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Thanks all for the response to this thread. I posted it after having a 'heated' discussion with Colm Costello in Co-Op's Greenford Avenue branch on Sunday morning. Colm argued that there is no such thing called the Bedroom Tax, but instead called it the Spare Room Subsidy. As Susan Kelly rightly says, it is just the political clap trap. The Tories are evil monsters. (Will George Osborne take me to court for libel?)A bill is being launched today to ban landlords from eviciting their tenants because of the bedroom tax. Four in five councils support this proposed legislation, which will have the gurantee of no evictions based solely on bedroom tax. Councils are moving people into the private rented sector (PRS), where the bedroom tax does not apply, to save their tenants from getting into rent arrears BECAUSE of the bedroom tax. No wonder the PRS has grown by over 80% over the last decade. It is now, on average, £81 a week more expensive than renting in social housing. The extra cost of councils putting tenants into the private sector is now more than the savings that were intended to be made by the bedroom tax. However, at the same time councils are cutting off housing benefit payments to the same tenants who are entitled to receive them forcing people to live on as little as 9p per week. It is intersting to see that Camden council is now taking the lead at being the first council to bar social tenants that take up the right-to-buy from EVER letting the property to private tenants. After all, this is why social housing has all but gone. I think I am right in saying that Ealing were buying back some of the houses that they sold off to have a bigger stock. Absolutely the right thing to do, but criminal that it has to be done.If anyone is interested, Ealing is consulting residents on its future housing and homelessness strategy. You have the opportunity to respond to it. Look on the council's website. Once on the home page, best way to navigate is to go to A-Z; then C for Consultation; then to Current Consultations and you will find it.

Ben Owen ● 4484d

19000 pa is not much when you’re paying over 13k pa rent leaving £115 per week to live on really not much better than being on benefits. If you are a young couple with no children you have no chance of any social housing which leads you to the private market. For example working in the retail trade which is minimum wage approximately £12k pa x 2 after tax and NI doesn’t leave much for saving for a rainy day.The council lease properties off private landlords at market rate and sublet to tenants at a reduced rate. The problem I believe lay with the greedy real estate agents and private landlords. The agent say they can get £xxx pw for their properties which is usually inflated due to their fee’s. BTL landlords are greedy in themselves the main reason for buying these properties it’s for their retirement but who really needs 3,4,5 or 6 properties leaving them several million to retire on?Social housing should not mean a house for life; you get a council property because your situation requires one but after that situation changes you should move onto the private sector. Tenants should be means tested every few years perhaps this would free up more accommodation. Young people find it very difficult to get onto the property ladder saving a deposit is impossible after paying rent. It took my wife and I 10 years to save a large enough deposit to get a reasonable mortgage below what we were paying in rent in that time property prices boomed so we got less than we expected. BTL can use their capital from the several other properties they own for a new purchase thus pushing the market up even further supply and demand making it more difficult for the first home buyer.What we need is a rental cap on all rental properties. An even playing field owning your own castle shouldn’t be a dream it should be a reality.You cannot take the average wage as an example because there are a lot of people that live on the minimum wage that is far below average that is made up from people that earn over 1000k right down to minimum wage. 25k = working class 12k = breadline. Minimum wage should be more than £7 per hour more like £15 would maybe stop people being so reliant on social housing.

Tony Maxey ● 4485d