Nowhere to go, no way to pay
Applying the bedroom tax with discretion
Foreword
For disabled people and their families, a
spare bedroom to store medical equipment
or get some respite is not a luxury. It supports
them to live independently and, ultimately, it
saves the taxpayer money.
We believe the under occupation penalty,
or ‘bedroom tax’, will cost the state money
rather than saving it. It takes no account
of the cost of adapting disabled people’s
homes, and may force them to leave a home
that has been specifically adapted to meet
their needs.
If Local Authorities and social landlords don’t
have alternative homes available for people
to downsize to, people already struggling on
a low income will have no choice but to face
cuts to their Housing Benefit.
As a disability charity and registered social
landlord, Papworth Trust specialises in
building and adapting wheelchair accessible
homes for life.
We are increasingly concerned by the stories
from our tenants and other disabled people
about how the under occupation penalty is
affecting them. We recognise and support
the intention behind the policy to free
up larger homes for families living in over
crowded accommodation. We disagree,
however, with the blanket application of the
policy.
Nowhere to Go, No Way to Pay
presents real stories from 5 disabled families
to show how the policy is affecting them.
We are appealing to Local Authorities to
apply the bedroom tax with discretion so
that disabled people do not lose out if they
have a genuine need for an extra bedroom,
or if they have nowhere suitable to downsize
to.
Adrian Bagg
Chief Executive
Papworth Trust
1
What is the under occupation penalty?
From 1 April 2013 the Government reduced
Housing Benefit for working age social
housing tenants with one or more ‘spare’
bedrooms. The aim of this under occupation
penalty, also known as the bedroom tax, is
to encourage working age families living in
homes too big for them to move to smaller
properties, freeing up larger homes for
over crowded households.
As a result of this policy, 670,000 households
have lost on average £14 a week from their
Housing Benefit. Just under two thirds of
those are households with a disabled family
member. 100,000 families affected are living
in adapted properties.1
The rules allow one bedroom each for:
• an adult couple
• any other person aged 16 or over
• 2 children of the same sex under 16
• 2 children under 10 regardless of their sex
• any other child under 16
• a paid carer who regularly stays overnight.
The new rules apply to people living in
adapted accommodation and people whose
partner or family member cares for them.
They also affect people with fluctuating
conditions who occasionally need overnight
care.
The new size criteria mean that working age
social tenants with a ‘spare’ bedroom need
to pay for under occupying or move to a
smaller property.
What the public think...
9 in10
2
think that sick
and disabled
people should be
exempt from the
under occupation
penalty 2
2in3
think that no one should
have their Housing
Benefit reduced unless
they refuse to move
into suitable, smaller
accommodation 3
What people told us:
“We’re considering
moving to a one bedroom
property because of the
bedroom tax, but it would
mean my husband having
to sleep on the sofa.”
“If we had to move miles
away for an adapted
house, my wife would lose
her job.”
“I can’t move to a smaller
house, as I wouldn’t
have the support I get
here and there would
be nowhere for my
daughters to sleep.”
3
Why exempt disabled people who need a
spare room?
The ‘spare’ bedroom is
often essential
“We use it to store our disability
equipment which we don’t have
room for anywhere else”
- Phil and Trish
As a result of their illness or impairment,
many disabled people have a genuine need
for their ‘spare’ bedroom.
For example, some couples cannot share a
bedroom because their disability makes it
impossible or difficult to sleep in the same
bed. A large hospital bed may take up the
bedroom, meaning one partner has to sleep
in another room.
Sometimes the ‘spare’ bedroom is used to
store disability equipment like wheelchairs
and hoists which would otherwise block
access for wheelchairs to the corridors or
living rooms.
Adaptations made to a property may also
make a bedroom unusable, such as a through
floor lift into the room.
As a specialist provider of accessible
accommodation, we build homes that our
tenants can stay in for life. These homes
often include a spare bedroom that can be
used by a live in carer or overnight carer if
our tenant’s health condition or impairment
is likely to deteriorate. This helps our tenants
to live independently for longer and reduces
their need for residential care, which would
cost the state much more, as their condition
worsens.
4
There is a chronic
shortage of adapted
housing nationally
“There seem to be a few one or two
bedroom properties available but
none of them are adapted”
- Mr and Mrs Harman
For disabled people who live in adapted
properties, there is very little chance of
moving locally to a smaller and similarly
adapted property.
Of the 1.8 million council owned properties,
just 0.4% (7,200) have all the accessible
features listed in the current Building
Regulations.4 In some areas, waiting times
for a council owned adapted property are
over 5 years. 371,000 disabled people live
in properties that are unsuitable for their
needs.5
Disabled people who want to downsize
could be forced to move into unadapted
properties. Local Authorities will need to
pay for hundreds of thousands of pounds
in adaptations to their social housing stock
through Disabled Facilities Grants (DFGs).
The average cost of adaptations funded by
DFGs in 2010 was £6,396.6 Installing a wet
room can cost between £3,500 and £5,000.
Building a ramp for level access to a home
costs up to £8,000.
It is a waste of public money to spend
thousands on new adaptations in order to
save a few hundred pounds from the
under occupation penalty.
Greater social care costs
“We’re eligible for a full time carer,
but I care for my wife myself. I’m
saving the council £900 a week”
- Jim
The care given by unpaid carers, such as
family and friends, is worth an estimated
£119 billion per year,7 a huge saving for the
NHS and social services.
Two thirds of those affected by the under
occupation penalty are households with a
disabled family member, many of whom
receive care from their relatives.
The rules do not allow a separate bedroom
for informal overnight carers who often
provide care for free, despite the family being
eligible for care from their local council. If
families ask social services to provide the
care in order to avoid the under occupation
penalty, this will greatly increase social care
costs for Local Authorities.
5
Discretionary Housing
Payments are not a
robust solution
“I’m going to have to find over £100
a month to pay for the bedroom tax”
- Annaliese
People affected by the under occupation
penalty can apply to their Local Authority for
a Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP) to
help cover the cost.
The Government has allocated £25 million
to support disabled people affected by the
under occupation penalty in 2013/14.
We believe this will not be enough – dividing
the funding equally among only tenants
receiving Disability Living Allowance would
give each household just £2.07 a week,
compared to an average loss of £14 per
week.8
The Government insists that DHPs mean
disabled people will not lose out because
of the under occupation penalty. But in the
Government’s guidance to Local Authorities,
it recognises that the money will not cover
everyone in need of a DHP, and therefore
other groups should not be excluded from
receiving the DHP funding intended for
disabled people.9
6
DHPs are a purely discretionary grant, with
Local Authorities deciding on a case by case
basis. There is no guarantee that specific
groups, or people living in particular types
of accommodation, will receive them. DHPs
are a short term, time limited fix. Once a
Local Authority’s DHP funding for the year
runs out, no more payments can be made.
As DHPs are discretionary grants, applicants
have no right to appeal if they are turned
down.
7
Case studies
Annaliese and Kevin
Annaliese and Kevin have lived in their two
bedroom flat for 8 years. As they are both
wheelchair users, the flat has adaptations
throughout, such as a wet room, lowered
worktops and sink in the kitchen, and wide
manoeuvring space for their wheelchairs.
“My health has definitely gone down, and
we may need a live in carer at some point
in time,” says Annaliese, “If we moved into
a one bedroom house, we’d only have to
move back into a two bedroom flat again if I
started needing a live in carer.”
Although Annaliese and Kevin have carers
coming in during the day, the carers do not
stay overnight at the moment.
Annaliese and Kevin have lost £26.85 a week
from their Housing Benefit because they
have one spare bedroom.
The spare bedroom is there for a carer to stay
overnight when they need it.
“I’m going to have to find over £100 a month
to pay for the bedroom tax. Food is going up
in price - I’m only buying the things we need,
and extras when they’re on special offer.”
“There aren’t any one bedroom adapted houses around here for us to move to”
8
Trish and Phil
Trish and Phil have lived in their two bedroom
bungalow for 29 years.
Trish has spina bifida and Phil has cerebral
palsy. Both use large electric wheelchairs,
which need space to manoeuvre and to be
stored. Trish and Phil have carers supporting
them six times a day.
Trish has a hospital airbed on permanent
loan. It takes up a lot of space, so Phil uses a
single bed beside it so they can sleep in the
same room.
This means that there isn’t much room for
them or their carers to get around the beds,
so they use the second bedroom to store
their wardrobes, bulky medical supplies and
Phil’s mobile hoist. These items can’t be
stored in the hallway or living room as they
would block access, meaning Trish and Phil
wouldn’t be able to move around the house
in their wheelchairs.
Trish and Phil’s benefit has been cut by
£11.61 a week.
“Although no one sleeps in our spare room, it
isn’t a luxury. We use it to store our disability
equipment which we don’t have room for
anywhere else.”
“We couldn’t have our equipment or boxes in
the living area of a one bedroom house, as
we wouldn’t be able to get around.”
9
Lisa and Brett
Couple Lisa and Brett have lived together in a
specially adapted two bedroom bungalow for
the past three and a half years.
Lisa has Spastic Quadriplegia Cerebral Palsy
and is a full time wheelchair user. She needs
24 hour care.
As well as being her partner, Brett is also
Lisa’s full time carer, saving their Local
Authority around £1,400 a month (nearly
£17,000 a year).
Lisa’s condition means that Brett needs to
sleep in their second bedroom 5 or 6 nights
a week. Brett has arthritis, and he finds it
incredibly painful when Lisa accidentally kicks
him in bed (her condition means that she
regularly has such spasms).
As Lisa’s full time carer, it’s vital that Brett
can get some rest so he can care for her
properly.
“We’re being penalised when Brett saves so much money for the Government”
10
Lisa and Brett’s Housing Benefit has been cut
by £14 a week.
Moving house would be difficult and costly
for both them and their Local Authority. Their
home has been specially adapted for Lisa’s
specific needs.
Finding anything smaller that would meet
Lisa’s needs is nearly impossible, and
adapting a new smaller home would cost
their Local Authority tens of thousands of
pounds and could take years under the
current funding system.
Lisa and Brett don’t want to move out of the
area, as they get support from nearby family
and friends, which means they are less reliant
on the NHS and social services.
Looking ahead to the future, if Brett’s health
gets worse and Lisa needs a full time carer,
they will need a second bedroom for the
carer to live and sleep in.
“I think it should be looked at properly, not
just one size fits all,” says Lisa, “If there’s a
genuine need for the room, it should be
disregarded. The Government is penalising
the people who do what they do out of love.”
11
“I’m saving the council £900 a week by caring for my wife”
Jim and Sue
Jim and Sue have lived in their two bedroom
bungalow for 13 years. Sue has cerebral palsy
so she uses a bariatric bed, which leaves her
with just enough space to manoeuvre her
electric wheelchair.
Jim and Sue are not allowed to move
because their Local Authority paid to fit
tracking hoists in the bedroom and living
room. They had to sign an agreement to stay
in their home for the next 5 years.
Despite this, their benefit has been cut by
£25.30 a week.
12
Jim provides overnight care for Sue but if she
received overnight care from social services,
they would be exempt from the under
occupation penalty.
“It makes me think ‘Fine, I won’t care for
my wife’. They can pay for carers to come in
overnight,” says Jim. “We’re eligible for a live
in carer and the council said that would cost
them £900 a week. That’s how much I’m
saving them.”
Mr and Mrs Harman
“We would need an adapted house
with a living room big enough to put
in a bed”
Mr and Mrs Harman live in a two bedroom
house which has been adapted for Mr
Harman, who has mobility difficulties
following a stroke.
The house features a wet room, through floor
lift, handrails and level access, and the couple
has lived there for the past four and a half
years.
“We’ve got to downsize because we can’t
afford the bedroom tax,” says Mrs Harman.
“There seem to be a few one or two bedroom
properties available but none of them are
adapted.”
13
Nowhere to go, no way to pay
is published by Papworth Trust.
We would like to thank the people who have
contributed to this report, especially those
who allowed us to share their stories as case
studies.
About Papworth Trust
Papworth Trust is a leading disability charity.
We support over 20,000 people each year
through a wide range of services. We also
work with disabled people to campaign
about issues that affect them.
References
1 DWP, 2012, Impact Assessment: Housing Benefit:
Under occupation of social housing
2 ComRes, April 2013, The People: Bedroom Tax Poll
3 ComRes, April 2013, The People: Bedroom Tax Poll
To find out more, please contact our Policy
and Campaigns team:
4 DCLG, 2009, English House Condition Survey 2007 –
Annual Report
01480 357200
5 DCLG, 2008, English House Condition Survey 2006
– Annual Report
policy@papworth.org.uk
www.papworth.org.uk/campaigns
6 Foundations, 2010, Adapting for a lifetime: The key
role of home improvement agencies in adaptations
delivery
Papworth Trust
Bernard Sunley Centre
Papworth Everard
Cambridge
CB23 3RG
7 Carers UK and the University of Leeds, 2011, Valuing
Carers 2011: Calculating the value of carers’ support
8 DCLG, 2009, English House Condition Survey 2007 –
Annual Report
9 National Housing Federation, 2013, The Bedroom
Tax: Some home truths
10 DCLG, 2008, English House Condition Survey 2006
– Annual Report
© Copyright Papworth Trust, April 2013.
Registered Charity number 211234.
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