The ‘Bedroom Tax’ is the name given to a reduction in the Housing Costs Element included in a Universal Credit award for social housing tenants. It can be applied if your landlord is a Housing Association or Local Authority/Council.
It applies if, according to the government, you have more bedrooms than you need.
Your Housing Costs Element will be reduced by an amount equal to 14% of your total rent and eligible service charges if you are regarded as having one ‘extra’ bedroom; or by 25% of your total rent and eligible service charges if you are regarded as having two or more ‘extra’ bedrooms.
If you’re affected by the Bedroom Tax in Scotland, you can get Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP) to cover the difference. You apply through your local council.
The Scottish Government has promised that everyone affected by the Bedroom Tax will get DHP. Tell the council that your benefits are reduced because of under-occupancy charges.
How many bedrooms do I need?
When working out how many bedrooms you need, the DWP will consider everyone living in your home, apart from lodgers and foster children (but see below).
They will allocate a bedroom to:
- You (and your partner if you have one).
- Anyone aged 16 or over.
- Children BUT…..
- A boy and a girl are expected to share a bedroom if they are both under 10.
- 2 boys or 2 girls are expected to share if they are both under 16.
- NOTE: Children who stay with you part of the time aren’t taken into account.
And you may get an extra bedroom allocated if you fit into one of the groups below.
Once the DWP have worked out how many bedrooms you are deemed to need using these rules, they will regard any bedrooms you have above this as ‘extra’. This is regardless of its size, whether you use it or not, and regardless of what or who you use it for, and so the help you receive with your rent may be reduced.
Example:
Mr and Mrs Khan, both age 39, live with their two daughters aged 9 and 13 in a Housing Association three bedroom house – their rent is £160 a week. As their daughters are expected to share a bedroom they are regarded as having one ‘extra’ bedroom. The Housing Costs Element included in their Universal Credit award is reduced by a Bedroom Tax deduction of 14% of £160 (£22.40 a week). So their Housing Costs Element is £596.27 a month instead of £693.33. They get a Discretionary Housing Payment of £22.30 a week from the Scottish Government to cover this shortfall.
Unable to share a bedroom due to disability
A disabled child
If you have a child who is not reasonably able to share a bedroom because of their disability and they get the care component of Child Disability Payment/Disability Living Allowance at the middle or high rate, they can be regarded as needing their own bedroom and this may result in you being allowed an additional bedroom.
You will need to provide the DWP with details of the nature and frequency of the care/attention your child needs during the night, and the extent and regularity of the disturbance to the sleep of the child who would normally have to share the bedroom with them.
Example:
Tamara lives in a three bedroom house with her two daughters age 6 and 9. Normally, she would be deemed to need two bedrooms, but her youngest child, Eve, has ADHD and is quite disruptive during the night. She gets Child Disability Payment – high rate care and low rate mobility. When Tamara claimed Universal Credit she explained why Eve needed to have her own bedroom and the DWP agreed so deemed her as needing two bedrooms. Eve has no ‘spare’ rooms and so her Housing Costs Element was not reduced by a Bedroom Tax deduction.
Couples
If you are a couple and one of you is getting the daily living component of Adult Disability Payment, the middle or high rate care component of Child Disability Payment/Disability Living Allowance, Armed Forces Independence Payment, Attendance Allowance/Pension Age Disability Payment or Constant Attendance Allowance and, due to your or your partner’s physical or mental disability, you cannot reasonably share a bedroom, then you can be allocated a bedroom each.
This could be, for example, because:
- the disabled person has to sleep in a special bed, cannot share this with their partner and there is no room in the bedroom for another bed, or
- equipment such as a hoist means that there is only room for one single bed, or
- the non-disabled partner has their sleep disrupted frequently due to their partner’s disability.
A room for an overnight carer
If you, your partner, one of your children, foster children or non-dependants is disabled, and they ‘regularly’ receive overnight care from someone who does not normally live with you, then that carer can be regarded as needing a bedroom. The person requiring the care must be getting either the daily living component of Adult Disability Payment, the middle or high rate care component of Child Disability Payment/Disability Living Allowance, Armed Forces Independence Payment, Attendance Allowance/Pension Age Disability Payment, or Constant Attendance Allowance.
Example:
Joe is disabled, gets Universal Credit, and lives on his own in a 2 bedroom flat. His sister comes to stay with him when his disability causes him problems at night- usually once or twice a week. Because he gets standard rate daily living component of Adult Disability Payment and his sister sleeps in the second bedroom when she stays to help him out during the night, he fits the rules that allow an ‘extra’ bedroom for his carer, so his Housing Costs Element will not be reduced by the Bedroom Tax.
Foster Carers
If someone in the household is a foster carer – then an extra bedroom will be allocated.
NOTE: only one extra bedroom is allowed regardless of the number of foster children; but this rule still applies during gaps between fostering (while the gap is less than a year).
Grown up son or daughter in Armed Forces
If a son or daughter is in the armed forces but normally lives with you, they retain their bedroom whilst away on operations.
NOTE: They will be treated as living with you, and therefore a Housing Costs Contribution (non-dependant deduction) may be made from your Universal Credit award for the period before they went on operations and when they return.
See Non-dependant deductions for more information.
Away at University
If a son or daughter who normally lives with you is away at college / university, they can retain their bedroom whilst away from home, so long as:
- Your home is their normal home, and
- They intend to return (and do return) within 6 months.
Example:
Carl lives in a 3 bedroom house. His youngest son, Paul, lives with him. His oldest son, Dan, is away at University. When the DWP worked out Carl’s Housing Costs Element they applied a 14% Bedroom Tax deduction as they did not consider Dan to be living there. Carl’s Income Officer explains that if Dan returns home on a regular basis and still sees Carl’s house as his normal home, then Carl could ask the DWP to review their decision. So Carl requests the review on his journal explaining that Dan still has the majority of his belongings at his home, is still on the electoral register at his address and that he comes home most months for a few days at a time. He explains that Dan sees his University house as a temporary address and not his main home. The DWP agree to review their decision and increase Carl’s Housing Costs Element.
What can I do if I’m affected by the Bedroom Tax?
If the Housing Costs Element included in your Universal Credit award is being reduced by the Bedroom Tax:
- First check that a Bedroom Tax deduction should apply to you. If you don’t think it should (maybe the DWP have the number of children you have wrong, or don’t know about your overnight carer), then contact them immediately – if it’s complicated contact a Benefits Adviser for help.
- If the Bedroom Tax deduction is correct then apply to the Scottish Government for a Discretionary Housing Payment. The Scottish Government has promised that everyone affected by the Bedroom Tax will get DHP. Tell the council that your benefits are reduced because of under-occupancy charges.
See Discretionary Housing Payments for more information.