Bedroom tax - NOT EASY TO EVICT NON-PAYERS

[david bangs]

The following link and quotes shows that it aint gonna be easy to evict non-payers at present.

Please forward to tenants assocs and affected family and friends and any relevant campaigners and pundits

Dave Bangs


Subject: consequences of not paying bedroom tax


www.speye.wordpress.com/2013/03/06/bedroom-tax-know-your-arrears-from-your-elbow/

according to a junior minister of the DWP
"...if the only reason for the person's homelessness is a reduction in benefit that is outside their control they should not be considered intentionally homeless by the local authority. I can put that on the record and hope it is helpful" 


www.speye.wordpress.com/2013/03/06/bedroom-tax-know-your-arrears-from-your-elbow/what if your council's offered you something smaller already, and you've refused it?  

'Let me put this simply - using my comments on the typical arrears practices what would negate any arrears proceedings would be if bedroom tax affected tenants paid just £4.67 per week off their £14.67 pw average arrears.  Any DJ seeing this and even though it means the tenant is accruing arrears of £10 per week would not in my view award a suspended possession order as the DJ would see that the social tenant is at least attempting to pay and is paying more per week than a court normally sanctions - the £3.40 per week - from welfare benefits.'

"Tenants are not stupid and they will see this angle too.  Yet social landlords don't want this known and believe, with incredulous naivety, that it will not happen.  They are burying their heads in the sand over this as tenants, who don't want to pay rent will, as any arrears officer will confirm, find a way not to pay rent.  Then add in the outrage 660,000 social tenant households feel about the bedroom tax and this will, in my view, become a much more common practice."
 
'.....tenants will find out sooner or later in any case and private emails I have received from very reliable sources inform that some large HAs are saying they will instigate possession proceedings after just 4 weeks of bedroom tax arrears or less than £59!  I can only imagine the very short shrift they will get from district judges taking such cases!.....

However, this issue will come out as soon as social landlords take cases to court which if the above is correct is going to be in about 7 weeks time - and social landlords cannot and should not adopt the Ostrich syndrome over this or think that the issue will not become known to tenants.  The huge upsurge in social media and the many Facebook groups against the bedroom tax will circulate this information widely very quickly!'




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