those over 50, indicating that some of the trust’s older tenants were thinking ahead of next year’s changes.