Homes 'standing empty' because of bedroom tax

Speaking in parliament this week, Liam Byrne said three-bedroom homes ‘in places like the north east’ are being left vacant because the under-occupation penalty means families on housing benefit cannot afford the rent. 

Addressing work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith, he said: ‘There are now 53,000 households in our country being put up in temporary accommodation, which is costing the taxpayer billions of pounds. 

‘When will he admit the truth: the hated bedroom tax now costs more than it saved? It is time to scrap it, and scrap it for good.’